U.S. intelligence officer traveling with CIA chief in India reported “Havana Syndrome” symptoms
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Washington – An intelligence officer who was traveling in India with CIA Director William Burns this month reported symptoms associated with “Havana Syndrome“And sought immediate medical help, according to two people familiar with the matter. It is the second known case to occur during a senior U.S. official’s overseas trip and the latest of dozen new incidents reported this year alone.
Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Vietnam was temporary delayed after its delegation was told that at least one American official in Hanoi had suffered from symptoms related to the neurological disorder that first appeared in US personnel in Cuba years ago.
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Symptoms of Havana Syndrome, or “abnormal health incidents” as the Biden government calls them, include headaches, nausea and dizziness. In some cases, traumatic brain injury has been diagnosed. More than 200 American officials, including 100 intelligence officers, have so far reported suspected cases.
It is unclear whether the officer, who fell ill in India, was targeted because of a connection with the CIA director. The circumstances of the event are still being investigated. The incident was first reported by CNN.
According to earlier statements by the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence Service (ODNI), the US secret service has not yet determined whether a foreign actor is at fault. However, some US officials suspect the cases could be the result of attempted surveillance by foreign intelligence agencies using targeted energy technologies to attack officials’ electronic devices.
What is particularly worrying, according to current and former officials, is that suspected cases of the disease have not subsided and may even be multiply global. Some believe that the proximity of recent incidents to current senior administrative officials is an indication that the perpetrator is becoming bolder in choosing his targets.
A CIA spokesman told CBS News that while the agency does not comment on specific cases or personnel, it “has logs for people reporting possible abnormal health incidents that involve appropriate medical treatment.”
The Burns agency has tripled the number of medical staff dedicated to health incidents revived a task force commissioned to investigate its cause, “to bring an intensity and expertise to this topic, similar to our efforts to find it”. [Osama] bin Laden, ”said the spokesman.
The secret service has also convened a panel of experts, including senior CIA and ODNI officials, as well as external scientists and medical experts, to investigate possible causes.
CIA deputy director David Cohen said last week the agency had made some progress in identifying the origin of the incidents but had not yet given an analytical judgment on what might be behind it.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said last Wednesday sent a note to all Pentagon employees and contractors asking them to report suspected abnormal health episodes. The memo urged those with symptoms to “immediately” leave the area where they were first felt.
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