CIA finds "Havana Syndrome" unlikely caused by foreign campaign

A preliminary CIA report rules out a foreign global campaign as the cause of a mysterious illness known as “Havana syndrome” that’s afflicted American and Canadian diplomats around the world, per multiple reports.

Why it matters: Some lawmakers had suggested the sometimes debilitating illness was due to directed energy attacks. But CIA officials told the New York Times that most of the 1,000 cases reported to the government could be “explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress.” This finding has angered some victims, per the NYT.

Yes, but: Intelligence officials told Politico the agency still can’t determine the source of “a significant number of cases” and the interim report “does not rule out the possibility that a foreign actor or a sophisticated weapon is behind a specific, smaller number of mysterious incidents.”