(FiveNation.com)- Victims of “Havana Syndrome” are about to get a big payday from the State Department.
According to a recent report from the Associated Press, the government is working to compensate some of the victims of this mysterious disease with payments of up to six figures. The AP cited a congressional aide and other officials in their report.
“Havana Syndrome” is the colloquial name for the mysterious brain injuries that people have suffered. The first cases were reported among personnel at the U.S. embassy in Cuba back in 2016, which is how it got its name.
Some former staff members of the State Department as well as current staffers as well as their families who ended up suffering what the AP’s sources termed “qualifying injuries” would be getting payments between around $100,000 to $200,000 each.
The AP sources said that the exact amount of the payouts would be determined by the severity and extent of the injuries that the victims suffered. The injuries are all to the brain, and include brain damage, cognitive damage, problems with hearing and sight, and vertigo.
The payments are only going to be given out to employees of the State Department as well as their dependents. Other victims will have compensation given to them through the federal agency with which they are employed.
Roughly 20% of the victims who suffered “Havana Syndrome” were employed by the State Department. Most of the others were employed by either the Department of Defense or the CIA, which both have their own separate medical policies.
President Joe Biden signed the HAVANA Act into law last year, which set the terms for the compensation for the victims. The State Department plans to publish the full details of the compensation plans next week.
Following the publication of the plan, there will be a 30-day time period during which public comments will be collected on it. After that, it will become final, unless changes are made.
The final ruling will be made in conjunction with the State Department, the Office of Personnel Management as well as the Office of Management and Budget.
The State Department wouldn’t comment specifically on the compensation plan to the AP. The agency only said that the HAVANA Act authorizes them “to provide payments to personnel for certain qualifying injuries to the brain.” The Act also requires the State Department to publish their plans for implementing the relief, and they said that part would happen “soon.”
Physicians, government officials and scientists have spent the last six years trying to discover the roots of Havana Syndrome, but they haven’t yet been able to determine any cause for the injuries. Some people have speculated that they could have come as a result of an attack from some foreign power.
While the original cases were reported in Cuba in 2016, there have now been attacks reported in almost 70 countries across the globe. Reports of attacks have dropped significantly since the start of 2022.
