President Donald Trump said Monday that he does “believe Cuba is responsible” for the mysterious attacks that sickened at least 22 US diplomats and family members in Havana.
“I do believe Cuba’s responsible, I do believe that,” Trump said in the Rose Garden.
Investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding as many as 50 attacks that may have involved the use of an acoustic device, a US official has told CNN.
The device was so sophisticated, it was outside the range of audible sound, the official said. And it was so damaging, the source said, that one US diplomat now needs to use a hearing aid.
For months, starting late last year, US diplomats in Havana complained of incidents, often late at night in their homes or hotel rooms, that left them feeling ill — often plagued by a sudden wave of nausea, dizziness and headaches accompanied by strange sounds compared to loud insects or metal dragging across the floor.
Questions also continue to swirl around the Cuban government’s involvement in the attacks, given that experts say the country likely lacks the scientific expertise to launch such a sophisticated operation.
On Thursday, Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, did not directly accuse the Cuban government of carrying out the attacks but told reporters: “We believe the government could stop the attacks on our diplomats.”
The President did not expand on what led to the conclusion that Cuba was responsible, but called it a “very unusual attack.”