Apr. 7, 1963 - Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) said today the U.S. should couple an economic blockade of Cuba with support for an exile invasion force, including an airlift, if necessary. If these steps fail, Goldwater called for an invasion by troops from the Organization of American States. Accusing the Kennedy Administration of being “too frightened” to hold to a firm policy on Cuba, Goldwater said Russia would not trigger World War III to aid Cuba. “Russia is not going to risk losing her world empire over a tiny island in the Caribbean,” Goldwater asserted. Goldwater said he supported the Cuban exile hit-and-run raids against the Castro regime. Of Administration estimates that the raids were ineffective, Goldwater said: “Well, I don’t know. I think they killed a few Russians the other day.” Asked if he feels this was helpful, he replied: “It doesn’t hurt. If the Russians are not going to take them out of there alive, maybe they are going to take them out of there dead. I don’t want to see anything done to stop dedicated Cubans from getting their country back.”
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