Split emerges among U.S. spy agencies over mysterious 'Havana syndrome'
A split has emerged between U.S. spy agencies over whether a foreign adversary may be responsible for “Havana Syndrome” injuries to Americans stationed overseas.
A split has emerged among U.S. intelligence agencies over whether a foreign adversary may have been responsible for unexplained “Havana syndrome” injuries to American diplomats and intelligence officers stationed overseas.
A U.S. intelligence assessment released Friday revealed that two of seven spy agencies now say a foreign actor may have developed or deployed a weapon that caused the mysterious health incidents. Officials declined to reveal which intelligence services had shifted their view of the injuries, which first emerged in Havana, Cuba.
Five of seven intelligence agencies or departments echoed findings from 2023 and concluded that it was “very unlikely” that a foreign actor caused the medical symptoms that include vertigo, hearing loss, intense headaches, pain in the ears and blurred vision. Their conclusions were based in part on “sensitive intelligence reporting continuing to point away from foreign involvement,” according to the assessment.
The intelligence reporting included information that foreign adversaries were surprised by the incidents or made clear in internal communications that they were not behind them, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters in a teleconference.
But two agencies said a foreign power may be responsible. One said there was a “roughly even chance” that a novel weapon or a prototype device had been used to harm a small number of the U.S. government personnel who reported the unusual medical symptoms.
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