DNI Gabbard Rescinds Two Biden-Era Intelligence Assessments on Havana Syndrome
The formal withdrawal of IC assessments finding no foreign adversary link reopens a classified evidentiary dispute that has persisted since 2021 — and shifts the institutional burden of proof back...
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard rescinded two Intelligence Community Assessments on Havana Syndrome on June 12, 2026, formally withdrawing Biden-era findings that had concluded a foreign adversary attack was an unlikely cause of the reported neurological symptoms experienced by U.S. government personnel abroad, according to reporting by the New York Post citing the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The rescinded assessments, produced under the prior administration, had been relied upon by multiple federal agencies to categorize Havana Syndrome — also referred to in official records as Anomalous Health Incidents, or AHI — as unlikely the result of deliberate foreign targeting. Gabbard's office stated the assessments selectively excluded evidence, mischaracterized sources to suppress alternative analyses, omitted information related to source quality, and relied on what it described as an "ethically flawed medical study," according to the New York Post report dated June 12, 2026.
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Havana Syndrome was first reported by U.S. Embassy personnel in Havana, Cuba beginning in 2016. Subsequent incidents were reported by U.S. personnel in China, Russia, and elsewhere. Congress passed the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act in 2021, signed into law by President Biden, which authorized compensation payments to affected personnel. The CIA, State Department, and other agencies have at various points issued differing internal assessments of probable cause, none of which have been fully declassified as of this publication date.
The ODNI did not, as of the time of this report, release replacement assessments or name a specific foreign actor as responsible. The rescission order itself — including its classification level and the specific ICA document numbers being withdrawn — had not been published in full in the public record as of June 12, 2026.
What remains unknown: whether ODNI will commission new assessments to replace the rescinded documents, which specific intelligence was characterized as excluded or mischaracterized, and whether any findings will be shared with the congressional intelligence committees under their oversight jurisdiction. The full text of the rescission order, if issued in unclassified form, would be the primary public record to consult. Affected personnel who received or applied for HAVANA Act compensation payments may also seek clarification from the CIA Office of Medical Services and relevant agency inspectors general on whether the policy change affects their claims.