‘Havana Syndrome’ victims tore into secretary of state, report says

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy US diplomats who have suffered from the mysterious “Havana Syndrome” tore into Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a recent meeting, arguing that the government hasn’t done enough to help victims and has brushed off their concerns as a vague unexplained health incidents, “It’s those sorts of sickening statements that perpetuate this disbelief,” a diplomat told NBC News, which first reported the 10 September meeting. Don’t talk about our stress levels.” The State Department told The Independent it is focused on “on ensuring the safety and security of the workforce and their families.” “In coordination with our partners across the U.S. Government, we are vigorously investigating reports of possible unexplained health incidents wherever they are reported,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement, adding an interagency group “is actively examining a range of hypotheses, but has made no determination about the cause of these incidents or whether they can be attributed to a foreign actor.” Since 2016, at least 200 US diplomats, on every continent except for Antarctica, have reported symptoms of Havana Syndrome. The Trump administration referred to Havana Syndrome as “targeted attacks,” while the Biden administration has pulled back and called them “incidents.” Officials have suggested they could be coming from Russian intelligence services using advanced microwave or electromagnetic wave technology to steal data from US devices, but haven’t reached any firm conclusions. An FBI team visited Havana multiple times to investigate, but concluded without interviewing victims that the diplomats were suffering from a sort of mass hysteria, infuriating those who had Havana Syndrome, some of whom had to take leave or retire because of their symptoms.. On Tuesday, Congress passed a bipartisan bill that would provide more compensation and support to State Department and CIA employees affected by Havana Syndrome.