Cuba Urges US to Restore Relations After “Havana Syndrome” Accusations Debunked

Cuba has urged the United States to re-staff its embassies and restore the relationship between the two nations after a CIA investigation found no evidence of Cuban state involvement in the mysterious ailment that 24 US diplomats suffered during their stay on the island.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío Domínguez, a vice minister at Cuba’s foreign ministry, told CNN that Cuba was punished without justification, after the CIA’s interim report made it clear that so-called ‘Havana Syndrome’ could not have been caused by any foreign adversary.

In 2017, dozens of US diplomats in the US embassy in Havana complained of migraines, nausea, lapses in memory, and dizziness. The sickness was later dubbed Havana Syndrome, and initial explanations were that a “sonic attack” may have been behind the illnesses.

Soon after the incident, the White House called for an investigation and began reducing staff at all its embassies across the Caribbean island. Fifteen Cuban diplomats were also ejected from the US. The Donald Trump administration even warned US citizens not to travel to the island.

The CIA report, according to reports, stated that the sickness experienced by the US diplomatic staff could have been caused by “undiagnosed medical conditions” or other factors, including environmental changes.

“The logical step by the US government with this evidence, with what they know now would be to put aside the excuse used at the time about attacks and then normalize the functioning and the operating of their embassy in Havana and to normalize our embassy in Washington,” reported CNN, quoting Cossío.