'Havana Syndrome' not result of sustained global campaign by hostile power, says CIA

By Team Newsable | First Published Jan 20, 2022, 1:08 PM IST

The CIA has ruled out the possibility that the inexplicable symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are the consequence of a long-term global effort by a hostile state directed at hundreds of US diplomats and spies, according to six sources. The FBI cannot exclude foreign participation in almost two dozen investigations, including several of the cases that began in 2016 at the US Embassy in Havana. Unresolved cases are another category. However, according to the sources, the agency has uncovered plausible alternative explanations in hundreds of additional examples with suspected symptoms.

According to the sources, the notion that widespread brain damage symptoms were produced by Russia or another foreign entity targeting Americans throughout the world, either to hurt individuals or to gather intelligence, is baseless. People who have suffered probable Havana Syndrome symptoms and have been briefed about the evaluation, according to the sources, have voiced significant displeasure. Some have noted that the CIA's conclusions are preliminary and were not coordinated with other agencies, including the Defense Department.

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In late 2016, US diplomats and spies stationed in Cuba began reporting strange noises and sensations, followed by inexplicable diseases and symptoms such as hearing and vision loss, memory and balance issues, headaches, and nausea. According to NBC News, hundreds of US officials have come forward over the years to disclose potential occurrences in more than a dozen nations.

In 2018, US intelligence agencies investigated what they believed to be planned attacks against diplomats and CIA agents abroad. However, in the three years since then, the spy agencies have not unearthed sufficient evidence to identify the cause or perpetrator of the health occurrences. According to the National Academies of Sciences study, a panel of medical and scientific specialists who evaluated the symptoms of up to 40 State Department and other government personnel decided that nothing like them had ever been described in the medical literature.

Many people described hearing a loud noise and feeling pressure in their heads, followed by dizziness, shaky walking, and vision abnormalities. Many people were left with long-term disabilities. The US authorities have long stated that they cannot determine whether the assaults were purposeful or the product of human action.

According to authorities, the White House National Security Council has formed a task team comprised of outside medical and scientific specialists to investigate Havana Syndrome, with results due shortly. According to sources, the Defense Department, the FBI, and the State Department are all currently investigating the syndrome's roots and how to alleviate it.

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