American diplomats in Cuba struck by covert sonic device, US officials say

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The Cuban government said in a lengthy statement late Wednesday that "Cuba has never permitted, nor will permit, that Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic officials or their families, with no exception.
" The statement from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had been informed of the incidents on Feb.
17 and had launched an "exhaustive, high-priority, urgent investigation at the behest of the highest level of the Cuban government.
" It said the decision to expel two Cuban diplomats was "unjustified and baseless.
" The ministry said it had created an expert committee to analyze the incidents and had reinforced security around the U.
embassy and U.
"Cuba is universally considered a safe destination for visitors and foreign diplomats, including U.
citizens," the statement said.
officials told The Associated Press that about five diplomats, several with spouses, had been affected and that no children had been involved.
The FBI and Diplomatic Security Service are investigating.
Cuba employs a state security apparatus that keeps many people under surveillance and U.
diplomats are among the most closely monitored people on the island.
Like virtually all foreign diplomats in Cuba, the victims of the incidents lived in housing owned and maintained by the Cuban government.
However, officials familiar with the probe said investigators were looking into the possibilities that the incidents were carried out by a third country such as Russia, possibly operating without the knowledge of Cuba`s formal chain of command.
Nauert said investigators did not yet have a definitive explanation for the incidents but stressed they take them "very seriously," as shown by the Cuban diplomats` expulsions.
"We requested their departure as a reciprocal measure since some U.
personnel`s assignments in Havana had to be curtailed due to these incidents," she said.
"Under the Vienna Convention, Cuba has an obligation to take measures to protect diplomats.
diplomats in Cuba said they suffered occasional harassment for years after the restoration of limited ties with the communist government in the 1970s, harassment reciprocated by U.
agents against Cuban diplomats in Washington.
The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.