A US Senate report criticized the CIA's response to the health problems of the so-called Havana syndrome, but did not shed new light on the causes of the illnesses.
A U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report released Friday criticized the CIA's response to Havana syndrome health problems among its personnel, saying many individuals “faced obstacles to receiving timely and sufficient care.” .
The report shed no new light on the causes of headaches, nausea, memory lapses, dizziness and other ailments that were first reported by U.S. Embassy officials in Havana in 2016.
The CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A worldwide US intelligence investigation concluded in March 2023 that it was highly unlikely that a foreign adversary was responsible for the ailments that affected some 1,500 US diplomats, spies, other personnel and their families.
According to the declassified summary of the Senate report, the unknown nature of the anomalous health incidents complicated the CIA's response, which was initially based on the assessment that a “attack” causing traumatic brain injuries was responsible.
The assessment, the report said, changed with intelligence analyzes leading up to the 2023 conclusion, and was one of several factors that affected how the agency provided medical care and other benefits to those who reported symptoms.
The lack of a clear definition of the incidents, uncertainty about their origins, and the CIA's “evolving organizational structure” for addressing the issue “have greatly complicated the CIA's ability to provide medical care in a consistent and transparent manner,” according to the report.