White House officials said on Friday that the truth behind the mysterious ailments known as Havana Syndrome was still unknown, contradicting a new intelligence assessment about what had befallen spies and diplomats for the last nine years.
On Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an updated assessment about the ailments, one that largely reinforced its earlier conclusion that no foreign government was responsible for them. But the document, an update of the intelligence community’s conclusions in 2023, noted that two spy agencies had, at least subtly, shifted their positions.
The White House noted that shift in a briefing with reporters, while the Office of the Director of National Intelligence gave a separate briefing that differed sharply in emphasis and tone.
It was a profoundly odd note for the end of President Biden’s term. While President-elect Donald J. Trump regularly questioned spy agency findings during his first term, Mr. Biden’s White House has embraced the analytic work of its intelligence community. But on Friday, administration officials took a tack far different from that of their intelligence agencies.
The incidents and symptoms were first reported in Cuba in 2016 and were collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome. The ailments, which the government called Anomalous Health Incidents, or A.H.I.s, continued through the Trump administration and reached a high point in the first year of the Biden administration.
Spies and diplomats around the world reported hearing a noise or feeling a change in pressure before suffering from a range of symptoms, including migraines, dizziness and nausea. Some symptoms have continued for years and resembled those associated with traumatic brain injuries.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material, said the bottom line was that the mystery remained, noting that the government had to be open to the fact that “we don’t have all the answers.”
Administration officials emphasized that some agencies were now in dissent from the intelligence community’s overall conclusions. Sean Savett, the National Security Council spokesman, said the new assessment “includes a shift in key judgments by some intelligence components” and reinforces the importance of continuing research and investigation of the issues.
But an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material, said the overall conclusion of a majority of agencies remained unchanged. They believe it is “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary is responsible for the ailments.
The intelligence official said sensitive intelligence, and not an absence of evidence, had led several agencies to that conclusion.
Officials have previously said that no communications or other information indicated that Russia, China, Cuba or another adversary had orchestrated the attacks. Some intelligence shows that foreign operatives were confused about Havana Syndrome allegations.
The two agencies that have shifted their position still believe it is unlikely that a foreign government was responsible. But they held open the possibly that a foreign government had developed a novel weapon or prototype to harm U.S. government personnel, although one of the agencies determined it was unlikely that such a device had been used.
Some people suffering from Havana Syndrome and their legal representatives criticized the new intelligence report’s conclusion and praised the White House for pressing for renewed investigation.
Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents several people suffering from Havana Syndrome, said the intelligence agencies were continuing to “hide the truth.”
“That the White House statement differs from that of the intelligence community, an entity said to be controlled by the president, speaks volumes as to the lack of evidentiary integrity underlying any conclusion that a foreign government is not involved in A.H.I. attacks against Americans,” Mr. Zaid said.
Mark Lenzi, a State Department official who developed symptoms while serving in China and continues to be treated for Havana Syndrome ailments, said he believed that pulsed microwave radiation, a kind of directed energy device or weapon that could cause brain injuries, was responsible for the ailments.
“The White House is absolutely correct to be skeptical and dismissive about this biased and see-no-evil sham assessment,” Mr. Lenzi said.