Deadly Secrets: Covert Weapons Unearthed in the New JFK Files
On March 18, 2025, the National Archives unleashed a trove of JFK assassination files that plunged us back into the shadowy world of 1960s espionage—and among the revelations are chilling details about covert weapons wielded by the CIA and FBI. These gadgets, straight out of a spy thriller, were part of a clandestine arsenal designed for assassination and covert operations, hinting at a darker underbelly to the Cold War era. While they don’t directly pin Lee Harvey Oswald or rewrite the official tale of his lone act on November 22, 1963, they raise unsettling questions about the tools intelligence agencies had at their fingertips—and what they might mean for that fateful day in Dallas. As of March 22, 2025, here’s what these files reveal about the hidden weapons of the time.
A Catalogue of Death
One file, 104-10182-10072, drops a bombshell: an FBI catalogue of assassination devices from 1974, uncovered in a photostat typed by a Mr. Morrissey that spring. This wasn’t a wish list—these were real tools, offered for sale exclusively to the U.S. Government, with a two-week delivery wait after ordering. When a reporter pressed Mr. Weicker about them, his reply was blunt: “used for assassination, pure and simple.” The file ties this catalogue to broader FBI activities, like a 1975 cable on Iraqi internal security and a 1966 note about a Cuban figure, Rolando Arcadio Masferrer Rojas, suggesting these deadly devices were part of a wider intelligence playbook.
What kind of weapons were they? The file doesn’t spill specifics—no poison pens or umbrella guns here—but the label alone is chilling. These weren’t for surveillance or defense; they were built to kill, quietly and efficiently. Picture a silenced pistol, a concealed blade, or even something more exotic—tools designed to leave no trace. The fact that the FBI had them catalogued and ready to ship shows a level of preparedness for targeted eliminations that’s hard to ignore.
Werbell’s Deadly Designs
The same file, 104-10182-10072, unveils another covert weapons angle: a $5,000,000 arms deal pitched by Mitchell Livingston Werbell III in 1974. Werbell, a former OSS operative turned arms dealer, met with a CIA official via Theodore Roussos on September 30, planning to sell arms legally to the Greek government through U.S. channels. Roussos bragged that Werbell could “design and produce weapons” thanks to his access to arms factories. Known later for inventing the MAC-10 submachine gun with a suppressor, Werbell’s knack for silenced firepower hints at what he might have been cooking up.
The CIA balked, warning Roussos off due to anti-American vibes in Greece and potential press backlash—calling it a “flap of substantial proportions.” That reaction suggests Werbell’s wares weren’t just rifles; they could’ve been covert weapons, the kind that stay quiet and deadly. In 1974, he was already a player in this game—could he have been churning out similar tools a decade earlier, around JFK’s time?
The Cold War Arsenal
These weapons weren’t random—they fit the 1960s Cold War vibe, where the U.S. and Soviets played a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. The FBI’s assassination catalogue, surfacing in 1974, echoes the CIA’s own plots—like the Castro assassination schemes exposed later by the Church Committee. Werbell’s deal ties into the anti-Castro Cuban exile world, where he supplied arms in the early ‘60s. Oswald, with his New Orleans antics among those same exiles in 1963, lived in this orbit. These files don’t say these weapons killed Kennedy, but they show what was possible—and who had access.
Jaw-Droppers in the Details
Assassination for Sale: The FBI catalogue’s “assassination, pure and simple” tag is a gut punch 104-10182-10072. A government agency offering a menu of death tools in 1974—barely a decade after JFK’s murder—feels like a peek behind a curtain we weren’t meant to lift. Were these gadgets around in ‘63, waiting for the right job?
Werbell’s Shadow: Werbell’s name popping up is a shock 104-10182-10072. This guy wasn’t just selling guns—he was designing them, with ties to the CIA and Cuban exiles Oswald brushed against. His silenced weapons could’ve been perfect for a covert hit—did they ever make it to Dallas?
Shaking the Official Story
The Warren Commission says Oswald did it alone with a Mannlicher-Carcano rifle—nothing fancy, just a lone nut with a gun. These covert weapons throw a wrench in that:
What Else Was Out There?: If the FBI had assassination devices by 1974 104-10182-10072, they might’ve had them—or something like them—in 1963. Oswald’s rifle was standard, but what if a silenced pistol or a trick weapon from that catalogue was in play, wielded by someone else? The lone gunman story assumes no fancy tech, but this says otherwise.
Oswald’s Exile Ties: Werbell’s Cuban exile connections overlap with Oswald’s 1963 New Orleans scene 104-10182-10072. If Werbell was peddling covert arms back then, they could’ve landed with anti-Castro groups—or rogue agents—who knew Oswald. Was he a patsy for a hit using these tools, as he claimed?
Intelligence Blind Spots: The CIA knew Werbell’s deal was risky in ‘74, yet they didn’t watch Oswald closer in ‘63—a defector with Soviet and Cuban ties 104-10182-10072. With assassination weapons floating around, that’s a glaring miss—unless they wanted him off the radar.
A Lethal What-If
As of March 22, 2025, these files don’t pin JFK’s death on a secret weapon, but they crack open a door. The FBI’s assassination catalogue and Werbell’s covert arms reveal a world where killing tools were a phone call away, wielded by agencies and dealers tied to the same circles Oswald roamed. The official story sticks to a lone rifle, but these revelations whisper of silenced shots and hidden hands—maybe not Oswald’s. They don’t rewrite history, but they make you wonder: what else was in that arsenal, and who really pulled the trigger?