On March 18, 2025, the US National Archives unveiled 80,000 documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a trove that promised fresh insight into one of America’s most enduring mysteries. For stakeholders—historians, policymakers, and citizens alike—these files offer a tantalizing glimpse into the Cold War’s murky depths. But do they finally answer the question: Were the CIA and FBI involved in JFK’s death on November 22, 1963? The answer, based on the ten documents reviewed, is a cautious “not yet”—though the shadows of speculation grow longer.
The Lone Gunman and the Official Line
The establishment narrative remains intact: Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in Dallas, a conclusion upheld by the Warren Commission and subsequent inquiries. These latest files, part of the JFK Assassination Records Collection, don’t directly contradict that story. Yet, they reveal a sprawling tapestry of CIA and FBI activities—anti-Castro plots, global espionage, and surveillance—that could fuel alternative theories without proving them.
CIA: Poison Pens and Plausible Deniability
Among the most eyebrow-raising revelations is a CIA document [157-10014-10242] detailing assassination plots against Fidel Castro. On the very day JFK was shot, an agent handed a poison pen to Rolando Cubela (code-named AM/LASH) in Paris—a chilling coincidence. The file insists JFK was kept in the dark, with “plausible deniability” shielding him from the agency’s underworld ties to mobsters like John Rosselli. Elsewhere, Oswald’s travels through CIA-monitored hubs like Moscow and Mexico City [104-10332-10022] hint at missed opportunities or deeper surveillance, but no smoking gun ties the agency to Dallas.
FBI: Watching, Not Plotting
The FBI’s role appears more passive. Files show J. Edgar Hoover briefing JFK in 1962 about Judith Campbell Exner’s mob connections [157-10014-10242], and extensive post-assassination probes tracked Oswald’s Soviet defection and Cuban contacts [104-10332-10022]. Yet, there’s no evidence of FBI complicity—just a diligent, if sometimes belated, watchfulness over a volatile era.
The Cold War Context
What emerges most vividly is the backdrop: a world of Cuban exiles, Soviet defectors, and CIA operatives crisscrossing Europe [124-90092-10016]. A 1966 letter from Joachim Joesten, accusing the “Johnson gang” and “Gehlen gang” of conspiracy [104-10332-10022], adds a provocative footnote, though it’s speculative and post-dates the event. These threads—Cuban unrest [124-10280-10030], anti-Castro fervor, and Oswald’s brush with KGB officer Valeriy Kostikov [104-10337-10014]—weave a web that invites questions, even if it doesn’t unravel the lone-gunman theory.
What’s Missing Matters Most
The files’ redactions and focus on peripheral figures leave gaps. Where are the unfiltered accounts of Oswald’s Mexico City visit? What of the CIA’s full dealings with anti-Castro groups who felt betrayed by JFK’s Bay of Pigs retreat? Without these, the release feels like a half-opened window—offering light, but not clarity.
Implications for Stakeholders
For historians, these documents enrich the Cold War narrative, spotlighting the CIA’s rogue streak and the FBI’s watchful eye. For policymakers, they underscore the need for transparency: 62 years later, redactions still stoke distrust. For the public, they’re a reminder that history’s puzzles endure, even as new pieces emerge.
The CIA and FBI don’t emerge as assassins here, but as players in a game so vast and secretive that their innocence isn’t beyond doubt. As more files surface—or remain locked away—the debate will persist. For now, the JFK assassination remains a story of one man with a rifle—and a shadow that refuses to lift.
