BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

CIA updates Congress on possible ‘microwave weapon’ attack on US personnel in Havana, Cuba

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — Lawmakers are looking into what they believe are targeted attacks on U.S. diplomats. Several officials have reported mysterious brain injuries that could be tied to the use of microwaves.

The most recent example happened roughly five years ago at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba. More than 20 diplomats reported strange symptoms now known as the “Havana syndrome.”

On Thursday, the CIA Director updated members of Congress on his response to the attack.

“I’ve met with three different groups over several hours with my colleagues, going back to Havana who have been affected by these incidents, simply to make clear to them not only my personal priory but that we take very seriously what they’ve experienced and have enormous respect for their sacrifice and their dedication and that we will get to the bottom of this,” said CIA Director Williams Burns.

Diplomats working in China and Moscow have reported similar brain injuries after their work abroad.

Executive News Editor at Foreign Policy and author Sharon Weinberger, a specialist in defense and intelligence coverage, says we know very little about what actually happened in the attacks.

“There’s a lot of secrecy around the personnel because we now know through reporting these were primarily CIA personnel. Even the National Academy of Sciences, which was asked to review a good part of this issue, did not have access to the people who were actually affected,” said Weinberger.

She added, “I mean clearly there are U.S. government personnel who have suffered health effects… we need to start without presuming what the cause is and try to find out what these personnel are suffering from.”

She believes it is a possible, but “far-fetched possibility,” that this was caused by a microwave weapon.

“And if we pursue only that line of investigation and it turns out it was something else, a toxin or an insecticide or something that poisoned them. These people are not getting treatment,” said Weinberger.

World

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Cloudy

la

60°F Cloudy Feels like 60°
Wind
5 mph SSW
Humidity
84%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
5 mph SW
Precip
23%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent