The director of the CIA issued a bold warning to the top brass of Russia's two top intelligence agencies earlier this month, saying that there will be 'consequences' if the US government finds out that they are behind the hundreds of Havana Syndrome cases afflicting US diplomats and spies across the globe.
The brazen threat, delivered by CIA Director William J. Burns during a recent visit to Moscow's Kremlin this month, was directed at the country's foremost intelligence agencies, the Federal Security Service, or the FSB, and the Foreign Intelligence Service - the SVR.
During the visit, the CIA chief further told his Kemlin counterparts that causing crippling aliments among US personnel and their family members would be unacceptable for a 'professional intelligence service,' US officials who witnessed the exchange told The Washington Post, speaking under the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the conversation.
CIA chief William J. Burns issued a bold warning to the top brass of Russia's two top intelligence agencies earlier this month, saying there will be 'consequences' if the US finds out they are behind the hundreds of Havana Syndrome cases afflicting US diplomats and spies
Burns' warning did not explicitly state that Russia was behind the still-largely unknown syndrome, which first surfaced at the US embassy in Havana in 2016 and has since afflicted more than 200 Americans around the world, but the fact that the CIA head worded the warning with the conditional 'if,' suggests that the US government is still confounded as to the cause of the unusual incidents.
With that said, the director's decision to issue such a comment suggests Burns' organization has a deep-rooted suspicion of the country's culpability in regards to the hundreds of unresolved cases of supposed Havana sufferers - with the vast majority of them being US diplomats, spies, and others employed by the US government.
What's more, many of them started to become stricken with symptoms while stationed overseas.
The FBI has acknowledged for the first time that some of its agents may be suffering from Havana Syndrome in an official statement
The revelation regarding Burn's declaration comes as the FBI acknowledged for the first time Tuesday that some of its agents may be suffering from the syndrome, after an ex-FBI staffer reportedly complained to the federal body that he was experiencing symptoms concurrent with the mysterious affliction.
According to NBC News, the agent wrote to the bureau in a letter earlier this year that he had started experiencing the symptoms nearly a decade ago, after being sent on a mission to a country near Russia.
In the letter, the unnamed ex-agent reportedly attested that his mysterious malady, which he said included intense migraines, dizziness, and fatigue, materialized while he was stationed overseas, in the also-unnamed country.
The outlet since obtained a series of internal emails from the bureau showing their response to the complaint, including one from last month, where the bureau responded to their former staffer.
Alleged Havana Syndrome attacks on people employed by the federal government, including FBI agents, spies, and diplomats, continue to grow across the world
'Unfortunately, the FBI is not authorized to give any medical advice and there are not any medical programs in place for current and/or retired employees,' an excerpt from the email, sent from a senior staffer at the bureau, read.
When questioned about the response by the outlet, the FBI responded in the form of an official statement confirming that the email indeed came from an official from their agency.
In the statement, a bureau spokesperson reportedly asserted that the email in question was merely 'one part of a larger exchange taken out of context and does not reflect the FBI's commitment to supporting its personnel, both current and former.'
The syndrome first surfaced at the US embassy in Havana, when government employees suddenly found themselves afflicted with the mysterious malady
The statement added that while the FBI 'does not have the authority to provide direct medical treatment, we now have a process to guide current and former employees to the interagency medical treatment and evaluation options that are available to them.'
