WASHINGTON – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) released the following statement after President Joe Biden signed into law the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA Act), legislation co-authored by Menendez authorizing the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to expand protections and provide additional support to United States personnel and dependents who have suffered brain injuries as a result of suspected directed energy attacks in Havana, Cuba and around the world:
“Nearly five years after U.S. personnel in Havana began suffering from brain injuries, it is clear that we must do much more to care for and protect personnel and their family members. Today we are taking an important step towards fulfilling our moral obligation as a grateful nation to support injured U.S. personnel and their families—and sending a powerful message to our adversaries that we are determined to impose serious consequences for the harm these attacks have inflicted.
“As the list of reported incidents continues to grow, today’s enactment of our HAVANA Act makes clear that the threats and attacks against our diplomats, national security staff and intelligence officers are a national security priority for the U.S. government, as is securing proper care and needed support for those impacted by them.”
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