Source: Havana Syndrome investigation is "a massive CIA cover-up" | 60 Minutes

- A previously unknown, portable microwave weapon may explain some cases of Havana syndrome. 60 Minutes reports that undercover US agents purchased a weapon overseas in 2024, and that it was subsequently tested on animals at a US military facility. The discovery could explain mysterious injuries suffered by American diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel since at least 2016.

- The investigation has lasted nine years. This was 60 Minutes' fourth report in its Targeting Americans series. The journalists continued investigating despite years of official government skepticism and repeated suggestions that victims' experiences were psychological or environmental rather than the result of attacks.

- Havana syndrome involves a distinctive pattern of neurological and physical injuries. Victims have reported sudden pressure in the head, severe headaches, hearing problems, tinnitus, vertigo, balance difficulties, disorientation, memory loss, concentration problems and cognitive impairment. Some have suffered permanent disabilities and damage affecting multiple organ systems.

- Chris and Heidi, whose surname was withheld, described repeated incidents inside their Virginia home. The couple met at the Air Force Academy. Chris retired as an Air Force lieutenant colonel after working on highly classified spy satellites.

- Chris experienced five suspected attacks over five months in 2020. The first occurred in August, when he felt as though someone had punched him in the throat, his left ear became clogged, and sharp pains travelled down his left arm. During another incident in his kitchen, he experienced an immediate vice-like pressure in his head, confusion, disorientation and dizziness.

- Chris described increasingly severe physical symptoms during subsequent incidents. In late September, while sitting in his living room, his spinal muscles suddenly cramped, producing intense burning and sharp pain. During the fifth incident in early December, he woke with a full-body convulsion and what he described as the worst pain of his life, feeling as though a vice were gripping his brainstem.

- Heidi developed serious injuries shortly after Chris's incidents. In early January, she woke with widespread joint pain and unexplained pain in her left shoulder. The bones in her shoulder were dissolving, a condition called osteolysis, requiring surgery.

- Heidi continues to suffer significant health consequences. She takes two neurological medications daily and experiences severe symptoms without them. She reported damage to multiple organ systems and said she was close to Chris during his final two suspected attacks.

- Chris and Heidi believe they were deliberately attacked by a foreign adversary while serving their country. Their experiences illustrate how suspected incidents have affected not only government personnel but also their spouses and families.

- Other victims have described remarkably similar experiences in different countries and circumstances. An FBI agent described an extremely painful drilling sensation inside his right ear. A Commerce Department official stationed in China experienced intense pressure in both temples and felt sound inside his head.

- The original Havana syndrome cases in Cuba involved severe ear pain. One early victim compared the sensation to having a sharp pencil repeatedly pushed against the eardrum. The condition subsequently acquired the name Havana syndrome because of these early cases.

- A Justice Department official's wife suffered serious injuries while posted in Europe. She described a piercing sensation entering her left ear through what felt like the window, followed by pressure in her head and a severe headache. Multiple surgeries were required to repair bones in her inner ear and skull.

- Many victims have experienced lifelong disabilities. The government has acknowledged their injuries and frequently paid for medical treatment, while continuing to dispute whether a foreign adversary caused them.

- Government investigations previously proposed several alternative explanations. These included atmospheric or environmental conditions, viruses, pre-existing medical conditions and psychological effects. An early FBI investigation even suggested mass hysteria.

- The 2023 US intelligence assessment concluded that foreign adversary attacks were very unlikely. This remained the government's official assessment at the time of the 60 Minutes report, despite subsequent developments involving the newly acquired weapon.

- Dr. David Relman identified pulsed radio-frequency or microwave energy as the most plausible explanation for a subset of cases. The Stanford University professor of medicine led two government-requested investigations, reporting in 2020 and 2022. His multidisciplinary panels included physicians, physicists, engineers and other specialists.

- Relman's investigations identified extensive historical research into potentially harmful microwave technology in the former Soviet Union. Researchers had explored distinctive microwave patterns capable of producing biological effects. Reported effects included unconsciousness, seizures, memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, headaches, intense pressure, pain, disorientation and balance problems.

