There were also complaints of unexplained ailments by US officials in China, Russia, Europe and even Washington, prompting further government investigation.
Most spy agencies “have concluded that it is ‘highly unlikely’ that a foreign entity is responsible” for these disruptions, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement.
Seven government agencies have reviewed about 1,000 cases of “abnormal health incidents.” “Five agencies judge that the available intelligence (information) points systematically against the involvement of US adversaries,” while one “judges that it is unlikely that a foreign adversary played a role,” and another abstains, it says.
According to US intelligence, the symptoms observed by the employees “were likely due to factors not involving a foreign entity, such as pre-existing conditions, conventional illnesses, or environmental factors,” according to the statement.
Haines, along with CIA Director William Burns and other US officials insist that these findings do not question or “in any way” minimize the actual disorders suffered by those affected.
Scientists have multiplied the hypotheses about the “Havana syndrome”, without providing an explanation.
The agencies’ conclusion contradicts an expert report published a year ago that stated that, in some cases, the alleged syndrome could be due to electromagnetic waves. Havana has repeatedly denied any such attack.
Last year the CIA considered it “unlikely” that a foreign adversary could have launched a systematic campaign against employees of US embassies around the world, but did not exclude it in some twenty cases.
For the lawyer Mark Zaid, who represents more than 20 affected, “this latest evaluation of US intelligence lacks transparency” and calls into question “the accuracy of these conclusions.” “It is inconceivable that in view of the many unanswered questions today’s report will be the last word,” he said.
In August 2021, the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Hanoi was delayed for three hours after an alert for this suspected syndrome in the Vietnamese capital.
In 2017, the government of Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021) alleged these mysterious symptoms, described as sonic attacks, to reduce personnel at the US diplomatic legation in Cuba to a minimum.
Source: Ambito
