Canadian envoys to remain in Cuba
Official: Eight show signs of mystery illness
OTTAWA: Canada has no plans to remove diplomats from Cuba though at least eight people connected to its embassy appear to have had symptoms of a potential illness at the centre of a rift in US-Cuba relations, a senior government official said.
The official said the eight were among 27 people screened following US reports that two dozen American officials and family members in Havana had a range of unexplained symptoms that included nausea, dizziness, headaches and nosebleeds.
The official, who briefed reporters on condition of not being quoted by name, said the eight required follow-up treatment but no hospitalisation and there was no reason to close the embassy in Havana. Canadian investigators have not come up with an explanation for the illnesses.
There are 20 Canadian families with connections to the embassy and people from half of them came forward to be tested after the United States reported that some of its personnel and family members had experienced a range of ailments, some after hearing an unusual sound. For most, the symptoms occurred around May 2017.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is leading an investigation into the situation but so far hasn’t found any evidence that anything was done intentionally to the people who reported symptoms, the official said.
Washington says 24 US government officials and spouses fell ill in Havana in their homes and some hotels starting in 2016.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the symptoms are the result of an attack, but the FBI has found no evidence of one. Neither has Canada.
A different senior Canadian official said that the government had not found any evidence that anyone was attacked.
Tillerson has said he is “convinced these were targeted attacks”, but the United States doesn’t know who’s behind them. The United States has withdrawn most of its diplomats from Havana, citing a health risk, and forced many Cuban diplomats to leave Washington.
Cuba has repeatedly and adamantly denied involvement or knowledge of any attacks and has decried the reductions as an unjustified blow to US-Cuban relations that were restored under President Barack Obama.
The lack of answers more than a year after the incidents started has emboldened Cuba’s defenders to argue the US can’t be certain anyone was harmed intentionally since no proof has been publicly presented.