美国考虑关闭驻古巴大使馆

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that the United States is considering closing its embassy in Cuba following a number of "health attacks" on American diplomats there.

"We have it under evaluation. It's a very serious issue with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered. We've brought some of those people home. It's under review.'' Tillerson said on the CBS television show Face the Nation.

At least 21 Americans have suffered what the State Department calls "incidents" that have led to a variety of symptoms, including hearing loss, concussions, headaches, ear-ringing, and even problems with concentration and common word recall. Some Canadian diplomats and their families have also been affected.

Some felt vibrations or heard loud sounds mysteriously audible in only parts of rooms, leading investigators to consider a potential "sonic attack." Others heard nothing but later developed symptoms.

Though investigators have explored the possibility of sonic waves or an electromagnetic weapon, no culprit or device has yet been identified, the Associated Press reports. The incidents began late last year and the most recent was reported in August.

Lawmakers in Washington have raised alarm over the incidents. On Friday, five Republican senators wrote Tillerson to call for both closing the Havana embassy and expelling all Cuban diplomats from the United States.

"Cuba's neglect of its duty to protect our diplomats and their families cannot go unchallenged,'' said the lawmakers, who included Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who led the effort, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a prominent Cuban-American and critic of the U.S. détente with Cuba.

Cuba has denied involvement and has said it is cooperating in the investigation into the attacks. The United States has not blamed Cuba directly for the attacks, but asked two Cuban diplomats to leave Washington earlier this year.

Former President Barack Obama re-established ties with the Caribbean island nation two years ago, a move that has been criticized and threatened by his successor Donald Trump.

美国国务卿蒂勒森星期天表示，由于在古巴的美国外交官出现多起健康问题，美国正考虑关闭其驻古巴的大使馆。

蒂勒森在CBS的《面对国家》节目中表示“我们正在评估中，对于一些个人所遭受的伤害来说，这是一个非常严重的问题。我们已经让一些人回国。我们正在评估情况。”

至少有21名美国外交人员遭受了美国国务院所说的导致各种症状的事件，包括听力损失，脑震荡，头痛，耳鸣，甚至有注意力不集中和忘记普通词语的问题。部分加拿大外交官和他们的家人也受到影响。

一些人感到振动或只在部分房间听到巨大响声。调查人员认为，这可能是声波袭击所致。还有人没有听到声响，但后来也出现了症状。

美联社报道说，虽然调查人员已经探索了声波或电磁武器的可能性，但没有发现凶手或装置。这些情况最初发生在去年年末，最近发生的时间是今年8月。

华盛顿的国会议员对这些事件表示担忧。上周五，五名共和党参议员给蒂勒森联名写信，要求美国关闭驻古巴大使馆同时驱逐古巴全部驻美国外交人员。

这些参议员在信中说，“古巴忽视保护我们外交官职责的做法不能置之不理。”这些参议员包括阿肯色州联邦参议员汤姆·科顿和佛罗里达州联邦参议员鲁比奥。鲁比奥是知名古巴裔美国人，他对美国缓和与古巴关系的政策持批判态度。

古巴否认与这些事件有关，但表示正配合调查。美国没有就这些事件直接指责古巴，但今年早些时候要求两名古巴外交官离开华盛顿。

美国前总统巴拉克·奥巴马两年前与加勒比岛国古巴恢复邦交，这一举动受到他的继任者唐纳德·川普的批评和威胁。