US Secret Services: Cause of Havana Syndrome Likely Not an Attack How Bibi Netanyahu Leads Israel into Chaos

The reported conditions are instead likely due to pre-existing conditions, other illnesses or environmental factors, according to a report released Wednesday (local time). As with any intelligence assessment, the investigation was never fully completed, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said. We will therefore follow new instructions.

Since 2016, countless US diplomats living in Havana, Cuba, and their families have complained of mysterious headaches, hearing loss, dizziness, and nausea. The embassy staff was then initially reduced to a minimum. Similar complaints were later reported elsewhere in the world.

Sufferers said symptoms started after hearing a strange noise or feeling intense pressure in their head. The US government did not rule out at the time that this could be some kind of attack – but it was always emphasized that they did not know what was behind it.

According to the Washington Post, seven US secret services have now checked more than 1,000 cases in dozens of countries. The majority of authorities concluded that it was “highly unlikely” that a foreign adversary was responsible for the symptoms.

However, there are still gaps in the assessment and it is also difficult to gather information about foreign adversaries, it said. However, medical, environmental and social factors have been identified that may plausibly explain many of the complaints reported by those affected.

Last year, an independent panel of experts concluded that some cases of Havana syndrome could have been caused by some targeted use of electromagnetic radiation.

There are “multiple plausible ways” to use electromagnetic pulses of a particular frequency spectrum in such a targeted manner, according to the report by Intelligence Coordinator Avril Haines and CIA Director William Burns, published at the time. Other hypotheses, such as the use of chemical or biological substances alone, were not considered plausible given the observed symptoms.

Price of the State Department has now clarified that the number of reported cases of “abnormal health incidents” has declined since 2021. The intelligence community’s current findings “do not diminish the experiences and symptoms reported by our colleagues and their relatives in recent years,” he stressed. The highest priority is still the health and safety of all colleagues.

The White House has issued a similar statement. The US government remains convinced that those suffering from the symptoms should continue to receive additional financial assistance, said US President Joe Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

Many of those affected claim they were victims of a premeditated attack. Time and again Russia is mentioned as a possible cause of the complaints. According to the secret services report, there is no “credible evidence” for this. The diplomats involved have repeatedly accused the US government of downplaying the symptoms. “The latest assessment by US intelligence agencies is not transparent and we continue to question the veracity of the alleged findings,” the New York Times quoted a lawyer for victims as saying. (sda/dpa)