CBS News” 60 minutes Ran segment He blamed Russian espionage, possibly using sonic weapons, for the “Havana Syndrome,” which occurred primarily under the Trump administration.
The clear implication of this piece, based largely on anonymous accounts and information with vague sources, was that the Trump administration was failing to protect Americans overseas and was trying to cover up Russian involvement.
A report was released in 2023 concluding that “Havana Syndrome” is probably not the result of malicious foreign action, and the Biden administration claims to have thoroughly investigated the strange disease. This claim was repeated in the White House and FBI’s rather sophisticated response to the incident. 60 minutes segment.
The “Havana Syndrome” is a phenomenon that many people are not familiar with, even though an unclassified study by the U.S. intelligence community released last year concluded that it was “very unlikely” that it was the result of hostile foreign action. It remains an indelible mystery in my heart.
The first known example of this strange neurological disorder was report The 2017 incident involving U.S. government officials in Cuba earned it the nickname “Havana syndrome,” but some of the roughly 1,000 cases reported since then have been reported elsewhere, including China. Occurred.
People affected by Havana syndrome complained of headaches, dizziness, and some more severe neurological disorders. Some patients claimed to hear subsonic chirps or high-pitched noises comparable to the chirping of crickets and to feel pressure in their heads before the onset of their illness. These symptoms led to the theory that the syndrome may be caused by acoustic weapons.
A former Cuban political prisoner named Luis Zuniga. Said Breitbart News in October 2017 reported that he had been subjected to sonic torture during his 19 years in captivity, and that the sounds reported by Havana Syndrome patients were similar to the sounds he was being tortured with. Ta.
“It emits such a high treble and such a sharp bass that it penetrates the ear and eardrum, causing a state of despair in humans.” Zuniga said.
former president donald trump Said In October 2017, he said he believed “Cuba is responsible” for the wave of mysterious illnesses. Chief of Staff John Kelly suggested that the Cuban government is at least aware of hostilities against Americans in the country and could “stop attacking our diplomats” if it wanted to. The Cuban government vehemently denied these allegations.
of American Medical Association Journal (JAMA) published A February 2018 study after Americans living in Shanghai reported similar symptoms found that Havana syndrome was unlikely to be the product of mass psychosis. At the time, the Cuban government suspected that the patients were making false accusations.Scientists who contributed Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Research suggests that exposure to microwave radiation may cause symptoms reported by patients.
Since March 2023, there has been little discussion of Havana syndrome. Publication Multi-year intelligence estimates credited with debunking theories of sonic weapons and microwave bombing.
Reports of similar illnesses have decreased dramatically, but have not completely disappeared. 60 minutes He pointed to complaints by senior Pentagon officials who accompanied President Joe Biden. NATO summit meeting In Vilnius, Lithuania in 2023.
Five of the seven U.S. intelligence agencies that participated in the 2023 report said it was “highly unlikely” that a hostile foreign power had caused an “unusual health incident” either intentionally or through a secret research project. The consensus was that it was “low.”
The other two institutions did not disagree with the conclusion, but publicly expressed low confidence in it, and some of the contributing officials expressed frustration that the mysterious illness could not be explained.
The report found no evidence of foreign attack or a pattern of events suggesting hostilities. Investigators believe some of the reported illnesses are located in heavily guarded or shielded areas where foreign forces would be unable to attack, even with sophisticated sonic or energy weapons. He said that it is occurring from people who are.
CIA Director William J. Burns called the report “one of the largest and most extensive investigations in CIA history” and said he supported its conclusions.
Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association published Another study on Havana syndrome, conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in March 2024, found that brain scans and blood tests performed on patients found no evidence of brain damage, but did not rule out possible brain damage. The findings contradict some previous studies. NIH scientists said the scans were more accurate than previous studies and were conducted under better clinical conditions.
