State Dept Cannot Confirm U.S. Medic Stationed in Cuba Despite ‘Unprecedented’ Attacks

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert could not confirm during the agency’s regular press briefing Wednesday that the United States had stationed on-site medics at its embassy in Havana for diplomats and their families, despite months of attacks on American personnel that have left them with severe hearing loss and brain damage.

Nauert called the attacks, suspected to be the product of the use of sophisticated sonic technology, “unprecedented” both in Cuba and anywhere in the world against Americans.

“The investigation is still ongoing. It’s an active investigation that is across multi agencies in the United States. The State Department is a part of that. This—I had a briefing on this this morning, talking with our top folks on this issue. Let me just reassure you that this is a matter that we take very seriously,” Nauert told reporters. “We are working and have been working to provide our staff and U.S. Government employees with the best medical attention that we can provide to them.”

Nauert refused to confirm reports in media of the severity of the health repercussions suffered by the affected diplomats, stating only that “the incidents have caused a variety of physical symptoms.”

“This is unprecedented. We have not seen this type of activity take place before … No, nowhere, no one,” she affirmed.

In responding to a question on whether the United States has secured the presence of an American medical professional permanently stationed at the embassy in light of the attacks, Nauert could not confirm that such a move had occurred.

“I know that we have had our U.S. Government employees go to Miami, Florida where they had—some of them had been medically evacuated in order to receive medical treatment and testing,” she stated.

“I also know that we have brought medical professionals to our staff in Cuba to be able to treat them, to be able to test them. The best equipment is not going to necessarily be on the ground in Cuba. We are bringing people to the best medical experts on the mainland in the United States. Is there an actual medical officer? I don’t know the answer to that. I can look into that and see if I can get you an answer. Okay?” Nauert added.

Nauert had confirmed two weeks ago, following the original revelation of the attacks, that the American embassy in Cuba would remain “fully operational” despite the attacks. At the time, the number of individuals affected and the severity of the attacks remained largely unknown.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that a doctor who had treated some of the affected Americans con confirm that they had suffered “conditions as serious as mild traumatic brain injury and damage to the central nervous system.” The diplomats and relatives affected had told doctors they suffered “hearing loss, nausea, headaches and balance disorders.” Prior to this revelation, reported indicated only that some diplomats had suffered what doctors hoped was temporary hearing loss.

The University of Miami Health System confirmed Nauert’s claim that diplomats had returned to America for treatment. In a statement to CBS News, the institution said, “like any top-notch academic medical center in the nation, the University of Miami is often consulted regarding complex health care issues or emerging diseases. In the case of U.S. diplomats, our physicians were consulted by the State Department.”

CBS cites a “source” who claims that an American doctor visited Havana, but there is no evidence that doctor has been stationed there on a permanent basis until officials uncover the source of the attack.

President Donald Trump made the protection of American diplomats an issue during the 2016 presidential campaign in light of his criticism of predecessor Barack Obama’s handling of the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya in 2012, lamenting the incident as “another Hillary Clinton failure” and a “disaster.” Trump also vowed to undo Obama’s policies towards Cuba, which granted the communist regime a variety of concessions including opening up trade, removing it from the State Department’s state sponsors of terrorism list, and fully reopening the American embassy. President Trump

President Trump has not personally commented on the attacks in Havana.