CIA official suffered from mysterious 'Havana Syndrome' during India visit

By Asianet Newsable English | First Published Sep 21, 2021, 12:07 PM IST

Sources said that the Americans were still in the dark on whether the CIA director and his staff were intentionally targeted during the Indian visit.

Startling information is emerging from the United States about a Central Intelligence Agency official who was travelling with agency director William Burns reporting symptoms of Havana syndrome during the visit to India earlier this month.

The incident has set off alarm bells in Washington, DC with similar instances having been reported among US personnel in Vietnam last month ahead of US Vice President Kamala Harris's visit to the country.

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A person affected by Havana's Syndrome exhibits symptoms like memory loss, nausea, hearing issues and dizziness. The reported after-effects of the Havana Syndrome include tinnitus, diminishing muscle control, loss of vision and hearing and vertigo.

According to CIA officials, the official who experienced these symptoms during the India visit is still undergoing treatment.

The Havana Syndrome was first detected in 2017 after US diplomats stationed in Cuba reported health issues after encountering high-pitched sounds. Similar cases were also reported from the American diplomatic offices in China and even Europe.

Sources said that the Americans were still in the dark on whether the CIA director and his staff were intentionally targeted during the Indian visit.

Officials in New Delhi are tight-lipped over the reports, which first emerged in the American media.

Asianet Newsable reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs for a response on the matter. However, a response is awaited.

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A CIA spokeswoman was quoted by US media outlets as saying that Director Burns had made it top priority to ensure that the agency gets to the bottom of this issue and in this regard is assembling a team of experts. Reports say that a senior CIA official who was instrumental in locating Al Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden is part of the team of experts.

Unofficially, over 100 American diplomatic staff have been affected by this unexplained medical phenomenon across the world.

The US Department of Defence last week sent a memo to nearly 3 million employees and contractors over the Havana Syndrome. In the memo, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin urged DoD staffers to speak up about instances of sensory events that could have triggered symptoms like disequilibrium, headaches, pain and nausea.

According to media reports, the Pentagon is believed to be working on developing equipment to be worn by government officials that would detect the radio frequency which may be causing the health issue.

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