Mar. 21, 1963 - President Kennedy declared today that 3,000 Soviet troops have been removed from Cuba in recent weeks but added that he hopes more will be withdrawn by the end of the month. He reported on the Cuban situation at a press conference one day after his return from a meeting in Costa Rica with presidents of five Central American countries and Panama. “We are waiting to see whether more will be withdrawn, as we would hope they would be,” the President said. “The month of March is not finished yet, and we should have a clearer idea as to what the total numbers should be in the coming days.” Removal of the soldiers was promised by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in the aftermath of the Cuban crisis.
