Almost all ailments can be explained by existing or previously undiagnosed medical conditions, or by an environmental factor.
The CIA has concluded that no foreign government is likely behind the hundreds of mysterious “Havana syndrome” conditions reported by US diplomats and military personnel and that almost all have more conventional medical or environmental explanations, a senior official said Thursday.
Of some 1,000 reported “anomalous health incidents,” some two dozen remain unexplained and under intense scrutiny, an official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The first cases reported in 2016 in Cuba, which gave rise to the name, included nosebleeds, migraines and nausea after experiencing piercing sounds.
Havana Syndrome: what it is and in which countries cases have been reported
The unexplained ailments were later reported in other parts of the world (China, Germany, Australia, Russia, Austria) and even in Washington. In August 2021, the visit of the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, to Hanoi was delayed after an alert in the Vietnamese capital.
The allegations prompted a broader government investigation and direct accusations that Russia had an unknown electronic or sonic weapon.
That prompted the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, to warn Moscow last year that there would be consequences if Russian intelligence was shown to be responsible.
But the preliminary conclusion of a CIA study found no evidence that a foreign government, Russian or otherwise, was behind the cases.
“We have assessed that it is unlikely that a foreign actor, including Russia, is waging a sustained global campaign harming US personnel with a weapon or device,” the official said.
Staff of the US embassy in Bogotá also suffers from ‘Havana syndrome’
Almost all ailments can be explained by existing or previously undiagnosed medical conditions, or by an environmental factor, the study concluded.
Only about two dozen cases cannot be explained and are the subject of further study. In those cases, the CIA has not ruled out a foreign actor as the cause, the official said.
promise support
In a statement, Burns said the US intelligence agency is continuing to investigate and promised support and care to those affected.
“We are approaching this complex problem with analytical rigor, professionalism and compassion,” Burns said.
“We will continue our mission to investigate these incidents and provide access to first-rate care for those who need it. (…) Our officials suffer from real symptoms,” he asserted.
Affected people report problems with balance and coordination, dizziness, anxiety-like, irritability, and confusion or “cognitive fog.” Neurological sequelae have even been reported.
Victims’ advocates quickly dismissed the CIA’s conclusions.
According to Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents several affected people, the CIA study seeks to quell “a revolt within its staff because agents do not want to go abroad.”
“The CIA report is disinformation,” he said, noting that other agencies in the US intelligence community disagreed with him.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not dispute the CIA’s findings, but said investigations would continue.
“These findings do not challenge the fact that our colleagues are reporting real experiences and suffering from real symptoms,” Blinken said in a statement. “His pain is real. I have no doubt about it”. (I)
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