The Trump administration on Tuesday released thousands of records related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy that it said had previously been classified.
Many of the files related to the JFK assassination have already been disclosed, including a tranche of 13,000 documents released during the Biden administration. Many of the documents released Tuesday had been previously redacted.
Kennedy was killed during a motorcade through Dallas on 22 November 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was the accused assassin of Kennedy. However, Oswald himself was fatally shot two days later by Jack Ruby in the Dallas County Jail.
Here are the five key things you need to know from the released files.
CIA evidence: The official narrative was that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. However, the released files reveal CIA involvement in the lead-up to Kennedy’s assassination. According to the recent files, CIA memos outline Oswald’s travels to the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City weeks before the assassination. It also suggested that he sought visas to relocate to Cuba or return to the Soviet Union. It also indicated that a CIA officer expressed alarm over Oswald’s activities, but senior officials may have dismissed the concerns.
Second shooter: For decades, it has been believed that Oswald acted alone. However, files indicate there was a second shooter. The Warren Commission insisted that Oswald acted alone, and that he fired three shots in 8.6 seconds. However, according to the documents, a shot may have come from the grassy knoll, which was an elevated area ahead of Kennedy’s motorcade. In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) said there was a “high probability” of a second shooter based on acoustic evidence.
KGB insight: A document from 1991 indicates that CIA had contacts with a KGB official. It stated clearly that Oswald was never controlled by the KGB. Oswald was known for his erratic behaviour. The files described him as difficult, if not impossible, for any intelligence agency to manage. “Confident that Oswald was at no time an agent controlled by the KGB,” the memo reads, describing the Soviet viewpoint.
Operation Mongoose: A report by Times of India shed further light on "Operation Mongoose," a previously secret CIA-led sabotage operation against Fidel Castro's Cuban regime authorised by Kennedy himself. These insights underscore the extent to which Cold War conflicts were deeply entwined with his presidency.
Mafia links: Transcripts of wiretaps suggest that there could have been an involvement of organised crime in the assassination plot. According to ABC7 Chicago, one of the bombshell documents even links Chicago mob bosses to training Cuban militiamen. The report suggests there could have been a coalition of mobsters, anti-Castro Cubans, as well as rogue CIA elements. The motive could have been revenge as it was perceived that Kennedy betrayed during the Bay of Pigs invasion which alienated mafia figures who had lost Cuban casino operations to Fidel Castro’s revolution.
After he assumed office, Donald Trump positioned himself as a president dedicated to revealing long-held government secrets. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had also declared, "President Trump is ushering in a new era of maximum transparency."
(With inputs from agencies)
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