The mysterious Havana syndrome, suffered for several years by dozens of American diplomats, could be linked to a Russian intelligence unit, according to an international investigation by the independent Russian newspaper The Insiderfrom the German magazine Der Spiegel and the American channel CBSpublished Monday 1er april. American intelligence had estimated in March 2023 “very unlikely” whether a foreign power or weapon is behind the mysterious unrest.
The journalistic investigation, which lasted more than a year, said it “discovered elements suggesting that these abnormal health incidents (…) could come from the use of directed energy weapons, wielded by members of unit 29155 » of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service. Unit 29155, which is responsible for operations abroad, has already found itself at the center of several cases, notably accused of the attempted poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom in 2018.
“Their scope is global for the conduct of lethal operations and acts of sabotage”declared to The Insider a former senior official of the CIA, the American foreign intelligence agency.
Moscow denies
The Kremlin rejected this investigation on Monday. “This subject has been inflated in the press for several years now. And, from the beginning, it has often been associated with Russia.declared the spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, during a press conference. “But no one has ever published any convincing evidence, so this is all just a baseless accusation.”did he declare.
The investigation by the three media suggests that the first cases of Havana syndrome occurred in Germany two years before those reported in Cuba in 2016. In Frankfurt, an employee at the United States consulate lost consciousness in reason for what would be assimilated to a “strong ray of energy”.
From 2016, American and Canadian diplomats stationed in Cuba said they were suffering from problems, in particular migraines, dizziness, nausea, vision problems, etc. These “abnormal health incidents”according to the terminology used in the United States, were then reported elsewhere in the world (China, Germany, Australia, Russia, Austria), and even in Washington.
From the start, the affair led to widespread speculation as to its origin. Some American officials initially downplayed the symptoms, sometimes attributed to stress; others privately discussing possible attacks and already suspecting countries like Russia.