Lawyer: ‘Havana syndrome’ patients feel ‘betrayed’

Patients that have been affected by “Havana syndrome” feel “betrayed” after a U.S. intelligence report that concluded the condition was not caused by a foreign adversary was made public this week, according to an attorney representing the patients.

“They feel betrayed, very much betrayed,” attorny Mark Zaid said on CNN on Thursday.

A report by the U.S. intelligence community concluded that it was unlikely that a foreign government was responsible for anomalous health incidents (AHI) that were affecting intelligence and diplomatic officials around the world. 

The term was coined after employees at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 reported illnesses, ranging from headaches to loss of balance and other neurological difficulties. Since then, officials have reported similar illnesses in a number of cities around the globe.

A popular theory surrounding the incidents is that the health ailments were the results of some type of interference by a foreign government.

But the intelligence report, conducted by several agencies for the Director of National Intelligence, concluded that the AHI were most likely not the result of foreign actions, concluding there was no evidence that a weapon that would cause such illnesses was in the possession of a U.S. adversary.

“Available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of U.S. adversaries in causing the reported incidents,” the redacted report states. “There is no credible evidence that a foreign adversary has a weapon or device that is causing AHIs.”

But Zaid argued that there was evidence that “goes well beyond what the public knows.”

“They feel that this has been completely ignored and whitewashed,” Zaid said. “This is something we’re going to continue to push until we get much deeper into the truth.”

Zaid said he and his clients have sued to obtain the full, unredacted report from the federal government.