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US spies baffled by what befell diplomats in Cuba

Embassy of the United States in the Cuban capital Havana

The US intelligence community has not yet managed to come up with a clear explanation as to what, or who caused mysterious injuries reported by 21 US diplomatic staff in Cuba.

An ongoing probe has baffled the investigators who initially thought the injuries could have been caused by a sonic weapon, VICE News reported Saturday.

“None of this has a reasonable explanation,” said Fulton Armstrong, a former CIA official who served in Havana before the US re-opened an embassy there. “It’s just mystery after mystery after mystery.”

Meanwhile, signs of more serious damage than the US government initially realized were transpiring, namely an inability in the victims to concentrate or recall certain words.

Other symptoms  included dizziness, nausea, severe headaches, balance problems, and tinnitus.

‘Laser-like specificity’

On Thursday, the US State Department raised the number of the victims from 19 to 21.

Cuba has denied any wrongdoing on its part, and is carrying out its own investigation into the matter.

“Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception,” the government said in August.

Former US President Barack Obama re-established diplomatic relations with Havana in 2015 and loosened some restrictions on doing business in the country during his tenure in the White House.

President Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on Cuba  and vowed to terminate all deals that the Obama administration made with Havana.

Some of the victims have reportedly said that they noticed the time when the attack was happening through a ringing in their ears, which some said it stopped after they walked away.

“This laser-like specificity to the attacks is baffling investigators,” Vice News said in its report.


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