Undercover US agents obtained a mysterious Russian weapon that could finally explain a baffling cluster of brain injuries suffered by American diplomats, spies, and military officers for nearly a decade that’s been deemed “Havana Syndrome,” according to a report.
The miniaturized microwave device was allegedly secretly purchased from a complex Russian criminal network for about $15 million in a Pentagon-funded operation by undercover Department of Homeland Security agents, confidential sources told CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”
The programmable weapon is designed to be concealed and silent, but doesn’t create heat like a traditional microwave oven. It can be controlled remotely and can penetrate several hundred feet through windows and drywall, according to the outlet.
The programming of the weapon shapes a unique electromagnetic wave that rises and pulses abruptly, which can target soft brain tissue — possibly tied to sudden attacks of debilitating neurological symptoms reported by hundreds of American personnel stationed overseas and within the US since at least 2016.
The cluster of incidents became known as “Havana Syndrome,” after early cases surfaced among US diplomats in Cuba. The symptoms include vertigo, hearing loss, migraines, vision problems, and cognitive impairment.
The still-classified stealth weapon has been tested at a US military lab for more than a year — with tests on rats and sheep showing injuries similar to those of people with Havana syndrome, three sources told the outlet.
Classified security footage described to the outlet has also been collected, showing Americans being hit with the weapon. In one, a camera captured two FBI agents on vacation in a restaurant in Istanbul, sitting at a table with their families.
After a man with a backpack walks in, everyone at the table suddenly grabs their head in pain, the outlet reported.
In another video from the US Embassy in Vienna, two people suddenly collapse on a stairwell to a secure facility.
Dr. David Relman, a Stanford University professor whom the government asked to lead two investigations into the phenomenon, concluded the most likely explanation for some Havana Syndrome cases was “a form of radiofrequency or microwave energy,” he recalled.
“In both of our investigations, we found the large majority of work to have been conducted in the former Soviet Union,” Relman told “60 Minutes,” noting that Russia appeared to have been perfecting the concept for decades.
Researchers in the Soviet Union discovered that microwave frequency could cause effects ranging from “loss of consciousness to seizures to memory lapses, inability to concentrate, headaches, intense pressure, pain, disorientation, difficulty with balance,” similar to the troublesome symptoms experienced by Havana Syndrome victims.
“What the Russians spoke about was the importance of the energy being pulsed in order to have biological effects on humans,” Relman said.
“When you produce pulses like this, you can actually stimulate electrically active tissue like brain tissue and the heart, for that matter, mimicking what the brain normally does, but now you’re driving it with your pulses from the outside,” he explained.
Chris, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who worked on classified spy satellite programs, told the outlet that he experienced a series of symptom attacks in his Northern Virginia home over several months in 2020 that left him needing to take neurological drugs daily.
“Very first incident occurred in August of 2020. And what it felt like was that– someone punched me in the throat, and my left ear was clogged. And I started to get sharp shooting pains going down my left arm,” he recalled.
His wife, Heidi, whom he met at the Air Force Academy, also began developing severe medical problems, she told the outlet.
“Right at the beginning of January, I woke up with immense joint pain everywhere. With shoulder pain in my left shoulder out of the blue, no trauma,” she said, recounting that doctors found bones in her shoulders were dissolving due to a condition known as osteolysis, requiring surgery.
Despite stories of harrowing medical episodes, the US government has long questioned whether the bouts of mysterious symptoms were actual attacks.
A 2023 assessment concluded it was “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary was responsible for Havana Syndrome — though some scientists and intelligence officials believe otherwise.
A former CIA officer who worked on the agency’s internal probe told “60 Minutes” he believed the investigation into Havana Syndrome was downplayed.
“One of the very first things that I heard when I arrived at the AHI Unit was, ‘Our job is to bring down the temperature on AHI at headquarters,’” he said. The government refers to the cases as “anomalous health incidents,” or AHI.
The former officer said leadership wanted to treat the cases as an “atmospheric and environmental issue,” rather than a state actor.
He ultimately resigned after the probe became “a moral issue.”
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence told the outlet in a statement that “the team conducting the review of AHI intelligence has been and continues to be relentless in its work and pursuit of the truth to complete the assessment.”
“ODNI’s review of this issue will be comprehensive and complete before it is released. DNI Gabbard has provided the time, resources, and support needed to ensure the review is fulsome and accurate,” they wrote.
“We remain committed to delivering the truth that the American people deserve.”
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