Modern Mysteries

CIA report suggests 'Havana Syndrome' is not what it seems

By T.K. Randall
January 21, 2022 ·  26 comments

The symptoms were first reported in Cuba. Image Credit: U.S. Department of State The mysterious condition, which causes a range of symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and nausea, is named after a spate of such incidents which began in Havana, Cuba back in 2016.

At the time, it was believed that US diplomats were being targeted by some sort of directed energy weapon by unknown foreign agents with the goal of disrupting diplomatic ties with the country.

Since then, similar symptoms have been experienced by dozens of US personnel in multiple different countries, prompting an ongoing investigation into the phenomenon.

While it had seemed as though somebody must have been deliberately targeting the victims, the latest findings suggest instead that it is unlikely that any hostile foreign power was involved.Investigators were unable to completely rule it out, but in most cases - of which there have been hundreds - alternative conventional explanations were deemed to be more plausible.

Understandably, those impacted by the phenomenon have been somewhat disappointed by the news.

"The CIA's newly issued report may be labeled 'interim' and it may leave open the door for some alternative explanation in some cases, but to scores of dedicated public servants, their families, and their colleagues, it has a ring of finality and repudiation," one support group said in a statement.

"We have reason to believe the interim report does not even represent the consensus of the full CIA, instead reflecting the views of a subset of officials most interested in resolution and closure."

As things stand, it doesn't seem as though the phenomenon will be sufficiently explained to everyone's satisfaction anytime soon.

Even if most of the cases do have conventional explanations, if even some of them are down to a genuine foreign attack, then it means that someone must be responsible for them.

Source: NBC News | Comments (26)

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