- Microwave energy is not inherently unusual, but the proposed weapon uses a different application. Microwaves are present in ordinary technologies including microwave ovens, radar systems, television transmitters, mobile phones, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The concern is the possibility of deliberately engineered microwave radiation producing harmful biological effects.

- The US government had previously acknowledged intelligence about a potentially hostile microwave weapon. In 2014, following a lawsuit, the National Security Agency confirmed intelligence concerning a high-powered microwave system associated with a hostile country. The CIA reportedly considered such a weapon impractical because it would require enormous power and equipment approximately the size of a truck.

- Relman's findings were subsequently sidelined by parts of the US government. He said officials dismissed or buried his panels' conclusions without producing convincing new scientific evidence. He specifically objected to the confidence with which officials declared the proposed microwave mechanism impossible or implausible.

- A former CIA officer described an internal effort to minimize the Havana syndrome investigation. He requested anonymity and spoke publicly for the first time. In 2021, he volunteered to join the CIA's anomalous health incidents (AHI) investigation because colleagues, friends and their families were suffering serious injuries.

- The former CIA officer had witnessed extensive personal consequences among intelligence personnel. He described destroyed careers, damaged families, children with lifelong developmental problems and colleagues continuing to experience cognitive and other secondary effects years after their suspected incidents.

- The CIA investigation was officially framed around anomalous health incidents rather than confirmed attacks. The former officer expected to investigate whether a foreign government or other state actor was responsible. Instead, he said one of the first instructions he received was that headquarters wanted to bring down the temperature surrounding AHI.

- Bringing down the temperature meant discouraging the possibility of foreign responsibility. According to the former officer, the investigation increasingly emphasized atmospheric, environmental and psychological explanations rather than seriously pursuing a state actor. He characterized the resulting atmosphere as emotional and almost propagandistic.

- Fear of further incidents changed the behaviour of intelligence personnel and their families. The former officer said his own family left their overseas posting several months early because they feared exposure. Other officers shortened their assignments, sent families home early or selected different locations where suspected incidents had not occurred. He said the problem extended across the US government, not just the CIA.

- A senior member of the CIA's AHI unit allegedly mocked the victims during an internal social gathering. The former officer recalled a senior colleague proposing a happy hour at which employees would simulate AHI symptoms while drinking together. She reportedly imitated having a stroke, which he considered a particularly disturbing example of the agency's attitude toward injured personnel.

- The former officer believed the investigation was intended to establish a predetermined conclusion. He said the objective had become proving that the incidents were psychosomatic, atmospheric or environmental rather than determining what had actually happened.

- The former CIA officer resigned because he considered the treatment of victims a moral failure. He said the agency repeatedly claimed that its personnel were its highest priority, but his experience suggested otherwise. Having witnessed the destruction of colleagues' careers and family lives, he felt unable to continue working in the investigation.

- The CIA's AHI investigation effectively ended in 2022. Around the same period, a separate classified US mission was developing that would eventually acquire a potentially significant piece of evidence.

- US investigators learned that a Russian criminal network was offering a microwave weapon for sale. According to confidential sources, US agents working on illicit arms investigations became aware that a complex Russian criminal network was selling the technology.

- Undercover Department of Homeland Security agents purchased the weapon in 2024. The classified operation reportedly cost approximately US$15 million and was funded by the Pentagon. Three independent sources from different agencies confirmed the acquisition to 60 Minutes.

- The newly acquired weapon is reportedly small, portable and concealable. Unlike the truck-sized system previously imagined by CIA officials, this device is small enough for an individual to carry. It does not resemble a conventional gun, operates silently and does not produce the heat associated with an ordinary microwave oven.

- The weapon reportedly has programmable settings and remote-control capabilities. Sources described a system that can be configured for different scenarios and operated remotely. Its beam reportedly reaches several hundred feet and can penetrate windows and drywall.

- The weapon's critical components were manufactured in Russia. However, sources emphasized that its most important feature is not necessarily the physical hardware but the software controlling the electromagnetic radiation.

- The software reportedly generates a distinctive pulsed microwave signal. The electromagnetic wave rises and falls abruptly, producing rapid pulses rather than continuous radiation. This is the pulsed microwave mechanism that Relman's investigations had previously identified as a potentially plausible explanation.

