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By Alexandra Jaffe, CNN
updated 9:00 AM EST, Fri December 19, 2014
(CNN) -- Sen. Marco Rubio lashed out at Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday night for his support for the Obama administration's move to normalize relations with Cuba.
"Like many people that have been opining, he has no idea what he's talking about," Rubio said on Fox News' "The Kelly File."
Paul became a rare figure on the Right speaking out in support of the move, which Obama announced Wednesday, to relax the decades-long embargo on Cuba and open up an embassy there.
"The 50-year embargo with Cuba just hasn't worked," Paul said in an interview with West Virginia radio station WVHU. "If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship."
RELATED: Rand Paul backs Obama on Cuba
And he was the only potential GOP presidential contender to express support. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas have both come out opposed, and Rubio's been one of the president's fiercest critics on the right.
Paul's support for ending the embargo comes as little surprise, however, as it aligns with his libertarian beliefs. Indeed, his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, introduced a bill to lift the embargo during his time in Congress.
But it highlights one of the first major policy divides confronting the developing GOP presidential field, and Rubio's response hints at more infighting to come exactly the outcome many in the party have feared would arise from a wide-open and protracted primary fight.
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Rubio says Paul 'has no idea what he's talking about' on Cuba
TIME Politics 2016 Election Rand Paul en. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowanGetty Images
The announcement from the White House Wednesday that the U.S. will move to re-establish full diplomatic ties with Cuba sparked a wave of condemnation from the likely Republican presidential candidates with one exception: Sen. Rand Paul.
The Kentucky Republican broke with the rest of the 2016 pack today when he said that President Obamas decision was a good idea.
That fits with Pauls broader effort to attract younger voters and expand the Republican Party, since younger Cuban-Americans are not as supportive of the trade and travel restrictions as their parents, though it could risk turning off some older Republican voters, especially in the crucial battleground of Florida.
It put him on the same side as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the leading contender on the Democratic side, who has argued that the trade embargo was counterproductive.
Heres a look at what the major Republican contenders had to say about the change in U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Sen. Rand Paul: Supportive
What he said: If the goal is regime change, it sure doesnt seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship. In the end, I think opening up Cuba is probably a good idea. (WVHU)
What it meant: The libertarian-leaning son of former Rep. Ron Paula longtime critic of Americas Cuba policyPaul is the rare Republican to come out in support of reestablishing diplomatic relations.
Sen. Marco Rubio: Opposed
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Rand Paul Breaks with Other 2016 Candidates on Cuba
By Jeremy Diamond, CNN
updated 1:19 PM EST, Thu December 18, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- Sen. Rand Paul broke with the field of Republicans considering a 2016 presidential run on Thursday, calling President Barack Obama's decision to normalize relations with Cuba a "good idea" since the American embargo against Cuba "just hasn't worked."
Paul, a likely presidential candidate, made the remarks in an interview with News Talk 800 WVHU's Tom Roten, just a day after his potential competitors for the Republican nomination -- former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz -- slammed the decision to normalize relations as a dangerous move. Rubio and Cruz are sons of Cuban immigrants.
READ: 2016 Republicans slam Cuba announcement
Paul joined the mostly Democratic supporters of the decision, asserting that the embargo hasn't produced results and hurts the Cuban people rather than their autocratic rulers. He even likened his support to U.S. trade with China, which he called "ultimately the best way to defeat communism."
"The 50-year embargo with Cuba just hasn't worked," Paul said. "If the goal is regime change, it sure doesn't seem to be working and probably it punishes the people more than the regime because the regime can blame the embargo for hardship."
Paul is not the only Republican to support Obama's decision to increase economic ties with Cuba. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona traveled with a congressional delegation to Cuba that brought back Alan Gross, the formerly imprisoned American aid worker.
"In the end, I think probably opening up Cuba is probably a good idea," he said.