Spies, active-duty defense,  , FBI , agencies, officials and at least 15 youngsters are among the 334 Americans who have qualified to find treatment for Havana Syndrome in particular military health facilities — figures that conflict with an earlier analysis by , U. S.  , intelligence agencies minimizing the problem.
The new information was published Monday in a research conducted by the , U. S.  , Government Accountability Office between , February 2023 , and June this year, which examined the obstacles people face accessing treatment in the military health program and whether the , Department of Defense , has facilitated it, as required by federal laws.
The company, which conducts reviews and investigations for the , U. S. Congress, concluded that Americans affected by these also unexpected cases of what the state refers to as “anomalous wellness incidents” struggled to find appropriate care, confirming earlier reports by the , Miami Herald , that some had been denied health treatment by their agencies and suffered retaliation.
Nearly half of the 65 patients interviewed told investigators that they had been” stigmatized by their employer” after reporting one of these incidents, which “had a negative impact on their career,” according to the report.
Some were pulled from their work assignments, referred to psychologists, had their security clearances delayed, were placed on leave or lost their jobs, the report says. According to the document, they attributed these encounters to” their agencies not believing them.”
The new report also includes previously undisclosed details about the Americans affected by these mysterious incidents, which have taken place on , U. S.  , soil, in , Cuba , and several countries since at least 2014. The study, commissioned by the , Senate , in 2022, also raises new questions about how the , U. S.  , government and, in particular, the intelligence community have handled the investigation.
As of , January 2024, 334 people, including active-duty military personnel, current and former federal employees from other agencies, and their family members, had qualified for care in the military health system. According to , Department of Defense , estimates cited in the report, at least 15 children had qualified for treatment as of , December 2023.
The total number of people affected in these mysterious events is likely higher because some were never treated in military health facilities, including many of those affected in , Havana , between 2016 and 2017.
Spies, diplomats, FBI agents targeted
Most of the officials affected come from , U. S.  , spy agencies and the , Department of Defense.
As of April this year, 257 non-military current and former government employees and family members had qualified for treatment, 88 of whom came from the , Central Intelligence Agency , and the , Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the report says.
Another 74 were referred by the , Department of Defense, including employees of intelligence agencies, such as the , Defense Intelligence Agency, the , National Security Agency, and the , National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as well as civilian employees from the military services.
The list includes 28 people referred by the , FBI, 44 by the , State Department , and 26 from the Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture, the , National Security Council, and the , United States Agency for International Development.
The report does not include an exact number of active and former military affected because the focus was on civilian access to the military health service, said , Kimberly Gianopoulos, managing director for International Affairs and Trade at the , U. S.  , Government Accountability Office.
The victims described having sensory disturbances from a specific location, including cerebral trauma, tinnitus, migraine, visual issues, and cognitive impairment.
The symptoms can be long-term and debilitating. At least one victim, CIA case officer  , Zoë Moulton, has died. She was given a cancer diagnosis in April, and she passed away.
Some organizations in the , U.S. , intelligence community concluded that it was unlikely that a foreign adversary was attacking , U.S. , personnel in a contentious analysis that some organizations conducted in March of last year.
However, a doctor must confirm a brain injury or other significant symptoms that a well-known cause or pre-existing condition cannot explain in order for a patient to receive treatment in the military health system. The Defense Intrepid Network for Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Health refers patients to centers in the .
The new report does not address the glaring contradiction between the high number of people who have received treatment and the official intelligence assessment.
It points out that the intelligence organizations that conducted the assessment had different levels of confidence in their conclusions and had gaps in the data that were gathered. It also mentions other government-funded studies that have reached different conclusions, including a report for the , Office of the Director of National Intelligence , that concluded that commercially available devices using radiofrequency or ultrasound technology could explain the Havana Syndrome.
According to the report, the subject’s research has been plagued by issues and yielded contradictory results because there is n’t a clear definition or explanation for these incidents.” A highly diverse population in terms of clinical symptoms and timing from incident to assessment, as well as the classified nature of the affected individuals ‘ circumstances and their work,”
Other scientists immediately questioned the findings after a team of researchers from the National Institutes of Health and National Institutes of Health announced in March that they did not find any signs of brain injuries in people who had been affected by the Havana Syndrome. A group of patients who were part of the study accused the study’s investigators of being biased, fabricating the data, and handling sensitive medical information improperly under the influence of the CIA. The , National Institutes of Health , halted the study and launched an investigation as a result.
A broken system
The congressional report depicts a system that was put in place to assist these patients but failed because of bureaucracy, communication issues, and a lacked trained staff.
The patients reported having trouble scheduling appointments because some of the patients gave up and sought treatment in the civilian sector, as well as a lack of information about the care process and treatment options once they were accepted at military health facilities. Staff shortages at the , Department of Defense , units that were supposed to deal with these patients left them without a point of contact for months, the report found.
” In six cases, agencies did not inform patients that the , Department of Defense , had approved their Military Health Service access until they specifically inquired”, the report says. These communication delays ranged from three weeks to more than a year.
According to the report, parents of children who were affected by these incidents expressed particular frustration because they had trouble setting appointments and had no idea where to go to work in the pediatric unit.
The , Department of Defense , has also been unable to maintain a proper registry of the patients who have received treatment in its facilities, the report found, hindering future research. The organization made all the recommendations in the study, including creating a new unit in charge of coordinate care for patients with Havana Syndrome.
However, the issues raised by the investigators transcend the scope of specialized medical care. Federal laws that protect those who are injured at work also help patients who are battling to recover compensation. and the 2021 Havana Act, which compensates victims of brain injuries sustained while serving in the military.
The report noted that some agencies, like the , Department of Defense, had not issued guidance on obtaining Havana Act payments. When the report was released on Monday, the organization made a similar suggestion.
A recent , U. S. Department of Labor , rule added more red tape to Havana Syndrome patients trying to get compensation for disability or death. The Department now mandates that” claims for conditions other than traumatic brain injuries will now require a District Medical Advisor’s review.” Both new and existing claims will be impacted by the rule.
” We need to prove a brain injury. However, we are instructed not to write brain injuries on the prescriptions we are given. And they’ll never accept anything else additional”, a Havana Syndrome patient who asked not to be named said. ” This how they’re making it go away”.
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