- Relman explained how pulsed microwave radiation could affect the brain and other electrically active tissue. According to his explanation, rapid pulses can stimulate tissue such as the brain and heart, effectively mimicking some of the electrical activity normally generated by the body. Instead of the brain controlling these signals internally, external pulses could drive the stimulation.

- The proposed technology could operate as a stealth weapon because victims might perceive the effects as originating inside their own heads. Relman considered this an ideal characteristic for a concealed weapon. The absence of an obvious sound or conventional physical impact could also make the source difficult to identify.

- The classified weapon has reportedly undergone more than a year of testing at a US military laboratory. Confidential sources told 60 Minutes that experiments involving rats and sheep produced injuries consistent with those observed in human Havana syndrome cases. The programme's results were not publicly disclosed.

- Classified security-camera footage reportedly documents additional suspected attacks. Sources said investigators had collected recordings showing Americans experiencing sudden symptoms, although the footage itself was not shown publicly.

- One video reportedly came from a restaurant in Istanbul. Two FBI agents were sitting with their families while on vacation when a man carrying a backpack entered. Sources described the entire group suddenly grabbing their heads as though experiencing pain.

- Another video reportedly came from a stairwell at the US Embassy in Vienna. The staircase led to a secure facility. Two people were seen suddenly collapsing in the classified recording.

- Suspected incidents have reportedly occurred at highly sensitive US government locations. Hundreds of possible attacks have been reported, including incidents at CIA headquarters in Virginia and at least two incidents on the grounds of the White House.

- The weapon and newly obtained intelligence contributed to a meeting between Biden administration officials and victims. Approximately two months before President Biden left office, the White House summoned around half a dozen affected individuals. The meeting represented a significant change from years of official skepticism.

- Dr. David Relman participated in the White House response as an advisor. He said officials in the Biden White House believed the victims and rejected the CIA's position that known medical or environmental conditions adequately explained their injuries.

- Relman strongly criticized some of the CIA's previous medical and environmental explanations. He described certain explanations offered to dismiss the injuries as unreasonable and inconsistent with the evidence he had examined.

- A senior CIA source characterized the handling of Havana syndrome as an extraordinary cover-up. The source told 60 Minutes: "This is the biggest cover-up I've seen in my adult life."

- Relman believed the outcome amounted to a cover-up, although he did not necessarily consider it a centrally planned operation. He suggested that different people and institutional processes could have produced the same result without an explicit, coordinated strategy.

- Relman identified institutional resistance and a desire to resume normal operations as possible explanations. He believed officials wanted the controversy to disappear. According to him, some CIA experts had already established their position that non-thermal microwave radiation could not produce the reported effects, even before his investigations began.

- CIA experts reportedly told investigators that scientific literature did not support the proposed microwave mechanism. Relman believed this initial position contributed to officials dismissing later evidence. He suggested institutional consistency had become more important than objective reconsideration.

- Former CIA officer Mark Polymeropoulos attended the White House meeting. He believed the Biden administration was indirectly communicating that new intelligence had changed the government's understanding of the incidents. However, because the meeting was unclassified and he did not hold a security clearance, officials could not explicitly disclose classified intelligence supporting that position.

- Dr. Paul Friedrichs personally apologized to the victims at the White House meeting. Friedrichs was a retired major general and had previously served as one of the Pentagon's senior medical officials. He said that in more than 30 years of military medicine, he had never seen victims treated so badly and wanted to apologize.

- Friedrichs' apology was deeply significant to the victims. Polymeropoulos said the apology gave him the impression that at least some senior members of the Biden administration finally believed them and recognized how badly they had been treated.

- Victims considered their previous treatment as malingerers or people inventing symptoms deeply insulting. Polymeropoulos argued that the country should be embarrassed by how injured government personnel had been dismissed after reporting serious physical harm.

- The Biden White House reportedly prepared a public statement supporting the victims but never released it. The existence of the unpublished statement suggests that officials considered publicly acknowledging their experiences, although the administration ultimately did not make that declaration.

- The Trump administration had not changed the 2023 intelligence assessment. At the time of the report, the official conclusion that foreign adversary attacks were very unlikely remained in place.

