Top diplomat says closing US Embassy in Cuba 'under review'
17 Sep 2017 5:19 PM GMT
New york: Top Republican senators pressed the Trump administration on Friday to expel Cuban diplomats and consider closing the US embassy in Havana over the mysterious "acoustic" attacks on Americans stationed on the island.
"Cuba's neglect of its duty to protect our diplomats and their families cannot go unchallenged," the Republican senators said in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
They urged the State Department to "immediately declare all accredited Cuban diplomats in the United States persona non grata and, if Cuba does not take tangible action, close the US Embassy in Havana."
The attacks, which generally have occurred at night, have confounded US officials.
Victims – there are at least 21 Americans with symptoms – have reported hearing loud noises or feeling vibrations before suffering a range of aftereffects.
This includes everything from hearing loss to speech problems to concussions.
Suspicion initially focused on a sonic weapon, and on the Cubans. Yet the diagnosis of mild brain injury, considered unlikely to result from sound, has stumped the FBI, the State Department and US intelligence agencies involved in the investigation.
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