GOP Chair Urges Review of Havana Syndrome Report

The chair of a House intelligence subcommittee is renewing criticism of the intelligence community assessment (ICA) that a foreign adversary was not responsible for injuries suffered by hundreds of U.S. personnel in Havana Syndrome cases, calling on the Trump administration to reexamine the findings.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford, R-Ariz., released a statement Thursday standing by his committee's findings from last year while sharply challenging conclusions reached by the Biden administration's intelligence community.

"I stand by my original statements from last year that the 2023 ICA was developed in a manner inconsistent with analytic integrity standards, and I strongly encourage my colleagues in the Executive Branch and the IC to reassess the ICA," Crawford said in the statement.

In his subcommittee's interim staff report released in December 2024, Crawford contradicted a report released by the Biden administration's Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2023 that said it was "very unlikely" a foreign adversary was behind the mysterious anomalous health incidents (AHIs).

Further, the subcommittee report also criticized the intelligence community for trying to thwart its investigation "at every turn."

"I have discovered that there is reliable evidence to suggest that some anomalous health incidents are the work of foreign adversaries," Crawford wrote last year. "Sadly, the IC has actively attempted to impede our investigation, but ... I have reason to believe that its claims of environmental or social factors explaining AHIs are false."

Beginning in 2016, staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana began experiencing a series of medical conditions including tinnitus, vertigo, head and ear pressure, nausea, and cognitive difficulties, the report said. The conditions usually developed after the individual heard a loud, unexplained sound, characterized as "strange grating noises."

The subcommittee said it documented 334 people who qualified for AHI care in the military health system.

The report made three recommendations: overhaul the intelligence community's analytical process and demand it conduct a "fact-based" assessment on the matter; ramp up the collection of Havana Syndrome anecdotes to gather more evidence for further study; and codify stronger medical care for those afflicted.

"Fast forward to today, our investigation continues on pace, more aggressively than ever before," Crawford said in Thursday's statement.

"I want to assure all those impacted, whether directly by these attacks or those who have come forward to speak with our Committee to share their experience or expertise, that we are committed to seeing this investigation through and remain focused on transparency, where appropriate," he added.

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