Newly declassified documents have provided deeper insights into the activities of the CIA in relation to Lee Harvey Oswald in the weeks leading up to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, focusing particularly on surveillance in Mexico City.
The Daily Caller reported that the multi-page release also unveils intricate political dynamics between JFK and the CIA, alongside connections to weapons dealers linked to Oswald.
The documents reveal details of CIA wiretapping and other surveillance activities, adding layers to the narrative surrounding Oswald’s interactions with Soviet and Cuban officials before Kennedy’s assassination.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, a tragic event that has been shrouded in mystery and controversy for decades.
New information from recently declassified files suggests that Lee Harvey Oswald, who was implicated in the assassination, traveled multiple times to Mexico City weeks before the event. During these visits, Oswald met with officials from the Cuban and Soviet embassies.
Revealed now is the fact that during this period, the CIA wiretapped phones at both the Cuban and Soviet diplomatic facilities located in Mexico City.
These enhanced surveillance efforts, highlighted in the documents, paint a picture of extensive intelligence-gathering measures that were in play at the time.
Notably, this information, including the CIA's awareness of Oswald's travels and his interactions with foreign officials, was not presented to the Warren Commission, the body primarily responsible for investigating the assassination. These insights remained classified until their release earlier this week.
Among the poignant revelations is a memo from Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who served as a Special Assistant to JFK. This memo warned Kennedy of what Schlesinger described as the agency’s expanding influence over traditional state functions, affecting foreign policy directives.
Schlesinger also characterized the CIA as possessing traits, in his words, of "a state within a state," implying a level of operational autonomy and influence that could conflict with other governmental branches. This suggestion of internal complexity and potential overreach aligns with broader narratives concerning the agency’s power during this era.
Another dimension of the released documents focuses on Samuel Cummings, a known CIA source and significant figure in the arms trade.
Records now indicate that Cummings owned Interarmco, a company supplying the outlet where Oswald reportedly purchased the rifle used in the Kennedy assassination.
Cummings’ involvement extends further, with the documents noting that his companies supplied armaments to a variety of entities, including those linked to Fidel Castro. The CIA specifically outlined in one statement that materials sold by Cummings' enterprises were to remain the property of the agency until financial agreements were fulfilled.
The significant tranche of over 60,000 pages, encompassing more than 2,000 files, was made public following an executive directive by President Donald Trump. This decision to declassify was aimed at shedding more light on the political and intelligence landscapes surrounding JFK’s assassination.
Oswald's own background revealed further in these files, adds context to the complex web of events. He had formerly resided in the USSR from October 1959 to June 1962 and even attempted suicide during this tumultuous period. His travels to Mexico City were purportedly in pursuit of a visa to return to the Soviet Union.
The new documents accompany ongoing strong denials by the CIA of any involvement in JFK’s assassination, stating categorically that such notions are “absolutely false.”
Journalists like Steven Portnoy have observed that the information unveiled this week specifies more about the CIA’s operations during the period leading to the assassination, emphasizing the meetings between Oswald and Cuban and Soviet representatives in September 1963.
"These docs reveal how the CIA tapped phones," Portnoy reported, highlighting aspects of the agency's intelligence methods that have remained hidden until now.
These latest revelations contribute significantly to the already elaborate tapestry of theories, information, and speculation surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. New details of the CIA’s surveillance could reframe historical understandings and influence ongoing discussions about the case's many layers.
