Reporter: Bobby Simbida
American-Cuban relations were strained by the accusations levelled at the cuban government regarding these attacks.
In late September of 2017, the United States ordered its Embassy staff to withdrawal from Cuba due to supposed recurring “sonic attacks” against their Embassy building in Havana. The staff began to experience blaring headaches and hearing loss, as well as balance, vision, memory and speech problems in the weeks following when the attacks were believed to have started. Most recently, doctors treating the victims found abnormal changes in the white matter parts of the brain that allows different parts of the brain to communicate. Luckily, most patients recovered in a few days after treatment. The total victim count following the attacks was 24 people.
President Donald Trump’s administration is yet to determine the culprit of these attacks, or the type of weapon used, however, it is believed that if the President thought Raul Castro’s government was to blame, relations with Cuba would have been promptly cut. Instead the President ordered the Embassy to be renovated and equipped with new shutters in order to block out sonic attacks in the future, and has replaced many of the staff he recalled home.
While many people are skeptical and believe Cuba is the most likely culprit, the Cuban government has denied any involvement whatsoever in this incident, even going so far as to call President Trump’s claims of their involvement “ deliberate lies”. They are sticking by their claims and have even launched their own investigation into these matters. The result of their investigation was to declare the US allegations “scientifically impossible”, as stated by Cuban experts, and the Cuban government urged the US to release what they had found.
The US government is still skeptical but has kept relations with Cuba. Government officials will be evaluated and blood work will taken in order to gather data that will be referenced later after spending time at the Embassy. The cause, or method, of these attacks remain unknown for now, as well as the consequences in the future for the victims. They are expected to be monitored for the rest of their lives.
