HANOI (AP) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed several hours on Tuesday by the investigation of two possible cases of so-called Havana syndrome in Hanoi, officials said. the administration.
The investigation was in its early stages and officials felt it was safe for Harris to make his planned stop in Vietnam, which is part of his trip to Asia to reassure allies about US foreign policy in the midst of the war. tumultuous evacuation of US forces from Afghanistan. Havana Syndrome is the name of an eruption of mysterious health incidents first reported by U.S. diplomats and other government employees in the Cuban capital since 2016.
U.S. officials “take any reported incident of Havana syndrome seriously,” press secretary Jen Psaki said at a White House news conference last Tuesday.
U.S. officials had not yet confirmed the latest reported case and it did not involve anyone traveling with Harris, Psaki said. In light of the reports, “an assessment of the vice president’s safety was made and it was decided that he could continue traveling along with his staff,” Psaki said.
There have been two separate cases of unexplained health incidents reported by U.S. personnel in Vietnam over the past week, officials said. According to officials, it was unclear who was affected by the syndrome, although officials said it was not someone working for the vice president or the White House, who were not allowed to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.
The U.S. embassy in Hanoi issued a statement reporting that the delay was due to Harris ’office hearing a report of a“ possible possible recent health incident ”in the Vietnamese capital. The embassy did not provide any details, but said Harris’ office decided to travel to Hanoi “after careful evaluation.”
The U.S. government uses an “abnormal health incident” to describe the syndrome. Some of those affected report hearing a loud penetrating sound and feeling intense pressure on their face. Sometimes pain, nausea and dizziness followed.
Since then, unexplained health illnesses have been reported by Americans working in other countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia, and China. Several theories have been put forward to explain the incidents, including targeted microwaves or sound attack, perhaps as part of an espionage or piracy effort.
Particularly alarming are the revelations of at least two possible incidents in the Washington area, including a case near the White House in November in which an official reported dizziness. Administration officials have speculated on the possibility of Russia participating, a suggestion that Moscow has denied.
Harris was due to leave for Hanoi on Tuesday evening after delivering a speech in Singapore, punishing China for its forays into the South China Sea and discussing supply chain issues with business leaders.
But the flight was delayed more than three hours and Symis Sanders, Harris’ chief spokeswoman, declined to explain. Sanders, unsurprisingly, volunteered that Harris was “okay,” even though reporters had seen the vice president several times on Tuesday and had no reason to worry about his health.
Congress has sounded the alarm about these attacks, finding little bipartisan support in the House and Senate to continue government-wide research on the syndrome, the response and millions of people to support the follow-up and medical treatment of North American staff. American.
The Biden administration is facing new pressure to solve the mystery, as the number of reported cases of possible attacks has increased dramatically. But scientists and government officials are still unsure of who might have been behind some attacks, whether the symptoms could have been inadvertently caused by surveillance teams or whether the incidents were actually attacks.
What concludes an official review can have huge consequences. Confirmation that a U.S. adversary has been conducting harmful attacks on U.S. personnel would trigger requests for a forceful response from the United States.
For now, the administration ensures that the matter is taken seriously, investigates aggressively and will ensure that those affected have good medical care.
A key analysis identified “pulsed and directed radio frequency energy” as the most plausible culprit. Published in December by the National Academy of Sciences, the report states that a radio frequency attack could alter brain function without causing “serious structural damage.” But the group could not draw a definitive conclusion on how the American personnel could have been run over.
And a 2018 State Department declassified report mentioned “the lack of senior leaders, ineffective communications, and systemic disorganization” in response to the Havana cases. The report says “the cause of the injuries is currently unknown.” The paper was published by the National Security Archive of George Washington University.
Chris Miller, the acting Secretary of Defense in the last months of the Trump administration, set up a Pentagon team to investigate the alleged attacks. That was after meeting a soldier late last year who described how, while serving in a country Miller didn’t identify, he had heard a “striking” sound and then had a split headache.
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Lemire reported from Lowell, Massachusetts. Additional reports provided by Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Lisa Mascaro in Washington