A former US military investigator believes that the incidents of health known as the “Havana syndrome” have been the result of attacks by Russia, according to an investigation broadcast by the “60 Minutes” program.
The report is the result of a joint investigation by the CBS network of television, the Russian medium The Insider and the German magazine The mirror.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Greg Edgreen, who handled the Pentagon investigation into what the United States officially describes as “abnormal health incidents”said on the program ’60 Minutes’ that the affected officials were attacked by Russia.
Ms de 200 American diplomats and family members stationed in different countries have suffered symptoms of the so-called “Havana syndrome”, because it was first detected in 2016 in the Cuban capital, such as dizziness, nausea, hearing problems or migraines.
Just over a year ago, US intelligence concluded that it was “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary would cause the so-called “Havana syndrome.”
Edgreen told CBS that, in the investigation, the criteria for validating the tests was very strict because the government does not want to accept realities as the possible failure in their duty to protect Americans.
“Unfortunately, I cannot give the details, because it is classified information,” he added. “But I can tell you that from very early on (in the investigation) I began to focus on Moscow.”
Edgreen stated that affected officials They have excelled in their work and “there was consistently a Russian link.”
According to the former military man, “they worked against Russia, focused on Russia, and they did it extremely well.”
The then president of the United States, Donald Trump (2017-2021), decided following the detection of these health incidents suspend consular services in Havana in 2017 and reduce diplomatic personnel on the island to a minimum.
Havana has denied any responsibility and launched a commission of experts that he found no scientific or criminal evidence linking the symptoms to possible sonic attacks, microwaves, or other deliberate action.
The Insider, for its part, published the testimony of Mar Polymeropoulos, identified as a former operations officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with assignments in places like Baghdad and Kabuhim, and that he suffered symptoms related to “Havana syndrome” after a trip to Moscow in 2017.
The symptoms, according to this report, corresponded to the “Havana syndrome”, and for years Polymeropoulos had to struggle with his employer to access the medical care that his condition required.
’60 Minutes’ indicated that, according to several of its informants, last year, when US President Joe Biden attended a NATO summit in Lithuania, a senior Pentagon official ill
Edgreen said that, in his opinion, “that indicates that there are no barriers to what Moscow will do, or who to attack, and that if we don’t deal with this, the problem will get worse.”