A recently declassified U.S. Senate report concluded that the CIA’s handling of the mysterious health incidents known as Havana Syndrome was flawed and marred by inconsistent medical care, delayed compensation, and communications failures — all while foreign adversaries remained “extremely unlikely.” “To take responsibility.
Numerous cases of the syndrome have been reported, mostly among US officials serving overseas, and the phenomenon has led to theories that they have been targeted by a heretofore unknown directed energy weapon of some kind wielded by a hostile force.
While concluding that the diseases are unlikely to be caused by foreign adversaries, the report warns that there are “many unanswered questions” due to research gaps, and that “adversaries of the United States are likely to develop directed energy technologies that may explain Reasonable some of the symptoms reported.”
the 18-page Senate Intelligence Committee reportreleased Friday, revealed that nearly 100 CIA personnel who reported so-called “abnormal health incidents” (AHI) often faced “delayed, denied, or preconditioned care” and struggled to access benefits.
The report particularly criticized the agency’s shift away from supporting affected employees more than a year before its official conclusion that foreign adversaries may not have been responsible.
“Many AHI reporters experienced significant moral injury as a result of how they perceived the CIA to treat them,” the report said, noting that medical providers noted this affected patients’ recovery due to “increased stress about not being believed.”
According to lawmakers, CIA employees who report symptoms have lower success rates in obtaining workers’ compensation than other government agencies, with only 21% of CIA applicants being approved versus 67% of other agencies. The report found that the CIA chose to dispute allegations more aggressively than other departments, and often refused to confirm basic facts about reported incidents.
Reports of the illness first began circulating among American personnel in Havana in 2016. Affected individuals reported symptoms including headaches, dizziness, and cognitive problems, which were sometimes accompanied by unusual sensory experiences.
But two National Institutes of Health studies published in March in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no significant physical differences between affected individuals and control groups.
According to the now-defunct National Institutes of Health studies, which examined nearly 80 current and former U.S. officials through brain imaging and clinical evaluations, researchers found no significant differences in brain structure or function between affected individuals and control group participants.
However, studies have noted higher rates of imbalance, fatigue, post-traumatic stress, and depression among those who report symptoms.
Those studies have since been closed After an internal investigation He revealed that some participants were forced to join.
As of earlier this year, A.J Government Accountability Office report It found that 334 Americans qualified for care in the military health system, although many struggled to access treatment. The report indicated that the Ministry of Defense developed a trauma registry to collect patient data, but it has entered information for only 33 patients so far.
Although more than 1,500 reports of Havana Syndrome worldwideHowever, the underlying cause remains unclear — which is what gives the committee pause when it comes to widespread denial and challenges to health benefits.
“It may take years or even decades for some medical mysteries to be solved,” the report said. “This committee does not want to [intelligence community] To repeat the previous one [US government] Mistakes withholding medical care and other supports because they don’t yet fully understand the mysterious health conditions their employees are reporting.
