‘Very unlikely’ foreign adversary is behind Havana syndrome, US intelligence agencies say

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2023

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It is “very unlikely” that foreign adversaries are to blame for the so-called “Havana syndrome”, US intelligence agencies have concluded.

The findings are part of a report released this week which sought to explain the hundreds of cases of brain injuries and other symptoms reported by American personnel around the world.

Seven US agencies looked at roughly 1,500 cases in 96 countries but found many of these were “probably” due to things such as undiagnosed illness, malfunctioning air-conditioning, or electromagnetic waves coming from harmless devices such as a computer mouse.

The report’s authors also uncovered evidence that foreign countries were not involved – in some cases the US found its enemies were confused about the allegations, with some of them thinking that Havana syndrome was an American plot.

They found “no credible evidence” that any adversary had acquired a weapon, such as a directed energy beam, that could cause the symptoms reported by people, or a listening device that might hurt people.

The involvement of extra-terrestrials was also ruled out.

Those affected by the illness have reported headaches, memory lapses, nausea, dizziness and other symptoms often linked to traumatic brain injuries, and some have been so ill they have left government employment.

The first cases were reported in 2016 at the US Embassy in Cuba, and these were followed by similar reports from diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel in the Washington DC area and around the world.

Trump used Havana syndrome to justify tougher sanctions on Cuba, diplomat says

The blame was first laid at Cuba’s door but authorities there denied any involvement.

After the report was published, Johana Tablada, deputy director of the US division of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press: “We’re not surprised”.

She said that Donald Trump had used the syndrome as an excuse to strengthen sanctions against Cuba while he was president.

She added: “Very harsh measures were taken against our people in Cuba and in the United States that harmed Cuban families, exchanges between our countries (and) caused a downward spiral (of ties) that was practically irreversible.”

Report not transparent enough, lawyer says

Mark Zaid, a lawyer for more than two dozen people who have reported injuries, criticised the report.

He said: “Until the shrouds of secrecy are lifted and the analysis that led to today’s assertions are available and subject to proper challenge, the alleged conclusions are substantively worthless,” he said.

“But the damage it has caused to the morale of the victims, particularly by deflecting from the government’s failure to evaluate all the evidence, is real and must be condemned.”

‘Nothing is more important than the health and wellbeing of our workforce’

Maher Bitar, the White House National Security Council’s senior director for intelligence programs, said: “Nothing is more important than the health and wellbeing of our workforce.

“Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, we have focused on ensuring that our colleagues have access to the care and support they need.”

CIA Director William Burns in a statement. “We will continue to remain alert to any risks to the health and wellbeing of agency officers, to ensure access to care, and to provide officers the compassion and respect they deserve.”

There is also a separate Pentagon review into Havana syndrome that is ongoing.

US

Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Published

6 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Two dead after multiple people were injured in shooting at church in Kentucky

Two people are dead after multiple people were injured in shootings in Kentucky, the state’s governor has said.

Andy Beshear said the suspect had also been killed following the shooting at Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington.

A state trooper was earlier shot at Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County on Sunday morning, the Lexington Herald-Leader local newspaper reports.

Mr Beshear has said a state trooper “from the initial stop” and people who were injured in the church shooting are “being treated at a nearby hospital”.

The extent of the injuries is not immediately known.

State troopers and the Lexington Police Department had caught up with the suspect at the church following the shooting in Fayette County, according to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

Mr Beshear said: “Please pray for everyone affected by these senseless acts of violence, and let’s give thanks for the swift response by the Lexington Police Department and Kentucky State Police.”

The Blue Grass Airport posted on X at 1pm local time (6pm UK time) that a law enforcement investigation was impacting a portion of an airport road, but that all flights and operations were now proceeding normally.

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US

Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US citizenship

Published

18 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship

Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”

He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.

O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.

“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.

“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.

She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.

O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.

This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.

But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.

Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.

“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.

“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”

US

Farmer becomes first person to die during Trump’s ICE raids

Published

21 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Farmer becomes first person to die during Trump's ICE raids

A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.

Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.

His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.

The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.

“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.

Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.

Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.

Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.

“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.

“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”

Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.

In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.

“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.