In a new intelligence assessment, the CIA has ruled out that the mysterious symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power aimed at hundreds of American diplomats and spies, six people briefed on the matter tell NBC News.
In about two dozen cases, the agency can’t rule out foreign involvement, including many of the cases that originated at the U.S. embassy in Havana beginning in 2016. Another group of cases is considered unresolved. But in hundreds of other cases of possible symptoms, the agency has found plausible, alternate explanations, the sources said.
The CIA declined to comment.
More Havana Syndrome Coverage
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
The idea that widespread brain injuries symptoms have been caused by Russia or another foreign power targeting Americans around the world, either to harm them or to collect intelligence, has been deemed unfounded, the sources said.
People who have experienced possible Havana Syndrome symptoms and have been briefed on the assessment have expressed deep disappointment, the sources said. Some have pointed out that the CIA’s findings are considered an interim assessment and were not coordinated with other agencies of government, including the Department of Defense.
Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.
