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The United States government discreetly obtained a portable device that officials believe may be connected to the so-called "Havana Syndrome", the debilitating condition reported by more than 1,500 American officials since 2016, according to multiple sources cited by CBS News.
According to the report, the equipment was secretly acquired in the final weeks of the Biden administration by the National Security Investigations division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), using eight-figure Pentagon funds.
The sources describe that the device fits in a backpack and contains components of Russian origin.
Three of the informed individuals told CBS that the Pentagon has been testing it for over a year and that the device emits pulsed radio frequency energy.
Researchers believe it could replicate effects described by victims of the "Havana Syndrome," a term that originated after the first cases reported by U.S. diplomats and intelligence personnel in Havana, Cuba, in 2016.
CBS adds that U.S. officials presented some of their findings to congressional oversight committees last year.
The media recalls that the victims have reported a variety of neurological symptoms, including severe headaches, pressure in the head, dizziness, nausea, and ringing or popping in the ears.
Some people reported hearing a sharp, painful sound that diminished as they moved away from the location, and in certain cases, the effects were so severe that they ended up leaving their jobs.
Cases have also been reported in dozens of countries and continents, involving diplomats, intelligence officials, and military personnel.
The information arrives in a context of previous official conclusions that, in general, minimized the hypothesis of a foreign attack.
An initial intelligence assessment completed in 2023 concluded that it was "very unlikely" that a foreign adversary was responsible, and a subsequent review—published in December 2024 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)—upheld the overall assessment that it is "very unlikely" that a foreign actor is responsible for the incidents, although the document itself considers the feasibility of a deliberate mechanism such as a radiofrequency pulsed energy weapon/device as a line of analysis.
CBS adds that, despite the prevailing view of "unlikely," two agencies adjusted their assessment, indicating an "approximately equal" likelihood that an adversary may have developed a device capable of harming U.S. officials and their families, although without directly linking it to the reported incidents.
Meanwhile, the ODNI would be reviewing previous investigations into the so-called "Anomalous Health Incidents" (AHI).
People familiar with that review stated that it is nearly complete, but legislators have not yet been informed, nor has it been prepared for publication; a spokesperson mentioned that the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, remains committed to sharing the findings, but is not "rushing" to provide incomplete information.
Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos stated that the agency had maintained that this technology did not exist and that, with the existence of the device under test, "its analytical assumptions" are weakened; he raised the need for a new comprehensive review.
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