JFK Conspiracy Fact #31: French-Corsican Hit Man Was In Dallas on November 22, 1963

According to author Jerome Corsi, a hit man connected with the SDECE, the French equivalent of the CIA, could have been the assassin who fired the shot that killed President Kennedy. In response to a 1976 Freedom of Information Act request, the CIA released documents 632–796 confirming that Jean Souetre, a.k.a. Michel Roux, a.k.a. Michel Mertz--a world-renowned Corsican hit man with a long and successful history as an assassin and with ties to the French Connection drug trade stretching from Southeast Asia to the U.S--was in Dallas on November 22, 1963. He was a gun for hire who sold his skills to intelligence agencies around the world, including the CIA. A memo, dated April 1, 1964, was discovered among the released documents and it reads as follows:

"Jean SOUETRE aka Michel Roux aka Michel Mertz--On March 5, Dr. Papich advised that the French had hit the Legal Attaché in Paris and also the SDECE man had queried the Bureau in New York City concerning subject stating that he had been expelled from the U.S. at Fort Worth or Dallas 48 hours after the assassination. He was in Fort Worth on the morning of 22 November and in Dallas in the afternoon. The French believe that he was expelled to either Mexico or Canada. In January he received mail from a dentist named Alderman living at 5803 Birmingham, Houston, Texas. Subject is believed to be identical with a Captain who is a deserter from the French Army and an activist in the OAS. The French are concerned because of de Gaulle’s planned visit to Mexico. They would like to know the reason for his expulsion from the U.S. and his destination. Bureau files are negative and they are checking in Texas and with the INS [U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service]. They would like a check of our files with indications of what may be passed on to the French. Mr. Papich was given a copy of CSCI-3/776,742 previously furnished the Bureau and CSDB-3/655,207 together with a photograph of Captain SOUETRE."

According to Corsi, Souetre was also attached to the OAS, or Organization de l’Armée Secrétée, a right-wing extremist group opposed to French President Charles de Gaulle that engaged in acts of terrorism and assassination and opposed France’s policy to grant the African nation of Algeria independence from French rule.

The CIA, naturally, never shared this information with the Warren Commission. Even if it had, Allen Dulles, the de facto head of the Commission and a man with direct ties with the accused assassin, would have certainly squelched it.