The mysteries have been with us since the dawn of time. Many people are still stunned by proclaiming that “the mystery of faith is great”. In my youth, we were fascinated by the mystery of the “Bermuda Triangle”, which no one talks about anymore. These days, people wake up at night, disturbed by the mystery of “Havana Syndrome”.
Quite a phenomenon, this syndrome! It was American diplomats and spies based in the Cuban capital who were the first to complain at the end of 2019: blinking in the ears, spectacular migraines, loss of balance, nausea. “Concussion without concussion,” as one doctor diagnosed.
Cuban authorities, accused of using a secret weapon against their American visitors, indignantly denounced the allegations and swore they had nothing to do with it. Doubts persist, but since then the syndrome has been experienced all over the world, including Russia and China.
However, it is incorrect to stick only to opponents of the United States: since Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House, nearly twenty American representatives have felt the same symptoms in Vienna, the Austrian capital, who – as readers of spy novels know – channeled all kinds of shenanigans throughout the Cold War.
ENERGY RADIUS OR SONIC ATTACK?
The mystery surrounding this syndrome is not only physiological manifestations, often vague, but, for those who suffer from it, undoubtedly real. Scientists and the military who dig to find the origin of these troubles are struggling to provide a convincing answer.
Initially, the hypothesis of a sonic weapon developed by the Cubans attracted attention, before it was rather believed that these ailments were due to the unintended consequences of a spy system to recover cell phone data. and laptops.
At the end of last year, the very serious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, requested by the American government, concluded that there was possibly behind these disturbances an energetic radiofrequency device, in the family roughly of the microphones. -waves. In truth, we still don’t know.
INCREASED FREQUENCY
In the meantime, the cases are multiplying. Last August, Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Vietnam was disrupted by a possible “abnormal health incident”, the Byzantine expression used in Washington to describe the signs of Havanese syndrome.
Same thing in September, when the director of the CIA went to India, then last month, in Colombia this time, where five families associated with the American embassy in Bogotá were affected.
Canadian representatives abroad have also spoken of comparable disturbances and criticized Ottawa for not taking them seriously enough. On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, faced with the same criticism, appointed two experienced diplomats to help the victims and “shed light” on the mysterious syndrome.
Let’s agree that the Blinken team will have a lot to shed light on, between a simple psychosomatic reaction to working abroad and acoustic attacks orchestrated by Moscow!
Symptoms of “Havana Syndrome”
- Metallic squealing in the ears, often followed by hearing loss
- Vertigo
- Vision problems
- Difficulty concentrating
- Migraine
- Nausea
- Insomnia
The victims so far …
- 200 American envoys, half associated with the CIA, half shared between the State Department and the Pentagon
- More than 20 Canadian diplomats
The places of the “crime” …
- First, Havana, Cuba, from 2016
- Then, Russia, Georgia, Poland, Austria, China, Taiwan, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, United Kingdom … and even, around the White House