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U.S. to Pull More Diplomats Out of Cuba After Attacks Illnesses at U.S. Embassy in Havana Prompt Evacuation of More Diplomats
(about 7 hours later)
WASHINGTON — The State Department announced on Friday that it is pulling more than half of its staff out of the American embassy in Havana in the wake of mysterious attacks that have injured 21 people associated with the embassy. WASHINGTON — It started as a medical mystery. It then was determined to have been the result of a mysterious attack. And on Friday, the illness that has affected 21 diplomats at the American Embassy in Havana, with symptoms including hearing loss and cognitive difficulties, threatened the future of Cuban-American relations.
Some of those attacked have suffered significant injuries, with symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance and visual problems, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping. But despite an intensive investigation by the F.B.I., the cause and perpetrators of the attacks remain a mystery, with some experts speculating that some kind of sonic weapon or faulty surveillance device may have been at fault. With no guarantee that the Cuban government could protect American diplomats, the State Department announced that it was withdrawing all nonessential personnel from the embassy.
The department will also issue an advisory warning to American citizens who travel to Cuba that they could face unusual risks. Some of the attacks occurred in hotels where State Department employees were temporarily staying, leading officials to worry that tourists and others could be affected. But there is no evidence so far that tourists or hotel employees have been affected, according to the State Department. In a statement, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson repeated the American assertion that the embassy personnel were deliberately targeted. But he did not blame Cuba, and officials held out the possibility that a third party might have been responsible. “Cuba has told us it will continue to investigate these attacks, and we will continue to cooperate with them in this effort,” Mr. Tillerson said.
“The decision to reduce our diplomatic presence in Havana was made to ensure the safety of our personnel,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement. “We maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba, and our work in Cuba continues to be guided by the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. Cuba has told us it will continue to investigate these attacks and we will continue to cooperate with them in this effort.” But the Trump administration, which has already expelled two Cuban diplomats over the illnesses, is considering further retaliatory steps, according to Congressional staff briefed by administration officials. And the State Department issued an advisory that Americans should not to travel to Cuba. Because some of the attacks occurred in hotels where State Department employees were temporarily staying, officials said they worried that tourists and others could be affected.
State Department officials have decided they will not punish Cuba by forcing the country to reduce its own diplomatic staff in Washington, a decision that was immediately attacked by Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida who fiercely opposed President Barack Obama’s decision to improve ties with Cuba. The Cuban government responded with dismay while promising to continue to cooperate in the investigation, calling Friday’s decision “hasty” and one that “will affect the bilateral relations.”
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, said punitive measures would only play into the hands of the attackers. “Whoever is doing this obviously is trying to disrupt the normalization process between the United States and Cuba,” Mr. Leahy said. “Someone or some government is trying to reverse that process. While there is no evidence so far that tourists or hotel employees have been affected, the government’s travel warning could cripple Cuba’s burgeoning tourism industry if tour operators, hotel and cruise line companies or their insurers decide that their employees and customers could be at risk.
Friday’s announcement came just three days after Mr. Tillerson met with Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s foreign minister, in Washington, in a meeting that the Cuban government requested. That meeting failed to persuade Mr. Tillerson that the Cubans could guarantee the safety of the remaining American employees in Havana, prompting him to decide to pull much of the embassy staff. “Right now, the most important constituency of determining the impact of this is not members of Congress or pundits; it’s the insurance companies,” said John Kavulich, the president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. “If the carriers withdraw coverage because of this warning, then everything could shut down there almost overnight.”
The staff remaining will carry out only emergency services, such as tasks to help United States citizens in need. Routine visa functions for Cuban citizens will no longer be conducted in Havana. Officials may soon direct Cubans seeking to travel to the United States to apply for visas at embassies or consulates in other countries. The timing of Mr. Tillerson’s decision and its potential fallout promises to write yet another chapter in an extraordinary history between the two countries that has included the explosion of the American battleship Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898, the Bay of Pigs in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
American officials will continue to meet with their Cuban counterparts — but not in Cuba — until the cause of the attacks is uncovered, officials said. The most recent attack occurred in August. Then, in 2014, after decades of frosty relations, constant sniping and severed diplomatic relations, President Barack Obama reversed course and reached an agreement with President Raúl Castro of Cuba to reopen embassies in the countries’ respective capitals and begin to encourage nascent tourism and business ties.
Mr. Tillerson had been considering closing the embassy, which had only recently reopened after decades of frosty relations between the two countries. But one of the reasons Mr. Tillerson will keep it open is a growing belief among American officials that the Cuban government was probably not responsible for the attacks. But the rapprochement was deeply unpopular among a powerful segment of Cuban émigrés in Florida, and Mr. Trump in his campaign vowed to reverse what he called a “terrible and misguided deal.” Once in office, Mr. Trump did undo crucial pieces of Mr. Obama’s policy, but kept in place others that were broadly popular, such as allowing direct flights and cruises between the United States and Cuba, and rules making it easier for American companies to do business in Cuba.
