IC Operations & Tradecraft — 2026-10-02

Havana Syndrome Returns to Headlines as Canada Probes Intelligence Links While Gabbard Revokes Previous IC Assessments

BLUFOttawa is unlikely to launch a formal intelligence review of Havana Syndrome by year-end, but Gabbard's revocation of prior US assessments strips Canada of the allied cover it used to avoid one.

The Globe and Mail reported on September 26, citing two unnamed sources, that a Canadian diplomat in Havana shared intelligence with US officers and that Canadians used US-supplied satellite equipment in Cuba between 2016 and 2018 12. Global Affairs Canada said its Global Security Reporting Program officers do not run covert operations and that there is "no definitive common cause" for the illness; Justice invoked Section 38 of the Canada Evidence Act in the diplomats' 2019 lawsuit 1. Former CSIS and Privy Council officials Andy Ellis, Jody Thomas and Martin Green told the Globe that the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) should review the matter 1. Wesley Wark wrote that Tulsi Gabbard, then Director of National Intelligence, revoked the 2023 and January 2025 National Intelligence Council assessments in June, which had found a foreign actor "very unlikely" or "unlikely" 23.

Analysis
A formal Canadian review of Havana Syndrome-related intelligence activity is unlikely to be announced by year-end. Carney has deferred any response until briefed, the Section 38 filing keeps the diplomats' lawsuit sealed, and NSICOP would have to work around active litigation without medical expertise. Ellis, Thomas and Green favor a review but hold no decision role. Gabbard's revocation of the earlier US assessments removes the allied findings Ottawa relied on, raising pressure without forcing a decision, so the likelier response is a health and duty-of-care step. We have high confidence because the constraints are documented, though the central claims rest on two anonymous Globe and Mail sources that other outlets merely rework. The story may be a leak timed to the lawsuit, and Carney could order a quiet Privy Council Office review never made public. A formal review would send Justice and Global Affairs into disclosure fights and give the diplomats' counsel leverage. Its absence leaves Section 38 secrecy intact and the matter in court.

4 sources

Security experts call for inquiry into Havana Syndrome cases at Canada's embassy in Cuba - The Globe and Mail
Havana Syndrome rebooted: the DEW fear - Wesley Wark
DNI rebukes faulty intelligence analyses of Havana Syndrome - The Washington Times
History Will Tell How Canada's Spies Helped Trump in Cuba - Antiwar.com