The NIH said its study was not intended to conclusively disprove the possibility of an external cause of Havana syndrome. Some people suffering from the syndrome were outraged by the study’s publication, upset by the implication that their symptoms were purely psychosomatic.
of 60 minutes Sunday’s report was based primarily on testimony from retired Army Lt. Col. Greg Edgreen, who was in charge of the Pentagon’s investigation into Havana syndrome. Edgreen said he believes an attack by Russian agents caused the illness because most of the victims had “Russian connections.” , focused on Russia and did very well.”
60 minutes Because she is an active FBI agent working on cases related to Russia, she interviews an anonymous Havana Syndrome patient who matches Ed Green’s profile. She said her health deteriorated while she was at her home in Florida in 2021, causing problems with her memory and concentration.
One of the cases FBI agents worked on involved Russian man Vitaly Kovalev, who was arrested for speeding near Key West in 2020.
The FBI apparently considered Kovalev a possible Russian spy, given his unusual work history (from working at a Russian military research institute to working as a chef at restaurants in New York and Washington). Kovalev returned to Russia in 2022 after serving a sentence for speeding and is believed to have been killed in Ukraine.
60 minutes I relied heavily on an investigative journalist named Christo Grozef to connect the dots. Grozev has a theory about a Russian intelligence unit, code-named 29155, that once paid bonuses to its employees for research into “the potential for non-lethal sonic weapons.” . Grozev Contents Unit 29155 was active in several locations where cases of Havana Syndrome were reported.
Edgreen and Grozev argue that the U.S. government under both the Trump and Biden administrations does not want to provoke a more serious conflict with Russia, and that U.S. military personnel are seemingly vulnerable to Havana Syndrome. I speculated that they were reluctant to actively investigate Russia’s involvement in Havana Syndrome because they did not want to admit it. Unstoppable Russian weapon.
“If this is what we have seen in hundreds of cases of extraordinary health problems, I can say with certainty that this is perhaps Putin’s greatest victory. “It was Russia’s greatest victory,” Grozhev claimed.
This was announced by the White House Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). 60 minutes The government stands by its 2023 intelligence report, saying it takes seriously reports of “unusual health incidents” (AHIs) and sympathizes with victims, but the theory of hostile foreign action “is “It is not supported by medical and technical analysis.” ”
kremlin on monday fired of 60 minutes “This is nothing but baseless and groundless accusations by the media,” the report said.
“This is not a completely new topic. For many years, the topic of the so-called “Havana syndrome” has been exaggerated in the press and from the beginning was associated with accusations against the Russian side, but there are no convincing explanations for these baselessness. No one has ever presented or expressed any evidence. We will press charges everywhere,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Havana Syndrome remains a frustrating mystery, and detectives can only offer theories and “connection” speculation without solid evidence. If darker theories are emphasized; 60 minutes While that is true, the purpose of the exercise was to devise a means of debilitating American soldiers without leaving evidence. At this point, few would doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government is willing to carry out such an attack.
On the other hand, even if we give conspiracy theorists the benefit of the doubt, unless the whole incident was a long and elaborate field test of a weapon still in development, it is unclear whether the hypothetical attackers got what they were worth for their considerable risk. It’s not easy to determine.
Theories implicating the Trump and Biden administrations and the permanent intelligence bureaucracy in a cover-up similarly run into questions of risk and benefit.Although there is a lot of evidence that the government, especially the permanent bureaucracy, covers things up and obstructs investigations, there is not much hard evidence to support this theory. 60 minutes It is believed. It is hard to imagine that both recent administrations are working overtime to dilute Putin’s malevolence.
It is especially difficult to imagine the current administration covering up explosive evidence that Russia attacked Americans. Ongoing funding This is because the defense of Ukraine against Russian aggression has been the subject of heated debate in Washington. If the Biden administration wanted to leak evidence that the Russians were using brain-damaging weapons to assault Americans at home and abroad, it probably would have done so months ago.
As with many frustrating stories today, many Possible I have Havana syndrome, but it hasn’t improved much. proven – And most of what seems certain seems to make no sense.
