Canadian foreign service officials who say they and their families continue to struggle with “Havana syndrome” are outraged over Ottawa’s latest statement on the mysterious health incidents, saying it’s the latest betrayal in a years-long dispute over what happened to them.
Global News spoke with eight former diplomats who say they and their family members — including children — suffered mysterious symptoms including headaches, nosebleeds and loss of consciousness while serving at Canada’s mission in Cuba beginning in 2017.
All eight diplomats, who are among more than a dozen plaintiffs suing the federal government, say they continue to experience vision, balance and cognitive issues to this day. They spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing lawsuit and for fear of retribution.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement last week that it “remains committed to assisting staff members and dependants impacted by any health symptoms, with employee and dependant well-being remaining a departmental priority.”
Two of the former diplomats Global News spoke with said that claim, and Global Affairs Canada’s statement as a whole, is “bullshit.”
“They have offered zero support from day one. They’ve tried to make us feel like we were crazy,” said a former diplomat Global News is identifying as Diplomat 1.
“The best they’ve done is test us or test our children. But they’ve never provided any solutions, just testing, and I think their whole goal was to mis-prove us.”
Diplomat 2 added: “There has been no monitoring of symptoms. There has been no follow-up regarding children.”
The group said they and other adult diplomats who experienced the symptoms have also not been followed up with, and some have struggled to access worker’s compensation and even their salaries.
The allegations are included in the civil lawsuit against the government, which has denied negligence and alleged wrongdoing in its handling of the matter.
The government said Friday it stands by its 2024 report into Havana syndrome — referred to as “unexplained health incidents” — which “concluded that no definitive common cause could be identified.”
The report also said the incidents “were not the result of a malicious act of a foreign actor.”
That statement came a day after the leaders of America’s top intelligence and law enforcement agencies unanimously testified to Congress that the U.S. intelligence community’s assessments that reached similar conclusions should be retracted due to “flawed” and biased intelligence.
Those U.S. reports had assessed hundreds of Havana syndrome cases involving American foreign service, military and intelligence officials who reported the same symptoms as the Canadian diplomats.
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A new U.S. intelligence community review into the incidents and the resulting investigations is underway.
While the U.S. cases were first reported in Cuba starting in late 2016, they have also been reported in other countries, including Russia and China.
The Global Affairs Canada report said that pre-existing medical conditions, environmental factors and conventional illnesses “were likely to have been important factors in many of the symptoms experienced.”
The Canadian diplomats insist they were attacked due to their foreign service positions, noting they have differing medical histories and lived kilometres away from each other in Havana.
“It’s undeniable that there was something going on, that there was some kind of weapon being aimed at us,” said Diplomat 3 while describing their experience.
The diplomats said Cubans and other nationalities who lived in the same neighbourhoods as Canadian and American families who were affected did not experience any symptoms.
Those who sought their own medical assessments for themselves or their children, independent from government-funded testing at Dalhousie University, said doctors would be puzzled. The closest diagnosis they could provide was that the symptoms were similar to those of a concussion.
“You can’t have a concussion without being hit in the head,” Diplomat 4 said. “But no one was hit, no one was struck, no one crashed into anything.”
Those with children experiencing symptoms their parents say result from Havana syndrome, including learning disabilities, say they have stopping trying to argue with doctors.
“We’ll lie and say yes, (my child) suffered a concussion years ago and has chronic symptoms, and suddenly it makes sense to the doctors,” Diplomat 5 said.
While a majority of Canadians began reporting their symptoms in early-to-mid-2017, some cases occurred later that year or even years later.
By that time, those diplomats say, Global Affairs Canada was downplaying the extent of the cases, particularly whether children had been impacted. That included either changing the criteria for what counted as a confirmed case or outright dismissing victim statements, they say.
“Incentives in the department are such that you don’t rock the boat,” Diplomat 6 said.
“Anyone with health incidents or problems that are more than just an inconvenience, it’s not something that any managers want to deal with. So if you become a problem then you will be treated as such, with direct implications for your career.”
The government has denied those allegations in court, where the legal case has dragged on for seven years. Much of the material in the lawsuit has been marked as classified by the government, and the latest updated statement of claim remains under seal.
In congressional testimony last week, U.S. House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Rick Crawford accused members of the U.S. intelligence community of participating in a “cover-up.”
He pointed to recent media coverage, including a 60 Minutes investigation this month that alleged the U.S. government was aware of — and had acquired and tested — a Russian-built covert device that produces microwaves and may be responsible for the incidents.
Diplomats who spoke with Global News said the reports have validated their long-standing positions on what happened to them, and accused Ottawa of assisting the U.S. in hiding the truth.
“I think that Canada’s position was hitching behind the U.S. position, and they participated in the cover-up,” Diplomat 7 said.
They added there was cautious optimism that the newest revelations and acknowledgments in the U.S. may put pressure on Global Affairs Canada.
“I don’t think there’s ever going to come a point where they’re going to be honest about this unless they’re boxed up against the wall and they have no choice,” Diplomat 8 said.
“I don’t know what it takes to get there.”