“Havana Syndrome” is not a campaign of a foreign power: reports

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, concluded that U.S. diplomats suffering mysterious headaches and nausea in what has been dubbed the “Havana Syndrome” were not the target of a global campaign by a foreign power, according to reports released Wednesday.

NBC News, The New York Times y Politico quoted several officials who were briefed on a CIA intelligence assessment of incidents that first surfaced between diplomats in 2016 in the Cuban capital, in which U.S. and Canadian officials complained of severe headaches, nausea and possible brain damage after hearing high-pitched sounds.

Since then, diplomatic and intelligence officials have reported similar experiences in countries including Australia, Austria, China, Colombia, Germany, and Russia.

The reports said the CIA did not rule out foreign involvement in some two dozen cases that remain unexplained and continue to be investigated.

“In hundreds of other cases of possible symptoms, the agency has found plausible alternative explanations,” NBC sources told the news network.

Some U.S. officials earlier claimed the cases could have been caused by Russian microwave attacks, but scientists expressed doubt about the theory and said there was no single affliction or cause for the reported cases.

Reports said the CIA paper reported tentative findings.

“The interim report was not a final conclusion by the Biden administration in general or the intelligence community as a whole,” NBC reported, citing U.S. officials.

The findings prompted frustration among some of those who were sickened, with one group of people saying the CIA assessment “cannot and should not be the final word on the matter,” according to a statement quoted by the Times.

“While we have reached some significant interim findings, we are not finished,” William J. Burns, director of the CIA, said in a statement quoted by the Times.

“We will continue the mission of investigating these incidents and providing access to first-level care for those who need it.”

[Con información de AFP]

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our YouTube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter e Instagram.