A comprehensive investigation into Havana syndrome has concluded that it is highly unlikely that a foreign agent is responsible for the ailments that US diplomats and intelligence agents have reported while working in overseas legations. Although first identified among US Embassy officials in the Cuban capital in 2016, it has since afflicted and continues to afflict diplomats, officials, and expatriate family members in more than 90 countries.
However, recently released declassified documents exclude the possibility that the painting was the result of “a weapon or device” used by a “foreign adversary.” US intelligence has found “no credible evidence” of intentional action by third countries or enemy entities, clouding the theory that Russia or some other country could have been orchestrating a worldwide campaign of attacks on Americans using some type of electromagnetic energy.
The investigation, which has dragged on for more than six years, has even considered the possibility that extraterrestrials are responsible for the syndrome, but it was quickly ruled out. According to declassified reports, most of the cases, including some reported this year, “can reasonably be explained by medical conditions, environmental and technical factors, or even the existence of previously undiagnosed illnesses.”
President Joe Biden’s administration had been under pressure to respond to the mystery from those who reported suffering from the syndrome and its many advocates, including some members of Congress. Last year, the president signed into law the Havana Act, which compensated people who had suffered injuries consistent with what the government has called “abnormal health incidents.”
In summary, the investigation concludes that no foreign adversary can be linked to any incident, although the syndrome will continue to be studied and individuals who report new cases will continue to be responded to.