A senior State Department official said there was no evidence that an external cause lay behind so-called ‘Havana Syndrome,’ casting doubt on the claims of more than 1,000 spies and diplomats, some of whom are in line for six-figure compensation payments.
It is the latest in a string of comments apparently debunking theories that diplomatic staff were targeted with mysterious energy weapons.
But it will anger victims diagnosed with headaches, dizziness, vision problems, dizziness and brain fog, symptoms first identified among workers at the U.S. embassy in Havana.
‘We have not identified any outside causality in any Anomalous Health Incidents,’ Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told Yahoo’s Conspiracyland podcast.
And he said it was a misnomer to refer to it as Havana Syndrome.
After first being reported in the Cuban capital in 2016, hundreds of people came forward to say they were suffering the same symptoms at U.S. facilities all around the world.
Symptoms, including nausea and debilitating migraines, were sometimes accompanied by descriptions of strange sounds, on some occasions resembling the chirping of cicadas.
‘We have not identified any outside causality in any Anomalous Health Incidents,’ said Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs
The syndrome was first identified among U.S. staff in the Cuban capital, before being reported by hundreds of people around the world
Those details, and the fact that Americans in sensitive posts were involved, led to worries that diplomats and spies were being targeted by Russian or Cuban agents.
Theories spread that it was being caused by a spy device, developed during the Cold War, bouncing energy or that a weapon had been developed to deliver microwave bursts.
However, doctors and officials have not yet been able to pin down a cause.
And in January the C.I.A. said it was unlikely to be the work of a foreign power.
‘Taking into account all of the intelligence we’ve collected and reviewed at this point, we assess that it unlikely that a foreign actor including Russia, is conducting a sustained worldwide campaign harming U.S. personnel with a weapon or mechanism,’ said an official.
Yet, the C.I.A. director said that did not mean the symptoms were not real.
‘We will continue the mission to investigate these incidents and provide access to world-class care for those who need it,’ said Bill Burns.
‘While underlying causes may differ, our officers are suffering real symptoms. Our commitment to care is unwavering.’
The podcast goes on to say that multiple officials cast further doubt on whether external factors are to blame.
The results could be embarrassing to an administration that has made much of the syndrome, amid sympathy for staff suffering real symptoms.
Intelligence source told the podcast that the C.I.A. probe even found that mundane factors, such as being close to faulty electrical wiring or exposure to an ultrasonic pest repellent could trigger the symptoms.
About 20 or so core cases remain under investigation, baffling doctors.
Last year President Joe Biden signed into law the Havana Act to compensate C.I.A. officers, State Department diplomats and other officials who have suffered traumatic neurological injuries.
This year it emerged that the payments would likely range from $100,000 to $200,000.
But Nichols, in his comments, said it was wrong to continue to refer to Havana Syndrome when nothing specific to the city had been found to be causing the symptoms.
Alleged Havana Syndrome attacks on American spies and diplomats continue to grow across the world, with more than 1,000 suspected cases reported as of Thursday
The syndrome first surfaced at the US embassy in Havana, when government employees suddenly found themselves afflicted with mysterious maladies
‘Certainly with the benefit of the knowledge that we have today, no, that’s not an appropriate term,’ he said.
Other officials also expressed misgivings.
‘I was initially very convinced that this was some type of offensive operation by a foreign military or intelligence organization,’ said John Cohen, who was acting undersecretary for intelligence and an analyst at the Department of Homeland Security between July 2021 and April 2022,.
‘In my mind, there were just too many people who were experiencing these symptoms.’
But as he looked into it more, he told ConspiracyLand, he found a lot of conjecture and speculation.
‘As I began to read the data, read the intelligence, read the results of the investigations and the assessment work that was being done around the world, it just became harder and harder to explain these instances as an attack,’ he said.
‘I never saw anything that was clear-cut that provided even an identification of who was doing it … or a definitive source for what was causing these symptoms.’
The result was bitter behind-the-scenes clashes between intelligence who feared an attack and those who were skeptical.
Things got so bad, he added, that they even investigated whether the reports were part of a foreign disinformation campaign designed to sow division.