Investigative reporting into the "mysterious Havana syndrome" – affecting American officials posted to Cuba from 2016 onwards – is pointing the finger at Russian military intelligence unit 29155 (GRU). Having become the Kremlin's favorite weapon for destabilization, elimination, or sabotage actions abroad since 2014, this group of spies had already appeared in the sights of Western intelligence services in 2018, following the attempted poisoning of a GRU defector exiled in the UK.
According to information released on Monday, April 1, by independent Russian media channel The Insider, German magazine Der Spiegel, and American news network CBS, around 100 people – diplomats, FBI and CIA agents, and sometimes their family members – have been targeted by a sonic weapon developed by Russia. Causing severe symptoms – migraines, dizziness, nausea, vision problems – these "anomalous health incidents," in the words of the US administration, were also reported as early as 2014 in Washington and official US representations, in Germany, China, Australia, Vietnam, and Austria.
In March 2023, at the end of an internal investigation, US authorities considered it "highly unlikely" that a foreign power or weapon was behind these mysterious disorders that were sending victims to hospital, before, often, forcing them to leave their jobs. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller assured on Monday that the department and the intelligence community stand by their March 2023 conclusions. On the same day, Moscow rejected the accusations it judged "baseless."
In addition to testimonies from the victims of these attacks, who report experiencing severe ear pain generated by sound waves, investigative reporting includes the account of the former military officer in charge of the official investigation into Havana Syndrome. For him, the Russian origin of these attacks is beyond doubt, and he blames too high a standard of proof for the US refusal to attribute responsibility to Moscow. Finally, he points out that all those affected had worked on Russia-related issues. In his view, their exclusion was a way of undermining the American authorities' knowledge of Russia's real activities.
Furthermore, The Insider, Der Spiegel and CBS claim to have traced two Russian links to this operation. The first individual allegedly emigrated to the United States posing as a chef. In reality, having received training as an electronics engineer at an institute connected to the Russian security complex, he purportedly worked for Russian intelligence services on American soil. He was caught on video by the police during an arrest for speeding and hit-and-run. Despite FBI interrogation, he served his sentence for the traffic violation without incident before returning to Russia. He reportedly died thereafter on the Ukrainian front.
You have 44.35% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.