In the era of fake news, reports of attacks against U.S. diplomats living in the country in which U.S. President Donald Trump wants to, “expose the crimes of the Castro regime,” brings up questions about the hypnotic mystery of the meaning of truth now emanating from Washington.
But it appears there are real U.S. victims and that’s what is most important.
The U.S. government has said personnel at the U.S. embassy in Havana were evacuated back home for hearing problems and other symptoms over the past six months.
According to the Associated Press, the diplomats’ hearing loss could have been linked to a sound-deafening attack emitted by some kind of sonic device meant for eavesdropping. The most likely location of exposure was at their residences.
Yesterday, Heather Nauert, speaking for the U.S. State Department, told reporters that the exact cause of the incidents was unclear. Americans serving in Cuba had returned to the U.S. for non life-threatening “medical reasons.” As a result, the U.S. on May 23 asked two Cuban officials in Washington to leave the country and they have done so.
The U.S. first learned of the issues at the embassy in late 2016, she said.
“We don’t have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents,” Nauert said. “It’s caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the U.S. government. We take those incidents very seriously, and there is an investigation currently under way.”
About five diplomats, including some spouses, had been affected, but no children were involved, US officials said.
“The safety and security of U.S. citizens is our top priority,” Nauert said, adding that “the Cuban government has a responsibility and obligation to protect our diplomats under the Geneva Convention.”
“The employees affected were not at the same place at the same time, but suffered a variety of physical symptoms since late 2016, which resembled concussions,” CNN reports.
“Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families,” the Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The Cuban government said it launched an investigation when it was made aware of the incident in February.
Given Trump’s aggresive posture against the Cuban regime – and thorn of his comments about Castro’s crimes – it does not add up that an apparent attack on U.S. diplomats in Cuba was not responded to with more vigor.
Certainly the public revelation of such shocking news would summon Trump’s twitter persona in action.
Perhaps there is an element of internal stife in Cuba that is craving combustion with an old enemy?
