Subcommittee hearing. This hearing of the subcommittee on the western hemisphere transnational crime security democracy human rights and global womens issues will come to order. The title of this hearing is attacks on us diplomats in cuba response and oversight, one Government Panel testifying today, following through witnesses who are here and grateful for you joining us today on behalf of the advocate of branch, mister Francisco Paul mary, assistant secretary of state for the bureau of western hemisphere affairs, todd brown, diplomat security assistant director of International Programs at the department of state and doctor Charles Rosen farb, director of the bureau of medical services. The deferment of state, thank you for being here for this important topic. The first is to establish the facts. And the conduct and activities of United States state department. Here are the facts testified to by the panel. In late 2016 staff of the United States embassy in havana complaining of strange noises and among the descriptions they complained of, highpitched sound incapacitating sound, akin to driving windows partially open or intense pressure in one ear. And in washington dc viewed this activity as harassment from forces hostile to the United States or us presence in cuba. Later, the information gathered from additional individuals that suggested the events that led to these complaints in november of 2016. The initial events occurred in diplomatic residents. Later these occurred at hotels. And an evaluation conducted in 80 members of the embassy community. 16 of these were identified with symptoms and medically verifiable findings with combinations similar to patients that had mild traumatic brain injury, in early july in the state department, panel of epidemic efforts for case histories, and arrived at a consensus and the consensus is, quote, patterns of injuries were most likely related to trauma from a nonnatural source. Later in august 2017 the Brain Injury Center at the university of pennsylvania reevaluated amnesty employees reporting symptoms, additional individuals and incidents prior to april 2014 added to the list of confirmed cases and additional individuals reported exposure from midaugust in the last year. And bringing the total number of cases to 24. The symptoms may vary, all of the medically confirmed cases have described some combination of the following symptoms, sharp ear pain, dull headaches, ringing in one year, visual focusing issues, disorientation, disorientation, nausea and extreme fatigue. As we said earlier the timeline of the reported incidents, the initial wave reported in december began in november 2016 and occurred through late march 2017, through march 2017 through april 2017 a sporadic period of reported incidents, then they stopped and two additional reports happen in close proximity in august of last year they were medically confirmed in september. These are the facts that will be testified today by the panel and with that i turned to the Ranking Member. Thank you, appreciate the we are starting the new year with a much needed hearing with brazen attacks on diplomats in cuba and ask my full statement be included in the record. It is unfortunate since the news of these vicious attacks broke late last summer we have not seen more public outcry against the cuban government for whatever scope of ownership it has over these attacks were more accountability for the health and wellbeing of our diplomats some of whom continue to suffer lingering Health Conditions from these attacks was the castro regime has proved it is not a responsible actor in the community of nations, the regime cannot be counted upon to uphold its International Commitments or responsibilities and most certainly the regime has no regard for individual human rights, security or dignity. The cuban government may or may not be directly responsible for attacking our diplomats but as someone who has personally witnessed the modus operandi of the cuban government it is unfathomable the castro regime and Intelligence Services specifically were not aware of these attacks. Of senior cuban officials did not directly order these attacks they must have been aware or given tacit approval of foreign agents to operate in cuba but the scope of the attacks is specific was i hope to hear more sound explanations from our witnesses today. And the simple and changeable truth, that being in a foreign location in terms of your duty runs risks. Duty runs risks and in this particular case no amount of playicating, pandering or diplomatic overtures is going to change that. The cuban government has tried to undermine their dangerous and irresponsible behavior by undermining the validit its ability to intimidate, oppress and harm its own citizens, give credence to our concerns about the wellbeing of americans. They accuse the United States of fabricating the attacks because wouldd not release the names of diagnosis of the affected people. Of course the castro regime does i fundamentally understand that in a democratic and free countrp some cities have a right to government that would prioritize their Privacy Health over using them as political tools. And finally turning to our witnesses, you cannot be held accountable for the behavior of the cuban government or those who were responsible for this but you are responsible both for the appropriate diplomatic response andhi the health and safety of our diplomats. And from what i can see the actions of the department has taken on both counts are simply insufficient and unacceptable. Despite much vaunted rhetoric from the president about rolling back illconceived policy changes, the rally is that the cuban government continues to enjoy many of the benefits it receives per by the Administration May champion its new regulations prohibiting transactions that could benefit