The CIA has said the strange and mysterious symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are not as a the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power aimed at hundreds of U.S. diplomats and spies.
There have been hundreds of cases involving possible symptoms of the said syndrome of which the agency now claim to have found alternative explanations in all but about two dozen cases.
In the unresolved case, the agency has not been able to rule out foreign actors involvement including the original cases that began at the U.S. Embassy in Havana beginning in 2016.
Instead, the Biden administration has simply termed the symptoms as 'anomalous health incidents'.
The CIA has declined to comment.
The CIA has said the strange and mysterious symptoms are not as a the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power (file photo of the lobby of the CIA in Langley, Virginia)
The syndrome first surfaced at the US embassy in Havana, when government employees suddenly found themselves afflicted with the mysterious malady
For several years, it had widely been accepted that the symptoms of a brain injury were being caused by Russia or some other foreign power that was deliberately targeting Americans around the world.
The aim, it was believed, was in order to cause them harm or to collect intelligence.
That theory has now been deemed to be completely unfounded according to sources speaking to NBC News.
Those who have experienced Havana Syndrome have expressed disappointment that the Agency appears to have now dismissed the claims.
Some have also suggested the CIA's findings may not be the end of the matter on the subject given that it did not coordinate with other intelligence agencies including the Defense Department.
Symptoms of Havana Syndrome include loud noise, ear pain, intense head pressure or vibration, dizziness, visual problems, and cognitive difficulties
There are still calls for more research to take place into what may have happened despite the ruling out of hundreds of cases.
'Even two dozen cases is a lot of cases if Americans were attacked,' one person who was briefed on the findings said.
Symptoms of Havana Syndrome include loud noise, ear pain, intense head pressure or vibration, dizziness, visual problems, and cognitive difficulties, and many still continue to experience these or other health problems, according to a 2020 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report.
The report assessed the symptoms to be 'consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy.'
Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms.
But it's unclear if victims sustain any neurological damage or any longterm damage and it's unclear what might have caused that damage.
U.S. intelligence officials once points the blame at Russia in what they believed to have been deliberate attacks on diplomats and CIA officers working abroad.
But in the three years since that time, spy agencies have not found enough evidence that would pinpoint the cause or culprits behind the incidents.
The 2020 report details how observed brain injuries were consistent with the effects of directed microwave energy, which the report also said that Russia had long been studying.
Russia has consistently denied any involvement.
It leaves scientists and government officials puzzled about certain about who might have been behind the attacks which started in late 2016.
It's know known if the symptoms could have been caused inadvertently by surveillance equipment - or if the incidents were caused by a mysterious sonic weapon.
Some doubt its existence, however, and call it 'mass hysteria.'
The leading theory behind the cause of the suddenly surfaced syndrome starts with a device that scientists say Russia could have invented during the Cold War, which was later used to spy on US embassies by collecting data from laptops and cell phones.
However, experts now theorize that a hostile country - like Russia or China - may have turned this microwave technology into a weapon.
Both countries deny any involvement in any of the incidents relating to the mysterious syndrome and U.S. officials now say they cannot say for sure that the attacks were intentional attacks or the result of human activity.
At least one of the three American serving at the consulate in Geneva (pictured) believed to be inflicted had to be medevacked from Switzerland to the U.S. for treatment in a 2021 incident
In private, the CIA Director William Burns had described the various as 'attacks' yet he together with the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, have endorsed the latest reports findings.
There are likely to be more reports on Havana syndrome in the coming months.
The White House National Security Council has put together a task force that is examining Havana Syndrome and it it is expected to report shortly.
The Defense Department, FBI and the State Department are also working on their own
