A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report released Friday criticized the CIA’s response to so-called Havana syndrome health problems among its workforce, saying that many individuals “faced barriers to timely and adequate care.”
The report sheds no new light on the causes of the headaches, nausea, memory loss, dizziness and other ailments, which were first reported in 2016 by officials at the US Embassy in Havana, the Cuban capital.
A worldwide US intelligence investigation in March 2023 concluded that it was highly unlikely that any foreign adversary was responsible for the illnesses afflicting approximately 1,500 US diplomats, spies, other personnel and their families.
It found that symptoms, reports of which peaked in 2021 and have declined dramatically since then, likely resulted from pre-existing conditions, underlying diseases, and environmental and social factors.
Commenting on the Senate findings, a CIA spokesperson said the agency had to respond to “troubling” health issues as it grappled with the pandemic, and had worked with other agencies to determine whether any A foreign power was attacking American personnel and their families.
“Ultimately, whether we could have done better is up to others to evaluate, but our commitment to ensuring our officers and their families have access to the care they need has never wavered,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “
A statement from the panel said the committee’s report, the result of a year-long staff investigation, was based largely on hundreds of hours of testimony from CIA officials, other U.S. officials, medical personnel, and people who reported symptoms. Was.
The unclassified summary of the report said the unknown nature of unusual health events (AHI) complicated the CIA’s response, which the agency had previously reported based on an assessment that the attack causing traumatic brain injuries was responsible. .
That assessment, the report said, changed with the intelligence analyzes that led to the 2023 intelligence community finding, and was one of several factors influencing whether the agency provided medical care and other benefits to those reporting those symptoms. How provided.
The report said that the lack of clear definition of AHI, uncertainty about their origin, and the CIA’s “evolved organizational structure” to deal with the issue “impaired the CIA’s ability to consistently and transparently facilitate medical care.” It’s made it very complicated.”
Those factors also complicate the agency’s provision of compensation and other benefits for those who report symptoms, as well as the ability to clearly communicate about AHI to its personnel, the report continued.
The agency provided medical care in approximately 100 CIA-affiliated incidents, but many individuals faced barriers to timely and adequate care.
In another conclusion, it said that the agency provided benefits and compensation to many personnel, but that access to those programs had been inconsistent and affected by the way the CIA had organized to address the issue.
The CIA has stopped collecting clinical data on AHI, although some clinical studies have identified vague clusters of symptoms, and Pentagon research efforts continue, the report said.