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The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, assured this Friday that it is an “urgent priority” of his department to find out “who and what” are the “responsible” for the “Havana syndrome”, as the strange attacks against American diplomats in several countries of the world are known.
Blinken made the pledge when announcing a new director of the State Department’s special task force, Jonathan Moore, who will coordinate the investigation of these incidents, the latest reported cases of which have occurred at the U.S. embassy in Colombia.
“These anomalous health incidents have left our colleagues with profound damage (…) We will not relent until we find out who and what are responsible,” said Blinken in an appearance at the State Department, in which he used the official way of referring to these events.
Blinken urged officials and family members to report these “attacks” to facilitate the investigation, and noted that he had already met with several of them.
The “Havana syndrome,” the origin of which is unknown, causes symptoms similar to brain injuries, dizziness, headaches and lack of ability to concentrate.
“We will do everything absolutely possible to put an end to these incidents as soon as possible,” he added.
Although he did not offer specifics, Blinken said the State Department is working with “new technologies” to “more quickly and accurately assess a variety of potential causes of these incidents.”
In early October, President Joe Biden signed legislation dubbed the “Havana Act,” which states that the government has an obligation to assist those who have suffered these mysterious “attacks.”
More than 200 American diplomats and family members stationed in different countries have suffered symptoms of the so-called “Havana syndrome”.
The origin and the person responsible for these mysterious “attacks” is still unknown, although some experts suggest that radiofrequency energy may have been used.
As well as Cuba, where the first cases were detected in 2016 and 2017, there have been similar incidents in China, Austria, Germany, and even Washington.
In 2017, Trump accused Cuba’s dictatorship of being responsible for what authorities then described as “acoustic” or “sonic” attacks.
