What is Causing the "Havana Syndrome"?

You're walking your dog in the suburbs of Arlington, Virginia. You see colonial-style houses with well-manicured lawns and yard signs that say "Hate has no home here." It's the kind of place where neighbors still say hello to each other. It's a cool morning, a few days after Thanksgiving. A man gets out of a parked van and walks past you. Suddenly, your dog yelps in pain. Then you feel it, too—a high-pitched ringing in your ears, an intense headache, and a tingling on the side of your face.

It's 2019, you work for the National Security Council, and you've just been the victim of a directed-energy attack.

At least, that's the working theory of investigators who are looking into "Havana syndrome"—mysterious long-term brain damage suffered by U.S. diplomats, CIA agents, and other government personnel. Originally reported at the U.S. consulate in Havana, Cuba, similar incidents have since been recorded all over the world, including in Russia, China—and the United States. Another NSC official was even afflicted while walking to his car outside the White House in November of 2020.

The attacks—if, indeed, that's what they are—occurred periodically throughout Donald Trump's presidency, but appear to be increasing under President Biden, culminating in twenty cases reported this month in Vienna and confirmed by the State Department on July 16. According to Newsweek, victims of "Havana syndrome" have reported varying symptoms including sudden vertigo, nausea, headaches, vision and hearing problems, and memory loss. One CIA officer has suffered from constant migraines and vision loss following a visit to Moscow in 2017. He has since been forced into retirement and is no longer able to drive, GQ has reported.

"The brazen attack outside the White House certainly appears to be a message to the U.S. that 'we can reach you anywhere.'"

There have even been attacks on U.S. troops stationed worldwide, sources have told Politico.

The incidents were initially suspected to be "sonic attacks," but a report last year by the National Academy of Sciences has since suggested that the injuries are consistent with directed microwave energy. "The mere consideration of such a scenario raises grave concerns about a world with disinhibited malevolent actors and new tools for causing harm to others," the report concluded.

Although Russia, China, and Israel are believed to have the technology to perpetrate these attacks, only the Russian intelligence agency, the GRU, is known to operate in all of the locations where the attacks have taken place. This has led the CIA and Department of Defense to suspect Russia, according to Politico. But it's unclear what Russia's motivation would be in targeting U.S. personnel around the world (although the brazen attack outside the White House certainly appears to be a message to the U.S. that "we can reach you anywhere.")

It has been speculated that the symptoms of "Havana syndrome" could be a side-effect of eavesdropping technology, perhaps trying to lift data from the phones of U.S. officials. While this may be a possible explanation for the incidents at U.S. consulates in Havana, Guangzhou, and Vienna, it doesn't seem to explain the events in Virginia or Washington, D.C. in which individuals appear to have been specifically targeted.

The Standard will continue to follow the story as it develops.