A former senior American official said there was information that the Cubans were rattled by what had happened and were desperate to find the cause. A third country may have been responsible, the official said. On Capitol Hill, a debate began immediately over whether Mr. Tillerson acted too quickly or not quickly enough. He has known since a few days after his confirmation on Feb. 1 that diplomats in Havana were becoming ill, but took until Friday to reduce the diplomatic and Marine Corps contingent there to 27.
The official said that the F.B.I. had visited the homes of diplomats in Cuba and had not been able to detect anything. The F.B.I. has also reviewed security footage of the homes and found nothing suspicious. The F.B.I. has been unable to duplicate the effects the diplomats have experienced in a lab. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, who fiercely opposed Mr. Obama’s decision to improve ties with Cuba, questioned the decision not to punish Cuba more forcefully.
That the Cubans offered to let the F.B.I. go to Havana and investigate represented a rare level of openness and was seen as yet another indicator that the Cubans themselves have been shaken by the incident. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said punitive measures would only play into the hands of the attackers. “Whoever is doing this obviously is trying to disrupt the normalization process between the United States and Cuba,” Mr. Leahy said. “Someone or some government is trying to reverse that process.”
American officials have speculated that the problems may have resulted from some sort of sonic attack or perhaps a surveillance operation gone wrong. The attack may have been the work of a country like Russia or rogue government unit. The fact that a Canadian diplomat was also affected has deepened the mystery. Relations between Canada and Cuba have long been warm. A host of Latin American scholars denounced the State Department’s travel advisory as a cynical ploy to undo the last vestiges of the Obama administration’s rapprochement with Cuba. “The fact remains that Cuba is the safest place in Latin America for foreigners to visit,” said Eric Zolov, a Cuban expert at Stony Brook University. “Crime is exceptionally low and tourism is coveted by the government.”
The Trump administration has already reversed crucial pieces of what President Trump has called a “terrible and misguided deal” with Cuba that was struck during the Obama administration by reinstating travel and commercial restrictions on Cuba. President Trump was unapologetic about the action on Friday, saying that “some very bad things happened in Cuba.”
But the administration seems to have little appetite for entirely undoing other measures that are broadly popular, including among Republicans, such as allowing direct flights and cruises between the United States and Cuba, and rules making it easier for American companies to do business in Cuba. But one reason Mr. Tillerson decided to keep the embassy open is a growing belief among American officials that the Cuban government was probably not responsible for them.
Mr. Tillerson has long said that the safety of American diplomats is his top priority, and he is known to start every meeting of his senior staff by asking whether everyone is safe. However, nearly nine months into his tenure, Mr. Tillerson has yet to get someone nominated to lead the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, part of the State Department charged with safeguarding American diplomats around the world. A former senior American official said that there was information that the Cubans were rattled by what had happened and were desperate to find the cause. The fact that a Canadian diplomat was also affected has deepened the mystery. Relations between Canada and Cuba have long been warm.
The former senior official said that F.B.I. agents who had been allowed entry to Cuba had visited the homes of the American diplomats and had not been able to detect anything. The F.B.I. has also reviewed security footage of the homes and found nothing suspicious, and the agency has been unable to duplicate the effects the diplomats have experienced in a lab.
That the Cubans offered to let the F.B.I. go to Havana and investigate was a rare level of openness and was seen as yet another indicator that the Cubans themselves have been shaken by the episode.
Of the 21 people who have become ill, 17 were government employees and four were spouses. Three of the spouses worked at the embassy. For some, the injuries appear permanent, with symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance and visual problems, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping. But despite an intensive investigation by the F.B.I., the cause and perpetrators of the attacks remain a mystery.
Some of those affected reported hearing odd sounds in particular rooms of their homes, leading some experts to speculate that some kind of sonic weapon or faulty surveillance device may have been at fault.
“Just looking at the symptoms, it sounds like they’ve all had traumatic brain injuries like a concussion or a series of minor head injuries even though we know they haven’t,” said Dr. Martin Gizzi, a neurologist in Portland, Ore., who is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.
Dr. Gizzi said neither ultrasonic nor subsonic waves have been known to produce such injuries surreptitiously. Among the other possibilities are a virus, poison or radiation, he said.
Friday’s announcement came three days after Mr. Tillerson met with Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba’s foreign minister, in Washington, in a meeting that the Cuban government requested. That meeting did not convince Mr. Tillerson that the Cubans could guarantee the safety of the remaining American employees in Havana, prompting the decision to pull much of the embassy staff.
The remaining staff will carry out only emergency services, such as helping American citizens in need. Routine visa functions for Cuban citizens will no longer be conducted in Havana. Officials may soon direct Cubans seeking to travel to the United States to apply for visas at embassies or consulates in other countries.
American officials will continue to meet with their Cuban counterparts — but not in Cuba — until the cause of the attacks is uncovered, officials said.
In August, Heather Nauert, the State Department’s spokeswoman, said that the department was confident that the attacks were no longer occurring. But on Friday, officials conceded that the remaining 27 personnel in Havana were still at risk.