When I first heard about this story I quite frankly couldn’t believe it. Mysterious sonic attacks on government officials in Cuba, it reads like something out of a James Bond film but more worryingly however it appears to be true.
Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean will all continue their itineraries to Cuba, insisting Cuba is still safe to visit despite a travel warning for the island nation issued by the US. It comes after the US warned tourists not to visit the country due to a spate of bizarre sonic attacks on its citizens.
Spies and other diplomats working for the US embassy in Havana have reported symptoms including hearing loss, ringing in ears, dizziness, sleeping difficulties, headaches and cognitive problems after being struck down in hotels, homes and even outside.
An FBI investigation is underway to find out who is responsible for the dangerous sonic attacks and no specific details of what appears to be causing these mysterious symptoms have been released, a statement read;
“Because our personnel’s safety is at risk and we are unable to identify the source of the attacks, we believe U.S. citizens may also be at risk and warn them not to travel to Cuba.”
Non-essential embassy staff are being repatriated from Cuba back to the US while the investigation continues. Cruise lines however are insisting the problem is limited to US embassy officials, so the island is still safe for tourists.
Carnival said in a statement: “While members and relatives of the US diplomatic corps have suffered illnesses apparently triggered by occurrences at the diplomatic offices or possibly their homes, none of the more than 475,000 other Americans visiting Cuba this year have reported similar health issues related to their visits”.
Norwegian Cruise Line agreed that the attacks are isolated as no reported incidents have involved tourists. It said in a statement: “We continue to believe that the best way to travel to Cuba is via cruise ship and look forward to continuing to offer our guests the opportunity to explore Cuba.”
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying: “We are aware that U.S. State Department has published a travel warning for Cuba. Since the warning is due to the events that occurred in U.S. diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by U.S. citizens, we do not feel they pose a risk to our cruise passengers”.
The UK Foreign Office has not updated its travel advice for Britons heading to Cuba in response to the sonic attacks.
What can I say, the mind boggles.
Bye for now.