Two Cuban diplomats were kicked out of the Washington embassy by the State Department after a series of incidents forced U.S. officials in Cuba to return home with “a variety of physical symptoms,” State Department officials said Wednesday.

Starting in the fall of 2016, American diplomats in Havana suffered from severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device, the Associated Press reported.

Following months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The Cuban diplomats, meantime, were ordered to leave the U.S. on May 23, the officials said.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said more incidents followed the initial ones in 2016, prompting the Americans to leave the island and the department to act against the Cuban diplomats in the U.S.

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Nauert confirmed the report Wednesday during a briefing. She did not go into details but did say Cuba has been reminded of its obligation under the Geneva Convention to protect foreign diplomats. She said the department is looking into the matter.

“One of the things we talk about here often is that the safety and security of American citizens, at home and abroad, is our top priority," she said. "We’re taking that situation seriously, and it’s under investigation right now.”

Fox News can confirm that the FBI is now investigating.

The Cuban government has assured the U.S. that it is looking into the reports and will take appropriate measures, officials said.

Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Wednesday night, detailing the series of events that they claimed led to their diplomats being removed.

The May decision to have the diplomats removed, Cuba claimed, was "unjustified and unsubstantiated."

"Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families, without exception," the Ministry said. "Moreover, it reiterates its willingness to cooperate in the clarification of this situation."

Fox News' Nicholas Kalman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>The U.S. State Department says it expelled two Cuban diplomats earlier this year after several Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Havana experienced strange medical symptoms and were either recalled to the U.S. or allowed to come home.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the "incidents" were first discovered in late 2016, but she declined to provide any details.

"We don't have any definitive information about the source or the cause," she said. "It took time to figure out what this was and we are still looking into it."

However, The Washington Post reports that U.S. officials believe Cuba used "a covert sonic weapon that left the victims with severe hearing loss."

"In the fall of 2016, a series of U.S. diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case. Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obama's reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba. Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been attacked with an advanced sonic weapon that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences."



Nauert said that the two Cuban diplomats were "asked to leave" in May, but she declined to characterize their departure as reciprocity for the incidents.

Cuba responded by saying that it would never allow its soil to be used for actions against diplomats and that it is willing to cooperate with the U.S. to clarify the incidents, according to Reuters.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a staunch critic of former President Obama's decision to reopen relations with Cuba after decades of Cold War isolation, said: "U.S. personnel working in Havana for decades. This has not stopped with President Obama's appeasement. Personal harm to U.S. officials shows the extent the Castro regime will go and clearly violates international norms."</s>WASHINGTON — It is a mysterious episode ripped from the pages of a Cold War spy novel. Despite ostensibly improved ties between the U.S. and Cuban governments, the State Department on Wednesday confirmed it had expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington because of an “incident” in Havana that harmed U.S. personnel there. State Department spokeswoman Heather…</s>WASHINGTON — The State Department has expelled two diplomats from the Cuban Embassy in Washington following a series of unexplained incidents in Cuba that left U.S. officials there with physical symptoms that one official said includes potentially permanent hearing loss.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the two Cubans were asked to leave the U.S. on May 23 after Americans in Cuba "reported incidents which have caused a variety of physical symptoms," causing them to leave the island.

Nauert said the first of the incidents was reported in late 2016 and that they had continued. She would not say what the symptoms were except that they were not life-threatening. Nauert also declined to provide details about the incidents. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

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However, other U.S. officials said that the symptoms included hearing loss.

One person familiar with the U.S. investigation said investigators were looking into whether elements of the Cuban government placed sonic devices that produce non-audible sound inside or outside the residences of roughly five U.S. Embassy staffers with the intent of deafening them. That individual and the U.S. officials weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Cuba employs a massive state security apparatus that keeps hundreds and possibly thousands of people under constant surveillance. U.S. diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. It's virtually impossible for anyone to take action against an American diplomat without an element of the Cuban state being aware.

However, the person familiar with the U.S. probe said investigators were looking into whether the individuals were harmed outside the regular chain of command of the Cuban government.

The officials said the staffers all arrived in Havana in the summer of 2016. Like all foreign diplomats in Cuba, they lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

In the fall, officials said the affected diplomats and their spouses began to experience symptoms of hearing loss so severe and puzzling that an investigation was launched, and it was determined that they were at risk. They were allowed to leave Cuba, the officials said. No children were affected, but at least some of the adults who were are believed to have suffered permanent hearing loss, according to the officials. They said the Cuban government had denied any involvement.

Although she would not provide details, Nauert said that investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously" and are working to determine their "cause and impact." She said the department had reminded Cuba of its international obligation to protect foreign diplomats.

Harassment of U.S. diplomats in Cuba is not uncommon and dates to the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s. But the use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would mark a new phase in harassment.</s>U.S. says two Cuban diplomats expelled after 'incidents' in Havana

The United States said it had expelled two Washington-based Cuban diplomats in May after unspecified "incidents" caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana that an unnamed official said included hearing loss, Reuters reported.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Wednesday the exact nature of the incidents was unclear, but the Americans serving in Cuba returned to the United States for non life-threatening "medical reasons."

