United States

Mother of US Diplomat Hurt in ‘Health Attack' Speaks Out

"I do not believe that our military, our diplomats around the world or here at home are safe"

The mother of a U.S. diplomat who fell ill after suspected "health attacks" in China is speaking out, sharing her family's harrowing story with NBC News in hopes of raising awareness about the potential danger facing American diplomats and other workers around the world. 

Laura Hughes, an Air Force veteran, says her daughter Catherine Werner is struggling with the effects of traumatic brain injury after experiencing strange sounds and sensations at her apartment in Guangzhou, where Werner was a foreign trade officer until being medevac'd out earlier this year. 

She's calling on the State Department to do more to solve the mystery that has eluded investigators since U.S. diplomats and spies starting getting sick in Cuba in late 2016.

"I do not believe that our military, our diplomats around the world or here at home are safe," Hughes told NBC News. "Because this weapon system is creating havoc."

The Cuban and Chinese embassies in Washington did not respond to NBC News inquiries about the Werner case.

Contact Us