Florida Gov. Rick Scott is sharply criticizing President Barack Obama over his plans to normalize relations with Cuba.

Scott put out a statement on Wednesday that says he continues to support sanctions and the existing embargo against the island nation "as long as Cuba chooses dictatorship over democracy."

"President Obama is giving into a tyrannical government that does not value human rights and completely disregards the people of Cuba who are fighting for democracy," Scott said.

Scott also called it "unconscionable" for the president to agree to release three Cubans jailed in the United States as part of an agreement to release American Alan Gross. Gross was arrested in 2009 while working in the Communist-run country to set up Internet access for the island's small Jewish community.