One more U.S. Embassy employee in Havana has been affected by mysterious health incidents, the State Department said.
State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the second of two Americans recently evacuated from Cuba was “medically confirmed” Thursday to have experienced effects “similar to those reported by other members of the U.S. Havana diplomatic community.”
The other evacuee was confirmed to have experienced similar symptoms a week ago.
The latest case brings to 26 the number of Americans affected by the mystery ailment in Cuba.
The United States has said that the Cuba incidents started in late 2016. The State Department calls them “specific attacks” but has not said what caused them or who was behind them. Cuba has adamantly denied involvement or knowledge.
Initial speculation centered on some type of sonic attack owing to strange sounds heard by those affected, but an interim FBI report in January found no evidence that sound waves could have caused the damage, The Associated Press reported.
The new confirmation comes less than a month after the U.S. renewed demands on Cuba to determine the source of the “attacks” on U.S. diplomats. Cuba responded by once again denying any involvement or knowledge of any such attacks.
A U.S. employee at a consulate in Guangzhou, China, has also reported experiencing similar symptoms recently.
The State Department issued a health warning after the employee in China reported experiencing “subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure” and was diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described it as a “serious medical incident.”
