Washington, November 30 (RHC)-- U.S. International Relations Professor Philip Brenner said he is convinced that the Cuban government had no responsibility whatsoever in the health incidents reported by U.S. diplomats in Havana.

“We don't know what happened at the embassy. It's a mystery, but I strongly believe that the Cuban government is not involved,” the U.S. academic told Prensa Latina news agency about what many consider a thorny issue in U.S.-Cuba relations since last August, when U.S. media began to disseminate reports of health symptoms presumably affecting U.S. diplomats and their relatives in Cuba.

The Trump Administration later described the incidents as 'sonic attacks' though no evidence has been found thus far of its actual occurrence nor Cuba's involvement.

Despite the lack of evidence, the U.S. government rushed to retaliate, downsizing its diplomatic staff here in Havana and also expelling 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington, in analysts consider a serious blow to the process toward normalized relations started nearly three years ago.

Brenner, a professor of international relations at American University’s School of International Service, affirmed that the issue is being used as a pretext by hardliners in the Republican party, who oppose the normalization process.