After a medical review, U.S. officials concluded that another U.S. diplomat in Cuba has suffered symptoms of a possible sonic attack.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Thursday: “On June 21, following a comprehensive medical evaluation, one U.S. diplomat working at the U.S. embassy, Havana, was medically confirmed to have experienced health effects similar to those that were reported by members of the U.S. Havana diplomatic community. This is the first medically confirmed case in Havana since August of 2017. The number of Americans now affected is 25.”
The Washington Free Beacon first reported about another possible sonic attack.
.@StateDeptSpox Heather Nauert just confirmed during a press briefing the @freebeacon scoop that another U.S. employee has become a victim of a #sonicattack in #Cuba https://t.co/KnkDq1pp0Q
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) June 21, 2018
The diplomat was evacuated to the U.S. and an additional employee is still being assessed.
In early June, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement addressing the “unexplained health incidents” afflicting U.S. personnel overseas.
He confirmed that 24 U.S. personnel and their family members serving in Cuba were “medically confirmed as having symptoms and clinical findings similar to those noted following concussion or minor traumatic brain injury.”
A U.S. government personnel serving in China was also confirmed with similar findings.
Pompeo reported that these effects are related to “unidentified auditory sensations.”
He directed a task force to respond to the incidents.
I have directed Deputy Secretary Sullivan to establish the Health Incidents Response Task Force to coordinate multi-agency response to the unexplained health incidents that have affected a number of U.S. government personnel and family stationed overseas. https://t.co/cYDxI7Cx0Y
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 6, 2018
In May, the U.S. Embassy in Bejing and the U.S. State Department confirmed that one U.S. personnel in Guangzhou, China, was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury possibly caused by a sonic attack.
After the incident, a health alert was issued to U.S. citizens in China. The alert warned citizens to seek immediate medical attention if experiencing a number of symptoms or “auditory or sensory phenomena.” The alert also cautioned afflicted individuals not to “attempt to locate the source of any unidentified auditory sensation” and instead evacuate the area.
The State Department stated that “a number of” U.S. personnel may have suffered symptoms of possible sonic attacks, and “at least two more” U.S. personnel were evacuated from China.
Pompeo recently criticized Cuba and China, among other countries, for their poor human rights standards.
Many members of the #HumanRightsCouncil – such as #China, #Cuba, #Venezuela, #Burundi & #Congo – don’t uphold the highest standards of human rights. Instead, they & others use their membership to shield themselves from the attention they deserve. pic.twitter.com/gFfPwt5Hoo
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 20, 2018
Last August, U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana were believed to have been possibly attacked by a sonic weapon.
After months of attacks from November 2016 until spring 2017, more than 10 U.S. diplomats and their family members received treatment for symptoms related to possible sonic attacks, CNN reported.
Two of the diplomats were afflicted by long-term injuries, including hearing loss. Other diplomats chose to return to the U.S. early due to the harassment.
U.S. officials said that a possible sonic weapon was deployed outside the range of audible sound, causing immediate physical effects such as nausea, headaches and hearing loss.
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said at the time: “We hold the Cuban authorities responsible for finding out who is carrying out these health attacks on not just our diplomats but, as you’ve seen now, there are other cases with other diplomats involved.”
