Did covert Cuban spy gear cause US and Canadian diplomats to lose their hearing?
One US embassy worker suffered permanent deafness, reportedly as a result of ‘sonic equipment’ installed by Cuban spies
It is a mysterious episode seemingly ripped from the pages of a Cold War spy novel.
In recent months, several US and Canadian diplomats posted in Havana have reported experiencing unusual medical symptoms, including impaired hearing, sometimes so severe that they had to return home.
News of the ailments surfaced this week when the State Department announced that it had expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington in retaliation for an “incident” in Havana that harmed US personnel there with “physical symptoms”.
That came despite vastly improved relations between Washington and Havana since restoration of diplomatic relations under former President Barack Obama.
Canadian officials “are aware of unusual symptoms affecting Canadian and US diplomatic personnel and their families in Havana,” the Canadian global affairs ministry said in a statement.