The United States first learned of the issues at the embassy in late 2016, she said.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents," Nauert said. "It's caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the U.S. government. We take those incidents very seriously, and there is an investigation currently under way."

As a result, the United States on May 23 asked two Cuban officials in Washington to leave the country and they have done so, Nauert said.

"What this requires is providing medical examinations to these people," Nauert said. "Initially, when they'd started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing. So we're monitoring it."

A U.S. government official said several colleagues at the U.S. embassy in Havana were evacuated back to the United States for hearing problems and other symptoms over the past six months. Some subsequently got hearing aids, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic relations in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities, re-opening embassies in each other's capitals and establishing a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes.

President Donald Trump rolled back part of his predecessor Barack Obama's policy toward Cuba, but has left in place many of the changes, including the re-opened U.S. Embassy in Havana.</s>Through the decades, even when the United States and Cuba did not have formal diplomatic relations, Cuban intelligence agencies specialized in surveilling Americans stationed on, or visiting, the island.

Despite ostensibly improved ties between the USA and Cuban governments, the State Department on Wednesday confirmed it had expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington because of an “incident” in Havana that harmed US personnel there.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert has not elaborated on the nature of the reported incidents or the symptoms, except to say that they were not life threatening and that the matter is under investigation.

While the State Department has refused to publicly give details of the reported incidents, USA officials speaking on condition of anonymity told AP that the symptoms that U.S. embassy staffers in Cuba reported included loss of hearing.

“The safety and security of American citizens at home and overseas is our top priority”.

“It’s caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the US government”.

“We take this situation very seriously”, she added.

“The Department has reminded the Cuban government of its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect our diplomats“, Nauert said at the briefing on Wednesday. “Initially when they started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was and this is still ongoing”. So we’re monitoring it. “Some of our people have had the option of leaving Cuba for medical reasons”.

The unexplained symptoms ultimately led the US officials to leave Cuba.

Russia would not have expelled hundreds of USA diplomats if Washington had not done the same thing first or piled new sanctions on Moscow, the Russian Embassy in the United States said Wednesday. But the rapprochement was partially rolled back by Obama’s successor Donald Trump who in June announced tightened rules for Americans traveling to Cuba, banned ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirmed the existing U.S. trade embargo.

Last year, President Obama traveled to Cuba, looking to warm the long-frozen relations with the Communist-run island.

In June, Trump announced that he was “canceling the last administration’s completely one-sided deal with Cuba”.</s>The United States in May expelled two Cuban diplomats based in Washington after unspecified "incidents" caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the State Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON: The United States in May expelled two Cuban diplomats based in Washington after unspecified "incidents" caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the State Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The exact nature of the incidents was unclear, but the Americans serving in Cuba returned to the United States "for medical reasons," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

The United States first learned of the incidents in late 2016, she said.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents," Nauert said. "It's caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the U.S. government. We take those incidents very seriously, and there is an investigation currently under way."

As a result, the United States on May 23 asked two Cuban officials in Washington to leave the country and they have done so, Nauert said.

The nature of the incidents was unclear, though Nauert said the Americans' ailments were not life-threatening.

"What this requires is providing medical examinations to these people," Nauert said. "Initially, when they'd started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing. So we're monitoring it."

Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic relations in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities, re-opening embassies in each other's capitals and establishing a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes.

President Donald Trump rolled back part of his predecessor Barack Obama's policy toward Cuba, but has left in place many of the changes, including the re-opened U.S. Embassy in Havana.</s>By Matthew Lee and Michael Weissenstein | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The two-year-old U.S. diplomatic relationship with Cuba was roiled Wednesday by what U.S. officials believe was a string of bizarre incidents that left a group of American diplomats in Havana with severe hearing loss attributed to a covert sonic device.

In the fall of 2016, a series of U.S. diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case. Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obama’s reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Some of the diplomats’ symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear if the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack, or had some other purpose.

The U.S. retaliated by expelling two Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington on May 23, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved. The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.

Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps untold numbers of people under surveillance and U.S. diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island. Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.

However, officials familiar with the probe said that investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba’s formal chain of command.

The U.S. officials weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Cuban officials declined to comment on the incident.

Nauert said that investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them “very seriously,” as shown by the Cuban diplomats’ expulsions.

“We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some U.S. personnel’s assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents,” she said. “Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats.”

Nauert said the department had reminded Cuba of its international obligation to protect foreign diplomats.

U.S. diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by U.S. agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington. The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.</s>The United States in May expelled two Cuban diplomats based in Washington after unspecified "incidents" caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, the State Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON/HAVANA: Cuba said on Wednesday it was investigating allegations by the United States that unspecified "incidents" caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, after two Washington-based Cuban diplomats were expelled.

"Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families," the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. "It reiterates its willingness to cooperate in the clarification of this situation."

Havana said it had started a "comprehensive, priority and urgent investigation" into the alleged incidents after it had been informed of them by the embassy in February.

Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that the exact nature of the incidents was unclear, but Americans serving in Cuba had returned to the United States for non life-threatening "medical reasons."

The United States first learned of the issues at the embassy in late 2016, she said.

"We don't have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents," Nauert said. "It's caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the U.S. government. We take those incidents very seriously, and there is an investigation currently under way."

As a result, the United States on May 23 asked two Cuban officials in Washington to leave the country and they have done so, Nauert said, an action that Cuba described as "unjustified".

"What this requires is providing medical examinations to these people," Nauert said. "Initially, when they'd started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing. So we're monitoring it."

A U.S. government official said several colleagues at the U.S. embassy in Havana were evacuated back to the United States for hearing problems and other symptoms over the past six months. Some subsequently got hearing aids, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic relations in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities, re-opening embassies in each other's capitals and establishing a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes.

President Donald Trump rolled back part of his predecessor Barack Obama's policy towards Cuba, but has left in place many of the changes, including the re-opened U.S. Embassy in Havana.</s>US and Canadian officials were investigating Thursday after diplomats posted to Havana fell ill, amid reports that they may have been targeted by a mysterious sonic weapon.

US officials refused to directly blame Cuba itself for the "incidents", which appear to have begun last year, and Havana insisted it is working to protect the US mission.

A State Department spokeswoman would not detail the nature or number of the injuries, but she confirmed that a number of US diplomats had returned home for treatment.

Unidentified officials told CNN and other US media that the staff may have been harmed by a sonic device fired either inside or outside their Havana residences.

Some countries have developed sonic and ultrasonic weapons that can be used for crowd control or, for example, to deter seaborne pirates without resource to lethal force.

But there are no known cases of such a device being deployed by hostile intelligence services or terrorists against a diplomatic mission.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said investigations are ongoing and that Washington is not directly accusing Cuba of being behind the "incidents".

But -- justifying the expulsion of two Cuban diplomats from Washington -- she insisted that Cuba, as the US mission's host nation, bears responsibility for its security.

Of the reported victims, she said: "What I can tell you is that these were US government personnel who were in Cuba, in Havana, on official duty on behalf of the US government.

"We consider these to be 'incidents', because we still are trying to determine the actual cause of their situation. They have had a variety of physical symptoms," she said.

"This is an active investigation, and that investigation is ongoing at this time," she said, adding: "It is an area that is under investigation that is a major concern of ours."

Bauert said that US personnel began experiencing ailments in late 2016, but that it was not immediately recognised that it could be anything other than an ordinary health issue.

Cuba's foreign ministry said that US officials had alerted it to "some alleged incidents affecting some officials of that diplomatic mission and their families" on February 17.

Later, after some America staff left, US officials asked two Cuban diplomats to leave Washington in response.

"US government officials have been affected in some way by these incidents -- physically affected by these incidents," she said, explaining the decision.

"It is the Cuban government's obligation under the Vienna Convention to ensure the safety and protection of our diplomats there."

Meanwhile, Canada confirmed that one of its envoys had suffered a similar incident.

"We are aware of unusual symptoms affecting Canadian and US diplomatic personnel and their families in Havana," Canadian foreign ministry spokeswoman Brianne Maxwell said.

Cuba said it had objected to the expulsion of its officials, while also urging the United States to work together to shed light on the incidents in Havana.

"Cuba took this issue with the utmost seriousness and acted expeditiously and professionally in order to clarify the facts of this situation," the foreign ministry said.

The communist state stressed the need for US authorities to share information on the probe and promised to reinforce security around the mission.

Relations between the United States and Cuba were restored by then US president Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro in 2015 after a half-century break.

But tensions mounted again alive after the detente was partly rolled back by Obama's successor Donald Trump, who won the votes of many Cuban Americans by promising a tough line.

In June, Trump announced tightened rules for Americans traveling to Cuba, banned ties with a military-run tourism firm and reaffirmed the existing US trade embargo.

The US embassy was closed in 1961 at the height of the Cold War when diplomatic relations broke down between Washington and Fidel Castro's young revolutionary regime.

The mission reopened as a "special interests section" rather than a full embassy under an agreement between Castro and US President Jimmy Carter.

But the US diplomats were hardly made welcome. Anti-American propaganda was displayed around the compound, which Cuba saw as a base for fomenting opposition sedition.

American diplomats in Havana and their Cuban rivals in Washington both regularly complained of harassment or heavy-handed surveillance -- but not of sonic attack.
Two Cuban diplomats are expelled from the Embassy of Cuba in Washington, D.C., after an incident in Havana forced U.S. officials to return home.