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A CIA official reported symptoms consistent with the so-called Havana Syndrome, a mysterious affliction that has plagued diplomats, spies and other officials at home and abroad, two sources said Monday. close to the file.
The unidentified employee was traveling with CIA Director William Burns on a trip to India this month. The employee was immediately tested under a protocol established by the CIA to treat the mysterious brain symptoms typically associated with Havana syndrome and is receiving medical treatment, the sources said.
The incident was first reported by CNN.
This is the latest reported case of a U.S. government employee reporting symptoms associated with this mysterious disease. Havana Syndrome first became public in 2017 after U.S. diplomats and other officials stationed in Cuba said they experienced unusual physical sensations after hearing strange high-pitched, low-pitched sounds. U.S. government employees have also reported cases in China and the Washington, DC area.
At the end of last month, at least two US diplomats were medically evacuated from Vietnam after incidents related to Havana Syndrome were reported in the capital, Hanoi, before the arrival of Vice President Kamala Harris. .
“The health and well-being of US officials is of paramount importance to the administration, and we take any reports by our staff of an abnormal health incident extremely seriously,” a senior official said Monday evening. administration. “It is a top priority for the US government to determine the cause of these incidents as quickly as possible and to ensure that everyone involved receives the care they need.”
Many people who have suffered from Havana Syndrome report dizziness, lightheadedness, fatigue, nausea, and severe headaches. Some describe him as being hit by an invisible shock wave. Some were no longer able to work.
The incident in India raised questions as to whether a foreign adversary intentionally targeted the CIA director’s staff, but sources said the agency is not sure exactly what could have caused it. The case is one of several new incidents in recent months involving members of the CIA who experienced what US officials are calling “abnormal health incidents,” the sources said.
A CIA spokeswoman declined to confirm the case in India, but said the US government and the agency took every incident seriously.
“Director Burns has made it a top priority to make sure officers get the care they need and that we get to the bottom of it,” the spokesperson said. “We have intensified our efforts to determine the origins of the incidents, including assembling a team of our best experts – bringing an intensity and expertise to this problem comparable to our efforts to find [Osama] Ben Laden.”
The spokeswoman added that a group of experts from all intelligence agencies had been assembled to “work collectively to improve our understanding of possible mechanisms that could be behind” abnormal health incidents.
Many U.S. officials suspect that the incidents, which caused permanent brain damage in some victims, were the result of an attack or surveillance operation by Russian spies, but the evidence is inconclusive.
The National Academies of Sciences said in a report last year that the most likely cause of the injuries was directed microwave energy, but the finding is debated in the scientific community.
Last week, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said the agency was getting closer to solving the mystery but there were limits.
“In terms of bridging, I think the answer is yes, but not enough to make the analytical judgment that people expect,” he said.
CORRECTION (September 20, 2021, 10:25 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the name of the orchestrator of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was Osama bin Laden, not Bin Laden.
Josh lederman contributed.
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