The State Department sent three senior officials to Cuba this week unannounced to the Castro dictatorship to investigate the “sonic attacks” that have injured more than two dozen American diplomats in Havana. The sudden and surprise visit by senior American officials is hopefully a sign the Trump State Department is going to get serious about getting to the bottom of these insidious and harmful attacks on Americans.
Top State officials visit Cuba, probe new health “attacks”
Three senior State Department officials made an unannounced trip to Havana, Cuba, amid new concerns “attacks” injuring 26 U.S. government personnel and their families may be continuing.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs Francisco Palmieri, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Management William Todd, and Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Michael Evanoff traveled to Havana “to visit embassy personnel in light of new health attacks against U.S. diplomats at Embassy Havana,” a State Department spokesperson told CBS News.
They left Cuba Tuesday afternoon.
“The trip is an opportunity for our senior officials to gain deeper insight into the unique challenges posed by these attacks and their impact on U.S. operations on the ground,” the official said.
The State Department announced in June that two more U.S. diplomats had been injured at a diplomatic residence in Cuba in May.
“These are the first medically-confirmed cases in Havana since August 2017,” State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement June 28.
But a source close to the U.S. government’s investigation into the case told CBS News they weren’t surprised by the new incidents. The U.S. has still not publicly blamed any group for the incidents, but still says it’s holding Cuba responsible for the safety of its diplomats.
Victims continue to receive treatment at the University of Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the U.S.
The State Department says 19 private American citizens have reported similar symptoms following travel to Cuba.
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