This is a bizarre story. The only reason I give it any credibility is that the diplomats and the media have absolutely no reason to lie about it. If anything they have every reason in the world to claim that everything is going well with Cuba.
In the fall of 2016, a series of U.S. diplomats began suffering unexplained losses of hearing, according to officials with knowledge of the investigation into the case. Several of the diplomats were recent arrivals at the U.S. Embassy, which reopened in 2015 as part of former President Barack Obama's re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba.
Some of the diplomats' symptoms were so severe that they were forced to cancel their tours early and return to the United States, officials said. After months of investigation, U.S. officials concluded that the diplomats had been exposed to an advanced device that operated outside the range of audible sound and had been deployed either inside or outside their residences. It was not immediately clear whether the device was a weapon used in a deliberate attack or had some other purpose.
...The use of sonic devices to intentionally harm diplomats would be unprecedented.
To say the least.
The most plausible scenario is that this was some sort of eavesdropping gone wrong. Combine Cuban secret police with whatever Russian or Chinese tech they were playing with. And the results were bad.
The alternative that the Cubans deliberately did this. Or that some other player, such as say the Russians, decided to have some fun, is even more troubling. And yet in a way it follows from the natural consequences of appeasement.
Appeasement convinces totalitarian states that you're weak. And, as natural bullies, they push to see just how weak you are.
The Russians certainly engaged in all kinds of harassment of US diplomats, particularly in the Soviet era. But the Cubans had a great deal to lose. And little to gain. Yet that kind of rational calculation, which makes a great deal of sense to us, is actually alien to our enemies who assume that our outreach means that they're winning. And then they press their advantage.