On Friday, December 28th, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee released a report criticizing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for its handling of the “Havana Syndrome” affecting its personnel, stating that many victims did not receive adequate care.
The “Havana Syndrome” refers to a set of symptoms including headaches, nausea, memory loss, dizziness, and other issues first reported by U.S. embassy officials in the Cuban capital in 2016. The report did not offer new perspectives on the causes of these health problems.
In March 2023, a global intelligence investigation concluded that approximately 1,500 U.S. diplomats, spies, and other personnel along with their family members had been affected by these illnesses, likely not caused by foreign adversaries.
The intelligence investigation found that reports of these symptoms reached a peak in 2021 and then sharply declined. These symptoms were likely triggered by pre-existing conditions, common illnesses, as well as environmental and social factors.
A spokesperson for the CIA explained that at that time, the agency was dealing with these “challenging” health issues while also combating a pandemic, collaborating with other agencies to determine if foreign powers were targeting American personnel and their families.
In a statement, the spokesperson said, “In hindsight, whether we could have done better is something for others to evaluate, but we have never wavered in our commitment to ensuring our personnel and their families receive the care they need.”
Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior intelligence officer at the CIA, was the first to publicly accuse the CIA of failing to provide proper care for Havana Syndrome victims.
Polymeropoulos told Reuters that investigators from the Senate Intelligence Committee found serious shortcomings in the CIA’s treatment of Havana Syndrome victims.
In 2017, Polymeropoulos experienced severe headaches after a trip to Moscow. He stated that following the election of President Donald Trump, the government needed to address the recommendations in the report to ensure the CIA upheld its commitment to caring for officers injured in the line of duty.
The committee’s latest report, resulting from a year-long investigation, relied primarily on testimonies from CIA officials, other U.S. government officials, medical personnel, and hundreds of individuals reporting symptoms.
The declassified summary of the report stated that the unpredictability of Abnormal Health Incidents (AHIs) complicated the CIA’s response, initially based on assessments of trauma from brain attacks.
The report indicated that this assessment evolved with intelligence analysis, leading to the conclusions of the 2023 intelligence investigation. This assessment was also one of several factors affecting how the CIA provided medical care and other benefits to individuals reporting symptoms.
The report pointed out that the unclear definition and uncertain origins of AHIs, as well as the “evolving organizational structure” within the CIA addressing the issue, made it complex for the agency to facilitate medical care in a consistent and transparent manner.
Additionally, these factors complicated the agency’s ability to provide compensation and other benefits to individuals reporting symptoms as well as clearly explain AHIs to its personnel.
“The CIA provided medical care in nearly 100 related incidents, but many faced barriers in receiving timely and adequate care,” the report stated.
In another investigation finding, the report mentioned that many personnel received benefits and compensation, but the programs for receiving these reliefs were inconsistent, influenced by the CIA’s organizational structure.
Although some clinical studies identified unexplained syndromes, the CIA stopped collecting relevant clinical data. The report also added that research on these symptoms is still ongoing at the Pentagon.
(Reference: Reuters)