Picture it: a secluded hangar, a furtive handoff, goons with guns, suitcases bursting with cash. On one side, US operatives. On the other, sellers with a mysterious device that might finally explain Havana Syndrome.
You’ll forgive our imaginations running a little wild there, but according to new reports from CNN, the source material is very much real: in the dying days of the Biden administration, a branch of the US Department of Homeland Security, clandestinely purchased a device that could be the cause of Havana Syndrome.
But first, some context…
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For those who remember the 2010s, you may recall stories about Havana Syndrome —officially called Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) — a collection of neurological and other symptoms that hit US diplomats, spies, and their families around the world.
Those affected reportedly experienced a range of ailments, including dizziness, nausea, headaches, ringing in the ears, and dull pain.
The condition earned its nickname because the symptoms initially presented in US and Canadian officials who had worked in Cuba around 2016. Since then, hundreds of similar incidents have been recorded by US personnel posted at several locations, including Guangzhou, Vienna, Hanoi, Bogotá, and Tbilisi.
But here’s the puzzling bit: a decade on and we still don’t know what causes it. Years of studies have produced three competing theories:
- Environmental factors — perhaps exposure to toxic chemicals or other hazards. But this isn’t supported by medical data, and the symptoms have appeared in locations with nothing in common.
- A directed-energy weapon — most likely Russian. A 2020 study found symptoms “consistent with directed, pulsed radio frequency energy.” And a 2024 investigation by The Insider, 60 Minutes, and Der Spiegel linked a Russian military intelligence unit to suspected attacks.
- Psychogenic factors — stress, anxiety, or other natural causes. A 2025 National Intelligence Council report leaned this way, concluding it’s “very unlikely” a foreign adversary is responsible, or even has a weapon capable of causing the symptoms.
The CIA sits somewhere in the middle of these assessments: an unreleased 2022 assessment dismissed the idea of a large conspiracy, but couldn’t rule out foreign involvement in around two dozen cases.
Now back to this intriguing device…
According to CNN’s unnamed sources, acquiring the device cost the US “eight figures.” It is reportedly small enough to fit into a backpack, has Russian components, and produces pulsed radio waves.
Those suffering from Havana Syndrome are hoping they might finally learn what happened to them, but the US has now had the device for a year and is seemingly no closer to solving the mystery.
Intrigue’s Take
Havana Syndrome has become a bit of an obsession in the US intelligence community.
For those affected, there’s been a push for official recognition. Then-President Biden passed legislation to compensate those suffering from Havana Syndrome, but many remain unsatisfied by how the situation has been handled — including being publicly told the condition might just be in their heads.
Beyond the human toll, any direct evidence of a foreign power purposefully harming US officials abroad would be a serious diplomatic incident, at best, and a reason for a military response at worst.
But perhaps most importantly, isn’t the US supposed to be the one inventing futuristic weapons and innovative methods of hurting its adversaries? Of course, trying to prove a negative is nearly impossible, but the fact that, nearly a decade later the mystery remains unsolved is an unnerving shortcoming of technological and intelligence capabilities.
Sound even smarter:
- An important caveat: we only know what’s been made public. There’d be significant intelligence value in the US not revealing what it actually knows.