(Newswire.net — October 2, 2017) –Due to mysterious health attacks on US diplomats in Cuba, The United States State Department decided to pull roughly 60 percent of its staff and family members out of Havana, Cuba, and only essential personnel will be left, senior U.S. officials say to CBS News.
A withdrawal comes after health problems of the U. S. diplomats in Cuba became more frequent. They have complained about symptoms such as hearing loss, headaches, fatigue, nausea, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, problems with concentration and common word recall.
The State Department says there are 21 medically confirmed cases in total, from 2016, when the incidents began, until August 2017, when the last incident was reported.
That’s why Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had met with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla. They talked about health problems of the U. S. diplomats in Cuba, but Parrilla denied that attacks were taking place.
After the meeting, Cuban officials said in a statement that ”the Cuban government has never perpetrated nor will it ever perpetrate attacks of any kind against diplomats.” They also said that ”there is no evidence so far of the cause or the origin of the health disorders reported by the U.S. diplomats.”
Cuba allowed U.S. investigators to inquire into the cases, which the Trump administration calling “attacks” rather than “incidents.”
The U.S. investigation is being led by the FBI.
Except for the withdrawal of a larger part of the Embassy staff and family members from Cuba, the United States is warning American travelers not to visit that country, because they could be harmed as some attacks have taken place in Cuban hotels
Also, the U.S. Embassy in Havana has halted, indefinitely, visa processing for prospective Cuban travelers to the United States.
The former U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have started to normalize relations between the two countries in late 2014. This was the first time after more than half a century, since relations between the two countries went sour interrupted by the Cold War, despite only 90 miles of separation.