NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

JFK files: What we have learned so far

Daily Mail
27 Oct, 2017 04:57 AM8 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The US Government has today released long classified documents about the JFK assassination

Lee Harvey Oswald met a senior KGB agent months before the assassination of John F Kennedy, documents from the newly-released trove have revealed.

Oswald met agent Valeriy Vladimirovich Kostikov in Mexico City's Soviet embassy two months before the president was shot and killed in Dallas on November 22, 1963, the Daily Mail reported.

Kostikov was a senior agent in the 13th Department which was responsible for assassinations.

American president John F. Kennedy is struck by an assassin's bullet as he travels through Dallas in a motorcade. Photo / Getty Images
American president John F. Kennedy is struck by an assassin's bullet as he travels through Dallas in a motorcade. Photo / Getty Images

Another document reveals the FBI was aware of the meeting on October 1 of 1963, more than a month before JFK was killed, meaning Oswald was already on their radar.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The trove of files were published on the National Archives website Thursday night (US time), but President Donald Trump has kept some back so federal agencies can black out portions.

In the documents FBI agents were grilled by a Senate committee about failing to stop Oswald's visit to Mexico in September, two months before JFK was killed on November 22 of 1963.

An FBI agent said: "Oswald wrote me in early 1962 to help expedite an exit visa for his wife. Why in the world would he tell a plopper like that?"

A Senator replies: "In any event, he told what the agent knew was lies, and what I am trying to get at is there was no analysis within the bureau of any of this.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He even goes to Mexico City, contacts the Cuban consulate and the Soviet embassy, happens to be in contact - we don't know if there is anything sinister about it - with an agent who is known to be KGB by the FBI and by the CIA, and suspected of being Department 13, which is their assassination and sabotage squad.

"In any event, he then returns to the United States, is never again interviewed by the FBI."

Oswald's mysterious trip to Mexico

A memorandum dated July 1969, titled "An investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald in Mexico", reports that the infamous assassin was seen at a party in Mexico in late September, 1963.

The CIA document reveals how Oswald went to a party in Mexico, along with two other Americans and hosted by Mexican playwright Elena Garro de Paz.

Discover more

World

What's inside the secret JFK assassination files?

22 Oct 05:11 AM
World

Moment of truth for JFK conspiracy theories

25 Oct 11:30 PM
World

JFK files likely to expose CIA cover-up

26 Oct 06:14 PM
World

Release of JFK assassination files delayed

26 Oct 09:56 PM
The documents detail the trip to Mexico.
The documents detail the trip to Mexico.

De Paz was interviewed by the FBI following the assassination who told the FBI about the other Americans with Oswald, but that the "interrogation was entirely unsatisfactory by normal investigatory standards."

It was in Mexico that Oswald, who was a communist, attended the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City on September 28 during the course of his six-day trip.

The FBI had discounted de Paz's accounts, but the CIA was "disturbed" by them.
In yet another shocking turn in the events surrounding the assassination and the follow up investigation by the FBI, the documents reveal the FBI's failure to properly investigate de Paz's story could have "damaged" the Warren Report.

The Warren Report, or Warren Commission was the government's investigation into Oswald and the assassination, and it concluded that he acted alone.

The report says "the credibility of the Warren Report would be damaged all the more if it were learned that these allegations were known and never adequately investigated by the competent American authorities".

It has been reported that Oswald was a good shot, but the speculation mounts that he may not have acted alone as more is revealed about his trip to Mexico.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Newspaper told of 'some big news' before assassination

A British newspaper reporter received an anonymous call 25 minutes before the JFK assassination tipping him to call the US Embassy "for some big news", it has been revealed.

The strange call to the Cambridge News on November 22, 1963 was recounted in a memo from the CIA to the FBI, made public in the Thursday release of files related to the John F. Kennedy assassination.

The strange call to the Cambridge News is documented.
The strange call to the Cambridge News is documented.

The memo is based on a CIA Station London cable just the morning after the assassination.

The senior reporter at the newspaper in Cambridge, England said he received an anonymous telephone call at 6.05pm GMT on November 22, urging him to "call the American Embassy in London for some big news".

The newsman reported the strange call to authorities, and MI-5, the UK's domestic security service, determined that the call had taken place 25 minutes before the US president was shot an ocean away in Dallas.

MI-5 advised their CIA counterparts that the reporter was "known to them as a sound and loyal person with no security record".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The British security service noted that the coincidental timing of the call fit the pattern of similar calls made across the UK in connection with the "case of Dr. Ward".

This is an apparent reference to Stephen Ward, an osteopath at the centre of the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal.

CIA Deputy Director James Angleton sent the memo to the FBI Director on November 26, 1963.

