PRESIDENT AWARE OF `HAVANA SYNDROME' CASES

Colombia's president says he is aware of cases of the mysterious illness known as “Havana Syndrome” being reported at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota — one of the largest U.S. embassies in the world hosting diplomats, intelligence agents and aid workers.

“Of course we have knowledge of this situation but I want to leave it to the U.S. authorities, who are conducting their own investigation, because it is about their personnel, to clarify,” President Ivan Duque, pictured, told reporters in New York on Tuesday.

The suspected cases come about a week before Secretary of State Antony Blinken's planned visit to Bogotá.

At least five families with links to staff were afflicted in recent weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The State Department said in a statement that it “vigorously” investigated reports of such incidents wherever they were reported.

The origins of the illness remain unknown. Its name dates back to 2016 to when it first appeared to hit CIA officers and Canadian personnel in Havana. The initial cluster found victims reporting the sudden onset of headaches, nausea and memory loss.