Top State Department official DENIES existence of Havana Syndrome reported by 1,100 diplomats

A senior State Department official said there was no evidence that there was an outside cause behind the so-called “Havana syndrome,” casting doubt on the claims of more than 1,000 spies and diplomats, some of whom qualify claim six-figure compensation.

It is the latest in a series of comments that seemingly disprove theories that diplomatic personnel were targeted by mysterious energy weapons.

But it will infuriate victims diagnosed with headaches, lightheadedness, vision problems, vertigo and brain fog, symptoms first identified among employees of the U.S. Embassy in Havana.

“We have not established an outside causal relationship in aberrant health incidents,” Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for affairs in the Western Hemisphere, told Yahoo’s conspiracy country podcasting.

And he said it was a misnomer to call it Havana Syndrome.

After first being reported in the Cuban capital in 2016, hundreds of people came forward to say they were suffering from the same symptoms in U.S. facilities around the world.

Symptoms, including nausea and debilitating migraines, were sometimes accompanied by descriptions of strange sounds, sometimes resembling the chirping of crickets.

The syndrome was first identified among American personnel in the Cuban capital, before being reported by hundreds of people around the world.

Those details, along with the involvement of Americans in sensitive posts, raised concerns that diplomats and spies were being targeted by Russian or Cuban agents.

There were theories that it was 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 pinpoint a cause.

And in January, the CIA said it was unlikely to be the work of a foreign power.

“Considering all the information we have gathered and reviewed at this time, we believe it is unlikely that any foreign actor, including Russia, will conduct an ongoing global campaign involving injuring US personnel with a weapon or mechanism,” he said. an official.

Still, the CIA director said that didn’t mean the symptoms weren’t real.

“We will continue our mission to investigate these incidents and provide access to world-class care for those who need it,” said Bill Burns.

“While the underlying causes may vary, our agents have real symptoms. Our commitment to care is unwavering.’

The podcast goes on to say that multiple officials are casting further doubt as to whether external factors are to blame.

The results may be embarrassing for an administration that made much of the syndrome, amid sympathy for staff who have real symptoms.

Intelligence source told the podcast that the CIA probe even found those mundane factors, such as being near failure electrical wiring or exposure to an ultrasonic pest repeller can cause the symptoms.

About 20 core cases are still under investigation, baffling doctors.

Last year, President Joe Biden signed the Havana law to compensate CIA officers, State Department diplomats and other officials who have suffered traumatic neurological injuries.

This year it turned out that the payments would likely range from $100,000 to $200,000.

But Nichols said in his comments that it was wrong to keep referring to Havana syndrome when nothing specific to the city had been found to cause the symptoms.

Alleged Havana Syndrome attacks on US spies and diplomats continue to grow around 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 officials were suddenly afflicted with mysterious ailments

“Certainly with the benefit of the knowledge we have today, no, that’s not an appropriate term,” he said.

Other officials also expressed their doubts.

“I was initially very convinced that this was some sort of offensive operation by a foreign military or intelligence organization,” said John Cohen, who served as Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analyst in the Department of Homeland Security from July 2021 to April 2022.

“In my mind, there were just too many people experiencing these symptoms.”

But when he looked into it more, he told ConspiracyLand, he found a lot of conjecture and speculation.

“As I started reading the data, reading the intelligence, reading the results of the investigations and the assessment work being done around the world, it became more and more difficult to explain these cases as an attack,” he said.

“I’ve never seen anything obvious that even provided an identification of who did it…or a definitive source for the cause of these symptoms.”

The result was bitter behind-the-scenes clashes between intelligence agencies who feared an attack and those who were skeptical.

It got so bad, he added, that they even investigated whether the messages were part of a foreign disinformation campaign designed to sow divisiveness.