The F.B.I. on Friday
released a redacted portion of a 2019 report that was one of the first to argue that the mysterious ailments known as Havana syndrome were likely not the result of hostile action, and instead were the result of “social contagion.”
Some current and former officials have said the F.B.I. analysis sowed doubt within the C.I.A. and parts of the Trump administration toward the root causes of Havana syndrome and whether it was in fact a functional illness spurred by stress.
As a result, people with symptoms of Havana syndrome and their legal representatives have long disparaged the F.B.I. findings, noting that the investigators reviewed records but did not interview victims.
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But the report concludes that many of those reporting ailments had experienced “fairly common symptoms” from “predetermined medical conditions” or environmental factors.
Like subsequent studies, the report stated that the bureau could not “identify any single cause for these symptoms.”
