Former CIA chief James Woolsey dies after wife says Havana syndrome took its toll

North America Politics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:32:20 GMT High confidence — 80/100

James Woolsey, the former CIA director who steered America's top intelligence agency through the uneasy years after the Cold War and defended it during one of its biggest espionage scandals, has died at 84.
Woolsey died Tuesday at his home in Washington after suffering a stroke, his wife, Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, said.
She also told The Washington Post that his health had deteriorated in recent years because of what she described as Havana syndrome, the mysterious illness reported by some U.

Woolsey died Tuesday at his home in Washington after suffering a stroke, his wife, Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, said.

James Woolsey, the former CIA director who steered America's top intelligence agency through the uneasy years after the Cold War and defended it during one of its biggest espionage scandals, has died at 84.
She also told The Washington Post that his health had deteriorated in recent years because of what she described as Havana syndrome, the mysterious illness reported by some U.

Sources: The Hill, The Independent