Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich laid out a plan to defeat the Castro regime as he spoke with leaders of the Cuban exile community in a campaign stop in Coral Gables Friday.

"The time has come for a Cuban spring," said the former house speaker, referencing the Arab spring and how popular uprisings toppled dictatorships in Egypt and Lybia.

Gingrich, appearing on Spanish language radio station WQBA, said he would fully implement the Helms-Burton law, known as the U.S. Embargo of Cuba.

He also said he'd reestablish the 2004 Bush administration regulations on Cuba travel, which have been eased by the Obama administration.

He said Obama's policies were "propping up" the Castro regime and added that the regime's "days are numbered."

Gingrich also didn't back down from criticism of GOP front-runner Mitt Romney when he spoke to reporters, saying his opponent can't back up statements of job creation.

The radio appearance was followed by a trip to Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana. He's also expected to make a stop in Orlando later Friday.

Romney was in South Florida Thursday for a rally in West Palm Beach and a fundraiser at Miami Dolphins co-owner Stephen Ross.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Gingrich a distant second at just 19 percent support compared to Mitt Romney's 41 percent, with Rick Santorum in third here in Florida ahead of the Jan. 31 primary.

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