What is 'Havana syndrome', the mysterious condition plaguing US officials? - Hindustan Times

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"Directed" radio frequency is the most plausible explanation for mysterious symptoms experienced by diplomats stationed in US embassies in Havana and elsewhere, a federal government report said. (File Photo / REUTERS)

What is 'Havana syndrome', the mysterious condition plaguing US officials?

US vice-president Kamala Harris delayed for several hours a trip to Vietnam after the US embassy in Hanoi reported a possible case involving "acoustic incidents" there, raising concerns she could be a target.

Written by Joydeep Bose | Edited by Avik Roy, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

PUBLISHED ON AUG 26, 2021 02:19 PM IST

A disease —considered to be mysterious so far — called the 'Havana Syndrome' has left several US diplomats plagued with severe headaches, nausea, and possible brain damage this week. While many officials are convinced that the Havana Syndrome is a sustained attack involving electronic weapons, there are also conflicting ideas about it. The condition, which seems to have almost uniformly affected US officials, has sparked several theories — from a 'microwave attack' to weapons that focused on ultrasound, poison, and even a reaction to crickets.

Here's a brief run-down of the entire situation surrounding the Havana Syndrome:

Cases

On Tuesday, US vice-president Kamala Harris delayed for several hours a trip to Vietnam after the US embassy in Hanoi reported a possible case involving "acoustic incidents" there, raising concerns she could be a target. Ultimately Harris did go to Hanoi, but the US state department said it was investigating a case of what the federal government officially dubbed an "anomalous health incident" or AHI. It was later unofficially called the 'Havana Syndrome' by the media.

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However, it is important to understand that the 'Havana Syndrome' is not new. Dozens of such cases were reported by US diplomats and intelligence officers since 2016, first in Cuba, then in China, Germany, Australia, Taiwan, and in Washington, DC itself.

In July, the New Yorker magazine reported there have been dozens of cases among the US officials in Vienna, Austria since the beginning of 2021. However, the actual number of incidents reported among American officials has been kept under the wraps for security reasons.

Why is it called the 'Havana Syndrome'?

The syndrome was first named after Havana after the administration of former US President Donald Trump pulled the country's officials out of the Cuban capital and expelled 15 Cuban diplomats from Washington, hinting that either its government or Russia was behind the attacks.

After Trump accused Cuba of perpetrating the attacks, the US government reduced staff to the embassy in the country to a minimum. The Cuban foreign minister, in turn, accused the US of lying about the incident and denied any involvement.

Concerns

There are concerns among officials of the US state department that a powerful rival, possibly Russia, is mounting the attacks, reported the AFP news agency.

Following Kamala Harris' delayed trip to Vietnam, former CIA operative Marc Polymeropoulos, himself a victim of the same syndrome in Moscow in 2017, said the volume of attacks appeared to be mounting.

Also Read | ‘Havana syndrome’ sickened 100 CIA officers, says chief

"This is a message that they can get at our senior VIPs," he said, adding that the volume of attacks now includes intelligence officers, diplomats, and US military officers.

Symptoms

People who have been reported to be down with the Havana Syndrome have often mentioned hearing a "focused, high-pitched and sharp sound" that left them nauseated. In some cases, the afflicted had bloody noses, headaches, and other symptoms that resembled concussions.

Theories

Although the US government dismissed complaints regarding the Havana Syndrome for several years, instead judging them to be symptoms of people under stress or reacting with hysteria to unknown stimuli, the latest cases called for a revision.

Several US officials said Russia was likely responsible for the attacks. This view was shared by CIA analysts, state department officials, and even several of the victims. It is known that Russia has a history of researching weapons that could potentially cause brain damage, such as the Cold War-era "Moscow Signal", however, there is no definitive statement from the US government yet linking Russia to the incidents.

In May 2021, the New Yorker reported that the US government's "working hypothesis" was that the agents of Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, "have been aiming microwave-radiation devices at US officials to collect intelligence from their computers and cell phones and that these devices can cause serious harm to the people they target."

Cause

At the end of 2020, the National Academy of Sciences studied the available cases and concluded they appeared to represent a distinctive set of symptoms, unlike any other known disorder. Their report noted that the symptoms vary among those affected, and not all of them were tied to a perceived sharp, directed sound.

However, the academy noted in its report that the best explanation for the syndrome would be "pulsed, directed microwaves". The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has also created a task force to study the issue in detail.

(With inputs from agencies)

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