Don’t Be Misled by the ‘New’ Havana Syndrome Claims

The man fighting for financial compensation for victims of ‘Havana Syndrome,’ attorney Mark Zaid, is claiming the United States government “is covering up evidence” about the condition that has afflicted American diplomats and intelligence officers since late 2016. Zaid has obtained the contents of a declassified report on ‘Havana Syndrome’ under the Freedom of Information Act. Dated September 2022, the report by a small panel of experts concluded that the condition is real and represents a serious threat. Zaid points out that the findings differ from “previous statements from the intelligence community” and is adamant that ‘Havana Syndrome’ was “perpetrated either by foreign actors, or it is an experiment gone horribly wrong." Since the report’s release on March 29th, some people have viewed it as a major new development in this longstanding saga over the origin and nature of Havana Syndrome. It is nothing of the sort.

In March 2023, five different intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, concluded that ‘Havana Syndrome’ was a myth—an imaginary condition consisting of an array of pre-existing health conditions and anxiety reactions—and was not caused by a secret weapon or an inadvertent exposure of an energy source from a foreign adversary. The problem with Zaid’s claims is that each of these intelligence agencies would have reviewed this report and rejected it, and with good reason.

Let’s look at just one aspect of the report that deals with mass psychology.

The report claimed that mass psychogenic illness could not have been responsible for the symptoms experienced by the victims as there was “No evidence that affected individuals were experiencing extraordinary anxiety relative to their normal work duties.” This is inaccurate. Prior to leaving for Cuba, each of the diplomats and intelligence officers was told that they would likely be under 24-hour surveillance. Then, soon after arriving, they were informed that they may be the targets of a sonic weapon—and to avoid standing or sleeping near windows to reduce the possibility of being attacked.

The panel also rejected the role of psychogenic illness because the symptoms are mild and temporary, yet “many have had symptoms that have persisted and had serious effects.” This shows a lack of understanding of the literature. There are two main types of mass psychogenic illness. The first involves the sudden exposure to a perceived harmful agent, most commonly an unfamiliar odor, in an atmosphere that is devoid of pre-existing group tension. The victims typically experience headache, nausea, and dizziness, and usually make a rapid recovery within a few hours. However, the second most common type of mass psychogenic illness is consistent with what was reported in Cuba. It is incubated in an atmosphere of prolonged stress and is typified by brain anomalies that are induced by stress. A 2019 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found brain anomalies in a small cohort of American patients who had served in Havana. While this was widely reported in the media as brain damage, they are not equivalent. In fact, the anomalies were so minor, even the authors admitted that they could have resulted from individual variation. Furthermore, the anomalies were consistent with the brain scans of people who had been exposed to long-term stress—the exact situation in Cuba.

Another reason for rejecting the influence of psychogenic illness was that it “usually occurs in a segregated group,” and in Cuba, those affected “served different organizations in a number of diverse locations and roles.” Outbreaks of mass psychogenic illness commonly begin in small, cohesive groups and spread outward, starting with people of higher status. The first people affected were CIA agents from a small unit in Havana. This is a defining feature of mass psychogenic illness—it follows social networks. Those affected belonged to a common work environment and the same social network that was under a high degree of stress as they were in a foreign country with a history of difficult relations.

With the release of the newly declassified report on ‘Havana Syndrome’ and speculation surrounding it, we should never lose sight of one maxim that has stood the test of time: when in doubt, follow the mainstream science.