The ‘Havana syndrome’ report that questioned the foreign role was wrong: US officials – National
US intelligence, military and law enforcement officials unanimously agreed Thursday that an investigation by the intelligence community questioning foreign involvement in the so-called “Havana syndrome” should be dropped, after the US attorney general called it a “cover-up.”
That view echoes that of a lawyer representing Canadian diplomats who say they suffered debilitating symptoms while working in Cuba — hence the name of the disease — and who are pursuing legal action against the Canadian government.
The chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Rick Crawford said the 2025 test, consistent with previous reports, was based on “flawed” intelligence and conducted “illegal” health studies that sought the desired outcome, and needed to be recalled.
“Quite simply, it’s my clear opinion that certain people in the intelligence community were complicit in covering it up,” he said at the opening of Thursday’s hearing, which centers on the US intelligence community’s annual threat assessment.
Asked by Crawford if the investigation should be withdrawn, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – whose office is reviewing the investigation – said “yes.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe deferred to Gabbard, noting that his agency supports the review. FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Lt. William Hartman, and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lt.-Gen. James Adams all said “yes.”
US foreign service officials and their dependents in Havana began reporting symptoms including headaches, memory loss, mood swings, vision problems, nausea and nosebleeds in 2016.
In early 2017, Canadian diplomats and their families were reporting similar symptoms, which were later sought by the US military, intelligence officials and officials in many other countries.
The similarity of the symptoms, and the titles the victims had, led to accusations that a hostile enemy state was involved.
“I’ve always believed it was a foreign enemy,” said lawyer Paul Miller, who represents 17 plaintiffs who accuse Ottawa of undermining the “Havana Syndrome” and dismissing their claims, in a recent interview with Global News.
That case, first filed in 2019, has not been resolved.
A report dated March 1, 2023, from the US National Intelligence Council concluded that it is “highly unlikely” that a foreign adversary is responsible for the health problems reported by American workers.
That conclusion was cited in a 2024 Global Affairs Canada report that said unexplained health incidents “are not caused by an adverse external actor.”
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The report, based on the work of a multi-agency team and outside experts, says pre-existing medical conditions, environmental factors and common diseases “may be important factors in many of the symptoms found.”
The report adds that the findings “do not cast doubt on the validity of symptoms reported by workers and their dependents.”
“I never believed a single thing Global Affairs told us,” said Miller.
“I have talked to Americans who were in Havana, who were neighbors of my clients, who were affected by the Havana syndrome.
He continued: “We’ve been thinking for ourselves, from the council’s point of view, that Canada wouldn’t go out and do anything or say anything without the US first. … Because if it was a foreign actor that did this, it’s an act of war.”
Symptoms associated with the Havana syndrome, which has affected Americans working in diplomatic missions in several countries. (AP Photo).
In a new study released by the US intelligence agency last year, five of the seven agencies that reviewed the case also confirmed that it was unlikely that a foreign enemy had caused the injuries.
Two of the agencies, however, reached a different conclusion, ruling out the possibility that a foreign power might develop or use a weapon capable of causing the reported injuries. Such a device may rely on acoustic energy, microwaves or some other form of directed energy.
A “60 Minutes” investigation released earlier this month reported that such a device exists and was developed by Russia.
Sources told “60 Minutes” that the US Department of Homeland Security secretly obtained the device from a Russian black market seller and tested it on animals in the US – concluding that the microwaves it emitted produced the same symptoms reported by US and Canadian workers.
The report cited a former CIA official involved in the investigation who said his administration did not want to publicly accuse a foreign actor of attacking Americans overseas for fear it would deter people from intelligence or diplomatic work.
Global News did not independently verify the reporting on “60 Minutes.”
Previous media investigations, including “60 Minutes,” have also alleged Russian links to the Havana syndrome, which Moscow has denied.
Miller said that the report’s findings were not surprising, saying that the Canadian government also intervened in the investigation.
The statement of claim filed in the Federal Court of Canada says that Ottawa used American official channels to tell brain researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, who were treating the American victims, to “stop testing Canadians” who were sent there to study in 2017.
“The Canadian government has ordered our customers to return to Canada, citing national security reasons,” Miller said.
“If this is pesticides, or psychosomatic, or something like that, what would the national security implications be?”
A spokesman for the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers said the union was “following recent developments closely.”
“The employer (Global Affairs Canada) must determine the cause of the injury in question and prevent it from happening again,” Daniel Pollak said in an emailed statement.
Crawford’s committee issued a report in December 2024 that concluded it was “highly probable” that a foreign enemy was responsible for “some part” of the events.
He said Thursday that U.S. intelligence testing, as well as 2024 National Institutes of Health studies that found no evidence of brain damage in those affected by Havana syndrome, had created distrust among Americans in the intelligence community and “caused real, serious harm to some of the bravest in our country.”
Global News previously reported that Canadian workers working in Cuba were told to keep quiet about Havana syndrome, and that Global Affairs Canada staff at one point discussed the possibility that the reported symptoms were being imagined.
The government has denied the allegations of impropriety in court, calling the allegations “exaggerated.”
Questions sent to Global Affairs Canada about Thursday’s testimony in Washington, including whether the department will consider a new investigation or withdraw its 2024 report, were not immediately returned.
The ministry declined to confirm whether Canadian diplomats in Cuba are still being advised to work unaccompanied by their families, a decision made after reports of Havana syndrome.
“We do not comment publicly on specific security measures in our overseas operations,” the spokesperson said.
Miller said he could not discuss the current status of the court case. Recent court filings, including an amended statement of claim, were marked classified and could not be served.
“The behavior of the government (in this case) has caused a lot of damage that makes people not want to join foreign jobs more than anything else,” he said.
“If you’re going to put someone in danger, protect them. Treat them with respect.”
-via files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