Oswald a 'neurotic maniac'

Another document says the CIA's "plan in passing information to the Warren Commission was to eliminate mention of wire taps in order to protect their continuing operations" suggesting the spy agency withheld material from the investigation.

The Soviet Union also feared they were going to get blamed for putting "neurotic maniac" Oswald up to assassinating JFK the files revealed.

In one document dated December 1, 1963, from director J Edgar Hoover, the agency reveals everything it has learned about the Soviet reaction to the JFK's assassination and what its agents might have known about Oswald.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The tranche of documents reveal that the Soviets were just as obsessed with conspiracy theories surrounding Kennedy's death as the rest of the world.

"According to our source, officials of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union believed there was some well-organised conspiracy on the part of the 'ultraright' in the United States to effect a 'coup'."

Before the assassination of JFK it is being revealed in the enormous trove of files that the CIA had considered attempts on Fidel Castro's life. Photo / Getty Images
Before the assassination of JFK it is being revealed in the enormous trove of files that the CIA had considered attempts on Fidel Castro's life. Photo / Getty Images

'Cease looking happy in public'

In yet another document it's revealed the Cuban ambassador to the UN and his staff reacted with "happy delight" just days after the assassination.

It was revealed during the assassination investigation that Oswald had connections to Fair Play for Cuba, a grassroots movement to support the Cuban revolution.

The Cuban ambassador was instructed to govern their staff, and to "cease looking happy in public".

Before the assassination of JFK it is being revealed in the enormous trove of files that the CIA had considered attempts on Castro's life that included contaminated skindiving suits and exploding seashells.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The idea was to dust the inside of Castor's suit with a fungus that would produce a disabling and chronic skin disease and contaminating the breathing apparatus with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

The man that was supposed to give him the tainted suit was New York Attorney James Donovan negotiating with Castro for the release of the Bay of Pigs prisoners, however he had already given him a suit that was not contaminated.

The booby-trapped seashell scheme was to have a shell that exploded when lifted, but that idea was also abandoned after the CIA concluded there was no shell large enough in the waters where Castro would dive to contain the desired explosives.

Documents held back

Thursday the White House released 2800 records relating to the assassination of JFK, but a during the course of Thursday it was announced they would be holding back portions of the data as a matter of "national security".

The officials speaking on behalf of President Donald Trump said he had "no choice" in keeping some under lock and key pending a six month review process.

Russia has previously denied any involvement in the assassination of JFK.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters Thursday: "For decades, information has been kept under lock and key.

"If even here wild insinuations are hurled at Russia, that would be a shame, because it is information, and not disinformation that people want."

Edward Kennedy, Wife Jackie Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and children John Kennedy Junior (saluting) and daughter Caroline. Photo / Getty Images
Edward Kennedy, Wife Jackie Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and children John Kennedy Junior (saluting) and daughter Caroline. Photo / Getty Images

Timeline to a presidency: John F Kennedy

September 26, 1960: Kennedy appears in the first televised election debates in history as he campaigns to become leader. The debate was seen as the turning point in the campaign.
November 8, 1960: JFK defeats Republican Richard Nixon with 49.7 percent of the vote. Nixon had 49.5 percent.
January 20, 1961: Inauguration for the new leader.
March 1, 1961: Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps, a volunteer program to promote world peace.
September 12, 1962: Kennedy announces that the US want to put man on the moon
October 1962: Cuban Missile crisis which is regarded as the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. Tensions rose after the USSR placed nuclear weapons in Cuba within striking distance of the U.S. The crisis eventually passed without a shot being fired.
June 11, 1963: The President calls for civil rights legislation to be brought in.
August 5, 1963: The U.S. and the USSR sign a nuclear test ban treaty pledging not to test bombs in air, space and water.
November 22, 1963: The President was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was shot once in the back and then in the head.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

Death toll from major Russian strike on Kyiv rises to 21, more than 130 injured

18 Jun 06:15 AM
World

Milestone move: Taiwan's submarine programme advances amid challenges

18 Jun 04:23 AM
World

Why Parnia Abbasi's death became a flashpoint in Iran-Israel conflict

18 Jun 02:36 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Death toll from major Russian strike on Kyiv rises to 21, more than 130 injured

Death toll from major Russian strike on Kyiv rises to 21, more than 130 injured

18 Jun 06:15 AM

Sixteen bodies were recovered from a nine-storey building in Solomyansky.

Milestone move: Taiwan's submarine programme advances amid challenges

Milestone move: Taiwan's submarine programme advances amid challenges

18 Jun 04:23 AM
Why Parnia Abbasi's death became a flashpoint in Iran-Israel conflict

Why Parnia Abbasi's death became a flashpoint in Iran-Israel conflict

18 Jun 02:36 AM
Premium
How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

How Trump shifted on Iran under pressure from Israel

18 Jun 01:59 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP