Tag: “Havana Syndrome”

U.S. Blames Cuba for Failure of U.S.-Cuba Reconciliation

On December 16. 2024, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Brian Nichols made a statement about the U.S.-Cuba relationship to the editors of Marti Noticias, a Cuba organization founded in 1983 “to serve as a reliable and authoritative source of accurate, balanced and complete information for the Cuban people,” which is “a closed society where all media outlets continue to be controlled by the State, [while] Radio Martí and Martinoticias.com focus on essentially covering the Cuban issue with an alternative vision that breaks censorship.”[1]

Nichols said, ““The restoration of diplomatic relations under the Obama administration was an important step in trying to improve the lives of Cuban citizens and address challenges such as the lack of democracy on the island. However, the reforms we would have liked to see in Cuba did not occur.”

“Relations quickly cooled after Donald Trump came to power in his first term, mysterious health incidents involving US diplomats in Havana and then the brutal repression of peaceful protests by hundreds of thousands of Cubans demanding freedom.”

“In 2021 we saw a wave of repression that truly stunned the world, a huge setback for the well-being of the Cuban people and the international community. It was a missed opportunity by the Cuban regime,” Nichols added.

“Since mass protests in July 2021, the Cuban regime has imprisoned more than 1,000 political prisoners, many of them young people who took to the streets to peacefully demand fundamental freedoms. The sentences imposed amount to decades of imprisonment. Despite repeated calls from the United States for their release, Havana has ignored these demands.”

“’Our focus in Cuba is to promote private sector development and address some of the humanitarian challenges, such as the lack of economic resources and food,’ said Nichols.”

“’There is hunger, maybe not a famine, but a lot of hunger in Cuba. The economic activity of the private sector supports the well-being of ordinary people, and we have tried to support this with changes in economic regulations.’”

“In May 2024, the Joe Biden administration implemented measures to strengthen the private sector on the island, allowing Cuban entrepreneurs to open bank accounts in the United States and carry out international transactions. Cloud services were also authorized to improve Internet access and financial options were expanded to benefit the population.”

“However, the Cuban regime has hindered this development. It has restricted wholesale trade for private actors, limiting it exclusively to contracts with state entities. In addition, it eliminated incentives for new businesses, imposed higher requirements for entrepreneurship, increased taxes and tightened accounting regulations, further hampering private sector growth.”

“’’The solution to the problems Cuba faces at this time is democracy and increased freedoms,’ Nichols stressed, arguing that greater openness would allow for ‘more economic growth’ and general well-being for the population.”

“’You cannot treat the symptoms, such as the blackouts, without addressing the real disease: the lack of democracy in Cuba,’ Nichols concluded.

Reactions

There is a lot of truth in these remarks by Deputy Secretary Nichols. However, it misleadingly omits referring to U.S. actions that have contributed to the current unpleasant state of the relationship: maintenance of the U.S. embargo of the island and the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Note shold also be made about this blog’s posts about President Obama’s leadership in fostering a normalization of this bilateral relationship and the first Trump administration’s abandonment of these Obama efforts and the failure of the Biden Administration to return to the Obama normalization campaign.

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[1] Ten years after the ‘thaw’ with Havana, the U.S. says it was a ;missed opportunity,’ Diario de Cuba (Dec. 17. 2024); Penton, “A missed opportunity,’ says the US a decade after the thaw with Cuba, Marti Noricias (Dec. 16, 2024); Get to know us, Marti Noticias. See also Why Are Cuba and the U.S. Still Mired in the Cold War?, dwkcommentaries.com (Dec. 16, 2024).

 

U.S. National Institutes of Health Finds Severe Symptoms of “Havana Syndrome,” But No MRI-detectable Brain Injury or Biological Abnormalities

On March 18, 2024, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that it had found “no significant evidence of MRI-detectable brain injury, nor differences in most clinical measures compared to controls, among a group of federal employees who experienced anomalous health incidents (AHIs). These incidents, including hearing noise and experiencing head pressure followed by headache, dizziness, cognitive dysfunction and other symptoms, have been described in the news media as “Havana Syndrome.” [1]

However, the Institutes also stated, “While we did not identify significant differences in participants with AHIs, it’s important to acknowledge that these symptoms are very real, cause significant disruption in the lives of those affected and can be quite prolonged, disabling and difficult to treat.”

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[1] NIH studies find severe symptoms of “Havana Syndrome,” but no evidence of MRI-detectable brain injury or biological abnormalities, NIH News Release (Mar. 18, 2024).

 

 

Bipartisan Group of U.S. Senators Call for Reassessment of So-Called Havana Syndrome 

On April 12 a bipartisan group of eight U.S. Senators sent a letter to President Biden calling for a “renewed assessment . . . to identify the cause behind directed energy attacks” . . . and “review of the March 2023 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) of AHHs.”[1]

This letter said, “Most recently, some . . . [former intelligence officials, service members and diplomats] have told Congress that the Intelligence Community has not followed all credible leads about AHIs or that the Intelligence Community is in possession of information that undermines or contradicts the assessment provided by the National Intelligence Council in March 2023 that ‘available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents.’”

“First, we request an interagency briefing with officials from all relevant government agencies to discuss the allegations that have been raised in recent media coverage, outline continued efforts to investigate the cause behind anomalous health incidents, communicate hoe the interagency is undertaking efforts to protect the health and safety of U.S. government employees serving domestically and abroad and provide an update on full implementation of the HAVANA Act.”

“Second, . . there are still a number of individuals who have not received compensation due to unacceptable delays at the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. The Department of Justice has yet to finalize implementing guidance that also impacts affected individuals in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We urge you to call on the Department of Justice to finalize the draft rule without delay. . . . Additionally the Department of Defense has yet to issue the federal regulations required under statute.”

Third, as members of the relevant Congressional Committees with the responsibility to respond to this issue, we hope to partner with your Administration to advance any new legislation that may be required to both get to the root cause behind AHHs and ensure that victim get access to the treatment they deserve.

This letter was signed by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (NH, Dem), Susan Collins (ME, Rep), Kristen Gillibrand (NY, Dem), Marco Rubio (FL, Rep), Mark R, Warner (VA, Dem), Roger F. Wicker (Miss, Rep), James E. Risch (ID, Rep),and Benjamin L. Cardin (MD, Dem).

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[1] Chasan, Ohara, Senators call for renewed Havana Syndrome assessment after 60 Minutes report, CBS News (April 17, 2024); Letter to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. from the above Senators (April 12, 2024). This blog has published numerous posts regarding this Syndrome.

Russia Is Responsible for Havana Syndrome Attacks on U.S. Personnel

“The former head of the Pentagon’s investigation into the mysterious health incidents known as Havana Syndrome told the CBS investigation show 60 Minutes he believes Russia was behind them and was attacking U.S. officials abroad and at home.”[1]

This television show, in partnership with The Insider (a Russian exile media outlet) and a German magazine (Der Spiegel), reported on new evidence connecting a possible domestic incident of Havana Syndrome to Russia and identified a Russian military intelligence unit, identified as 29155, as the possible culprit of some of the suspected attacks.

60 Minutes also reported that at last year’s NATO summit in Lithuania a senior Pentagon official suffered an “anomalous health incident” (the U.S. term for Havana Syndrome) that required medical care.

Greg Edgreen, who ran the investigation into Havana Syndrome for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency from 2021-23, said that as a result of the incidents, U.S. officers abroad have been “neutralized.” When asked by the show’s host if he thought the United States is being attacked, he answered, “My personal opinion, yes, by Russia” because there are “no barriers on what Moscow will do.”

“Sources told the [Miami] Herald that many of the officers injured were involved in work related to Russia or were stationed in places where Russian spies could work with ease, like Cuba, China, Vietnam and most of Europe. Some incidents in Hanoi, Bogota, London and India happened ahead of or during the visits by senior U.S. officials.

This blog previously has published posts about the Havana Syndrome.[2]

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[1] Torres, Russia is behind Havana Syndrome, attacks on U.S., former lead Pentagon investigator says, Miami Herald (April 1, 2024); Russia would be behind the ‘Havana Syndrome’, according to an investigation, Diario de Cuba (April 1, 2024), 

[2] Search for posts about HAVANA SYNDROME, dwkcommentaries.com.

U.S. Admits “Havana Syndrome” Not Caused by Foreign Adversary

In 2016, officials in the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba reported ringing in the ears followed by pressure in the head and nausea, headaches and acute discomfort. Subsequently similar symptoms were reported by “U.S. career diplomats, intelligence officers and others serving in U.S. missions around the world” and the symptoms became known as the “Havana Syndrome.”[1]

Apparently in late February 2023, the CIA and six other U.S.intelligence agencies concluded their joint participation in reviewing approximately 1,000 cases of “anomalous health incidents.” Here are their conclusions:

  • “Five of those agencies determined it was ‘very unlikely’ that a foreign adversary was responsible for the symptoms, either as the result of purposeful actions — such as a directed energy weapon — or as the byproduct of some other activity, including electronic surveillance that unintentionally could have made people sick, the officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the findings of the assessment, which had not yet been made public.”
  • “There was no ‘credible evidence’ any adversaries had developed a weapon or an intelligence-collection device cable to cause the injuries that American officials have reported.”
  • “One [unnamed] agency . . . determined that it was ‘unlikely’ that a foreign actor was at fault, a slightly less emphatic finding that did not appreciably change the consensus. [Another] agency abstained in its conclusion regarding a foreign actor. But when asked, no agency dissented from the conclusion that a foreign actor did not cause the symptoms.”
  • “The officials said that as analysts examined clusters of reported cases, including at U.S. embassies, they found no pattern or common set of conditions that could link individual cases. They also found no evidence, including forensic information or geolocation data, that would suggest an adversary had used a form of directed energy such as radio waves or ultrasonic beams. In some cases, there was no ‘direct line of sight’ to affected personnel working at U.S. facilities, further casting doubt on the possibility that a hypothetical energy weapon could have been the culprits.”
  • This “assessment also examined whether an adversary possessed a device capable of using energy to cause the reported symptoms. Of the seven agencies, five determined that it was ‘very unlikely,’ while the other two said it was ‘unlikely.’”

“William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, said in a statement that the findings reflected more than two years of ‘rigorous, painstaking collection, investigative work and analysis’ by the C.I.A. and [the] other U.S. intelligence agencies.’ [Burns continued,] ‘I and my leadership team stand firmly behind the work conducted and the findings. I want to be absolutely clear: These findings do not call into question the experiences and real health issues that U.S. government personnel and their family members — including C.I.A.’s own officers — have reported while serving our country.’”

In contrast to the above conclusions, last year “an independent panel of experts [investigated and] found that an external energy source plausibly could explain the symptoms” and that “a foreign power could have harnessed ‘pulsed electromagnetic energy’ that made people sick.” These conclusions “were consistent  with earlier conclusions by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which found that  ‘directed, pulsed radio frequency energy appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases.’”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly “remains of the view that something happened to those employees who have reported significant ailments, and he is committed to making sure they are cared for.”

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[1] Harris & Hudson, ‘Havana syndrome’ not caused by energy weapon or foreign adversary, intelligence review finds, Wash. Post (Mar. 1, 2023); Barnes & Entous, Foreign Adversaries Unlikely to Blame for Havana Syndrome, Intelligence Review Finds, N.Y. Times (Mar. 1, 2023); Strobel, Havana Syndrome Unlikely Caused by Foreign Adversary or Weapon, W.S.J. (Mar. 1, 2023). This blog has discussed the previous occurrences of this medical problem and attempts to determine its causes. (See the following sections “U.S. Diplomats Medical Problems in Cuba, 2017-18” and “U.S. Diplomats Medical Problems in Cuba, 2019” in List of Posts to dwkcommentaries—Topical: Cuba [as of 5/4/20]. )