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What do JFK files say? Mafia connections to second shooter, here's a look at the most explosive revelations
With the release of the JFK files, layers of secrecy surrounding the events of November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, are expected to be peeled back.
The Trump administration released 80,000 files related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination Tuesday evening, March 18. The files’ release was ordered by President Donald Trump as part of a campaign promise to declassify all remaining records. With the release of the documents, layers of secrecy surrounding the events of November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, are expected to be peeled back.
Conspiracy theories about the assassination have been swirling around for decades now. While the official narrative was that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, fresh evidence suggests that the truth may be different.
Here’s a look at some of the most explosive revelations of the 2025 JFK files:
CIA involvement: One of the most shocking revelations is the suggestion of CIA involvement in the lead-up to Kennedy’s assassination. A newly declassified memo from November 1963 reveals how a CIA officer expressed alarm over Oswald’s activities, including the fact that he visited the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City weeks before killing Kennedy. However, higher-ups shockingly dismissed the concerns. While the files do not confirm a CIA-orchestrated hit, they do indicate the agency was either complicit or incompetent.
A second shooter: One of the explosive finds in the files in the evidence supporting the theory that there was a second shooter – something that has long been debated. The Warren Commission insisted that Oswald acted alone, and that he fired three shots in 8.6 seconds. However, ballistic reports and witness testimonies in the newly-released files say that does not add up. According to the documents, a shot may have come from the grassy knoll, which was an elevated area ahead of Kennedy’s motorcade. The new suggestion seems to contradict the lone-gunman theory. Back in 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that there was a “high probability” of a second shooter based on acoustic evidence. The new files support the theory with witness accounts. There is one suppressed statement from a Dallas bystander who was forced to remain silent by government agents, The Guardian reported.
Mafia connections: Transcripts of wiretaps suggest that there could have been an involvement of organised crime in the assassination plot, with mob bosses discussing the need to “take care of Kennedy.” One of the bombshell documents even links Chicago mob bosses to training Cuban militiamen, as uncovered by ABC7 Chicago. The files suggest there could have been a coalition of mobsters, anti-Castro Cubans, as well as rogue CIA elements. The motive could have been revenge, taking into account that the president’s perceived betrayal during the Bay of Pigs alienated mafia figures who had lost Cuban casino operations to Fidel Castro’s revolution.
Additional bombshells: Some other explosive revelations were also made in the files, including the fact that a CIA memo details officer George Joannides funneling $25,000 to an anti-Castro group that was linked to Oswald. This raised questions about the CIA's relationship with the killer. Another file revealed that there was intensified CIA surveillance of Oswald’s Cuban intelligence contacts, but no action was taken. Further, an FBI record of a phone call received before Oswald’s death predicted his murder by Jack Ruby, suggesting someone may have been aware of more than they let on.
