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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 US Embassy in
Havana that an unnamed official said included hearing loss.
US
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, the representative from the State Department stated.
"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 US government. We take those incidents very seriously, and
there is an investigation currently underway.
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 US government
official said several colleagues at the US 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 US Embassy in
Havana.