the cuban Government Military intelligence complex, it grandfathered in all contracts that begin during the last administration. Furthermore, because of the administration took so long to actually announce these guidelines, Major Companies were able to finalize deals in the months between theo announcement of these policies and their implementation. At the enforcement level the woffice of foreign assets contl remains understaffed with no indication that president will be hired. At the state department the president has not even nominated and assistant secretary for the western hemisphere affairs. Failing to put critical senior staff of placed at the appropriate agencies severely undermined the United States ability to project protect our interests and citizens abroad. The administration of the departments reaction to the cuban government completely abrogating its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect our diplomats is laughable. The fact that some of the cuban government has managed to paint and narrative that there were no attacks at all is pretty outrageous. Expelling aai handful of diploms to achieve parity wither the number diplomats who had to be removed from havana for safety is hardly a bold diplomatic move. When you treasure guidelines were finally announced the administration stressed they were not in response to the attack on personnel. And then turning to the impacted Foreign Service officers themselves. I appreciate the overview this been provided but the truth is from the accounts we have heard, the departments response was simply bureaucratic, inadequate, and troubling. I will have a number of questions later ability start by saying the stories we heard are shocking. The failure of leadership at the department in that post, the sluggish reaction to the initial reports of afflictedoc personne, the aloof response of the medical team at the state department, silence of Diplomatic Security to the rest of the department is simply staggering. The members of u. S. Foreign service made a a commitment to serving the country overseas. He agreed to spend their lives often taking the families with them in pursuit of promoting American Interest in helping americans abroad. Some serve in combat t zones, large embassies in small, and sometimes on communist island. According to accounts from those who suffer directly, s when diplomats first reported citizens to the appropriate peoplele oppose they were rebufd symptoms it is understandable and finally accepting that employees were suffering life altering health consequences, the department o took months to arrange for the appropriate care if it was almost a year before the department for the embassy on ordered departure status, and only after reports surfaced in the media. Alarmingly, its artist in the department did not even when diplomats going to cuba for permanent or temporary assignments aboutn the risks to their health and the health of their families. As the college with iq would from cuba, Department Leadership failed to inform the rest of the department including those being sent to serve in the place of those being evacuated. Those who have been suffering physically have also remaining questions about whether they will receive appropriate care for the rest of their careers and their lives. This lack of leadership and responsibility shocking and unacceptable. I sincerely hope this battle can provide as much needed answers to a myriad of pressing questions. The cuban government must be held accountable for its failure to uphold International Commitments and failed too protect american diplomats. The Department Must be held accountable for executing the appropriate policies and response, and for ensuring the safety, security and help of the men and women of the Foreign Service. With that i look forward to the hearing. Thank you. Well begin with our witnesses. Mr. Palmieri, welcome to the committee. Chairman rubio, Ranking Member menendez, distinguished members of thetn committee, thak you for the opportunity to speak about the attacks against his diplomats in cuba and the department of states efforts in response. The department of states efforts in response. I want to thank you for your concern for the safety and security of our diplomatic personnel in havana. As you know this is secretary tillersons top priority. It is mine as well. Im pleased to be here today with my colleagues from the bureau of Diplomatic Security and medical services with whom the bureau of western hem hads fear affairs has worked closely on this issue. I would also like to emphasize up front that the investigation is ongoing. We have the best experts in the government working to help us understand it. And every step in our response to these events we have worked closely with our medical and technical experts in evaluating Health Conditions and the nature of the attack. Ill walk you through a timeline which will describe our diplomaticing engagement then i will defer to my colleagues to address the security and medical issues. In late 2016, some servicing complained about hearing strange noises and a variety of unexplained physical symptoms. As the department investigated, we began to see signs suggesting that these events initially and diplomatic residents and later at hotels may have begun as early as november 2016. As soon as we identified a pattern, connecting these unusual events with Certain Health symptoms u. S. Officials approached the cuban government in midfebruary to demand it meets its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect our personnel. The cubans denied involvement, offered their cooperation and opened their own investigation. Since then we have engaged the cubans more than 20 times from the working level to the highest level of the cuban government both here in washington and in havana. In addition