U.S. Embassy in Cuba Issues “Hotel Restrictions in Havana” Security Message

On October 6, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba issued “Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Hotel Restrictions in Havana.”[1] It stated the following:

• “Over the past several months, numerous employees at the U.S. Embassy in Havana have been targeted in specific attacks. Affected individuals have exhibited a range of physical symptoms including ear complaints and hearing loss, dizziness, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues, and difficulty sleeping. Attacks have occurred in U.S. diplomatic residences, as well as in two hotels: Hotel Nacional and Hotel Capri.” (Emphasis added.)
• “The U.S. government has imposed limitations on lodging at affected hotels.” (Emphasis added,)
• “If you believe you have suffered any of these symptoms following stays in Cuba, please consult a medical professional.”

CBS News the same day (but apparently before the issuance of the above “Security Messages”) reported that according to an unnamed State Department official, “Since we issued the September 29 Travel Warning, we have received a handful of reports from U.S. citizens who report they experienced similar symptoms following stays in Cuba. We have no way of verifying whether they were harmed by the same attacks targeting official U.S. employees.” [2]

This blog previously criticized the Department’s September 29 “Cuba Travel Warning” as unjustified and over broad because the “incidents” or “attacks” then had only happened to U.S. diplomatic personnel at their residences or certain hotels in Havana. Since then, there have been reports of non-diplomatic personnel from the U.S. experiencing similar symptoms after traveling to Cuba without specification of where they had stayed.

This unusual, if not unprecedented, “Hotel Restrictions” should have been incorporated in, and thus narrowed, this recent Travel Warning.

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[1] U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Hotel Restrictions in Havana (Oct. 6, 2017); US publishes ‘hotel restrictions’ on citizens traveling to Cuba, Diario de Cuba (Oct. 7, 2017).

[2] Dorsey, Some private citizens complain of health symptoms after visiting Cuba, CBS News (Oct. 6, 2017); Assoc. Press, US: A Few Visitors to Cuba Claim Symptoms Similar to Attacks, N.Y. Times (Oct. 6, 2017); Reuters, Some U.S. Visitors to Cuba Complain of Symptoms Similar to Embassy ‘Attacks:’ U.S,., N.Y. Times (Oct. 6, 2017).