Canada Being Sued by Its Own Diplomats for $21M

Some Canadian diplomats are suing their own country. As the BBC reports, the lawsuit stems from the mysterious ailment affecting people who were stationed in Cuba—the same ailment that has struck American diplomats as well. Canada has documented 14 illnesses among its staff, and five of the victims and their families are suing for $21 million. In a statement, they say Canada acted too slowly to evacuate people, downplayed safety risks, and deliberately "gave false, misleading, and incomplete information to diplomatic staff." The CBC collects quotes from some of the affected diplomats detailing the issues related to what they call "Havana Syndrome."

"My wife, she isn't the same anymore," says a diplomat identified only as Daniel. "She has gaps in her memory, headaches, problems hearing. She picks up the telephone to make a call but forgets why, enters rooms without reason." The diplomat says he, his wife, and his children all were diagnosed with brain damage in June 2017. One of the big complaints in the lawsuit is that while the US evacuated non-essential personnel from Cuba in September 2017, Canada until April 2018 kept sending new staff and their families there. (So what might be causing the illnesses? Theories include crickets, microwave weapons, spytech gone wrong, and a mass psychogenic event.)