Paul: US trade with Cuba 'probably a good idea'

Washington - Senior Rand Paul says starting to trade with Cuba "is probably a good idea" and the lengthy economic embargo against the communist island "just hasn't worked."

Paul is the first potential Republican presidential candidate to offer some support for President Barack Obama's decision to seek to normalize US relations with Cuba.

Paul says in a radio interview Thursday that many younger Cuban Americans support opening up trade with Cuba. He says many US farmers support open trade with the country because it would be a new market for their crops.

The senator says if the goal is regime change, the embargo doesn't seem to be working. Other Republicans accused Obama of appeasing the Castro regime.