U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton called Friday for a total end to the blockade of Cuba, and demanded Republican opponents "either get on board or get out of the way."

"The Cuba embargo needs to go once and for all. We should replace it with a smarter approach," she said, arguing that the decades-old blockade had failed to achieve anything.

The statement came during a speech at the Florida International University in Miami. During the speech, Clinton lambasted supporters of the blockade as looking at the controversial policy "through an outdated cold war lens."

Clinton warned Republicans supportive of the blockade "would reverse the progress we have made."

"For them ideology trumps evidence, and so they remain incapable of moving us forward," she said.

In an apparent concession that the Cuban blockade has damaged U.S. relations in Latin America and the Caribbean, Clinton said, "We have the chance for a fresh start in the Americas."

"No region in the world is more important to our long-term prosperity … and no region in the world is better positioned to emerge as a new force for global peace and progress," she added.