DMITRY ASTAKHOV / AFP
According to a journalistic investigation, Russia is responsible, via a directed energy weapon, for the Havana syndrome which struck many American diplomats (archive photo showing Vladimir Putin discovering the new headquarters of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence services ).
RUSSIA – It is a mystery that has hovered over the world of international diplomacy for years. Said “ Havana syndrome “, to which dozens of American diplomats have been victims in recent years, has perhaps finally found an explanation. And according to an investigation carried out by several media outlets around the world published this Monday, April 1, the Russian secret services are responsible, via weapons. directed energy “.
Starting in 2016, American and Canadian diplomats stationed in Cuba reported experiencing complaints, including migraines, dizziness, nausea and vision problems. 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.
A case which quickly led to widespread speculation about its origin. While some U.S. officials initially downplayed symptoms sometimes attributed to stress, others privately spoke of possible attacks and already suspected countries like Russia. Officially, American intelligence had estimated in March 2023 “ very unlikely » that a foreign power or weapon is at the origin of the mysterious trouble.
Moscow denies outright
But according to a journalistic investigation published by the independent Russian newspaper The Insiderthe German magazine Der Spiegeland the American channel CBSthese diplomats may have been the target of a Russian sonic weapon.
The investigation, which lasted more than a year, said to have “ discovered elements suggesting that these abnormal health incidents (…) could come from the use of directed energy weapons, wielded by members of unit 29155 » from the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service. A branch responsible for operations abroad and which 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 of action 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 intelligence agency.
Moscow immediately rejected this investigation, judging it as “ unfounded “. “ This subject has been inflated in the press for several years now. And from the beginning, it’s often associated with Russia “, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference. “ But no one has ever published any convincing evidence, so it’s all just a baseless accusation “, he added.
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 due to this which would be assimilated to a “ strong energy ray “.
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