to our diplomatic efforts, dr. Rosen farb will provide you with additional details. Separately we launched a governmentwide effort to find the cause and culprits behind these attacks. Apart from the investigation we have met with u. S. Interagency partners more than a dozen times to discuss and refine our response to the attacks. The attacks initially appear to curb in clusters. But starting in late march, spurattic attack continued until late april and then seemed to stop. Beginning in midapril we allowed anyone serving at Embassy Havana who did not feel safe at post to return to the United States. We also expelled two cuban diplomats in may in order to underscore the cuban governments responsibility to protect our personnel. After a period without any attacks there were two additional attacks reported in close proximity in late august which were medically confirmed in september. Secretary tillerson ordered the departure of nonemergency personnel on 29th. They assessed this was it only way to reduce the risk to the diplomats and their families. We expelled 15 more cuban diplomats in october to insure equity and the impact on our respected operations and to underscore to cuba its obligation to stop the attacks. These decisions both to jar down our personnel at Embassy Havana and to expel cuban diplomats did not signal a change from president trumps policy. Prior to the decision to implement order departure, our embassy held 17 town Hall Meetings with embassy staff. Since the return of u. S. Diplomats to washington, we have held a number of meetings with them. Secretary tillerson explained his decision to institute order departure and we have organized a number of meetings to address eeevacuees concerns. The well being of the 24 confirmed victims as well as the well being of all of our evacuees and those remaining in havana continues to be our priority as does the ongoing investigation. With that i will turn it to my colleagues to discuss their areas of expertise and then i will be happy to answer your questions. Thank you. Mr. Brown. Good morning. Chairman rubio and other distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for your invitation to discuss health had attacks involving u. S. Personnel in their families. I share your concerns regarding the safety and security of our personnel in cuba and welcome any discussion that may lead to a better ntdsing of this issue and stronger safeguards for our employees. From a security and investigative standpoint we continue to work at Embassy Havana to counter, mitigate and better understand who or what are causing injuries to our dip wlumatic staff. Unfortunately this remains a perplexing case. Our regional officer first became aware of attacks involving personnel in late december 2016. In the early stages of trying to understand what may be occurring, post leadership and supporting offices in washington believed it was likely a form of harassment by forces hostile to the United States and our presence in cuba. As more incidents were reported in early 2017 and greater awareness of the seriousness of symptoms became known our level of concern and mitigation efforts rose exponentially. After meetings with cuban officials in february outlining cubas responsibility to protect diplomats under the geneva convention, we received information that the cuban government was conducting its own investigation into the matter. Senior officials met frequently as part of our ongoing attempt to better understand the nature of the apparent attack and protect staff. Amung other things the embassy deployed devices in an effort to better identify or capture the possible source behind the threat. As many victims had had associated the attack with an acoustic event. After further investigative attempts an expert analysis failed to identify the perpetrator, the federal bureau of investigation opened a case in early may. An fbi case has since visited and the fbis investigation has conducted surveys of the residents and hotel rooms. However the investigation remains ongoing and we would refer all specific questions concerning the investigation to the fbi. Thank you. Ill be glad to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. Good morning. Chairman rubio, Ranking Member menendez. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on a departments response to the recent health had attacks in havana. Ill be describing what we currently know about the Health Effects. From the individual and Public Health perspective, managing this is challenging. They describe a multitude of symptoms, many of which are not easily attributable to any specific cause. The sharing of information has helped identify more personnel but as with any Community Outbreak can complicate a situation. However, the most challenging factor is the lack of certainty and therefore the precise mechanism of the injuries suffered. Individuals first visited our medical unit starting in late december 2016 and january 2017 reporting various symptoms including air pain, diziness and hearing problems. They associated the onset to their exposure with oddatory sensations. An incapacitating sound, or just an intense pressure in one ear. Since the symptoms first reported primarily effected oodatory functions was aidentified to perform additional assessments. Between february and april of last year, this specialist evaluated 80 members of the embassy community. 16 were identified to have symptoms and pedically verifiable clinical findings similar to what might be seen following a mel traumatic brain injury or concussion. In july reviewed the case histories and test results gathered to date. They identified some of the symptoms could be caused by other things such as previous head trauma, aging and stress. The consensus was the patterns of injuries were most likely lated to a trauma of an unlik