- The Trump administration had nevertheless briefed senior congressional intelligence officials about the weapon. Confidential sources said members of Congress received a briefing and were shown a classified photograph of the device.

- Pentagon personnel who had investigated suspected attacks were reportedly transferred to a weapons-development unit. The report did not establish the full reason for the transfers, but the development placed some former investigators within an organisation focused on developing new military weapons.

- Mark Polymeropoulos described his own experience as both a medical injury and a betrayal by the CIA. He served the agency for 26 years, reached an executive position comparable to a three-star general and received one of its highest service decorations. He said he had participated in numerous covert operations in the Middle East and expected the agency to support him if he were injured.

- Polymeropoulos suffered a severe incident in Moscow in 2017. While staying in a hotel, he woke in the middle of the night with extreme vertigo, a spinning room, a blinding headache, tinnitus and nausea. He reported hearing no sound before the symptoms began.

- Polymeropoulos considered the Moscow incident particularly frightening because of his previous operational experience. He had faced physical danger and been shot at in Iraq and Afghanistan, but described the sudden neurological symptoms as a terrifying loss of control.

- His medical problems eventually ended his CIA career. He received treatment for vertigo, migraines, vision loss, memory difficulties and problems concentrating. His condition left him disabled and led to his retirement.

- The CIA subsequently became part of the intelligence community that concluded foreign attacks were very unlikely. Polymeropoulos considered this especially painful because the agency was effectively rejecting the possibility that he had been attacked, despite his years of service.

- Polymeropoulos accused the CIA of a massive cover-up but expressed regret about making the accusation. He said he still loved the organisation, believed in its mission and wanted it to operate effectively. Nevertheless, he felt betrayed because he believed it had failed to support him medically and professionally.

- The former CIA officer who resigned believed the agency had been careless in confronting a potentially ruthless adversary. He argued that if Russia was responsible, the operation would represent an extraordinary intelligence success because even a small number of genuine incidents could generate widespread fear, paranoia and anxiety across the United States and overseas.

- The former officer believed the psychological impact could have exceeded the original operation's objectives. He suggested Russia might not initially have anticipated how extensive the resulting fear would become. In his view, the fear itself may have contributed to suspected incidents continuing over an extended period.

- He identified a political reason why US officials might avoid acknowledging foreign responsibility. If the government concluded that Russia had deliberately attacked American personnel, it would effectively be acknowledging an act of aggression requiring a response from the United States.

- The former officer questioned whether American political leaders were willing to confront Russia over the incidents at that time. He believed the lack of appetite for a potentially serious confrontation could have influenced how officials handled the investigation and communicated their findings.

- A previous 2024 60 Minutes investigation, conducted with Russian dissident publication The Insider, had identified evidence suggesting Russian involvement. One finding concerned the wife of a Justice Department official who suffered serious injuries overseas. A Russian intelligence agent was reportedly in her vicinity when the incident occurred.

- The earlier investigation established a potentially significant connection but did not publicly prove that the Russian agent caused the woman's injuries. The proximity of Russian intelligence personnel was presented as evidence supporting further investigation into possible Russian involvement.

- The Department of Defense declined to comment on the latest investigation. The lack of a public response left important questions about the classified acquisition, testing and intelligence evidence unanswered.

- The Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced a new comprehensive review of anomalous health incidents. The ODNI oversees 18 intelligence agencies, including the CIA. It said the review would be comprehensive and complete and reaffirmed its commitment to delivering the truth.

- The victims are still waiting for official recognition and a definitive explanation. Despite the reported acquisition and testing of the weapon, the government had not publicly revised its 2023 assessment or formally resolved the question of responsibility.

- Chris believes the threat landscape has fundamentally changed. He argued that American adversaries can now reach personnel inside the United States, including people in their own homes, rather than limiting threats to overseas deployments.

- Chris wants injured military personnel to receive the Purple Heart. He described the award as recognition of the sacrifice made by service members whose injuries have affected not only themselves but also their families.

- The newly acquired weapon raises concerns about proliferation beyond the original Russian network. Sources told 60 Minutes that many similar devices may exist. They argued that if undercover American agents could purchase one from criminal dealers, Russia may have lost control of a concealed weapon that could potentially be obtained and used by people anywhere.

- The report leaves a major national-security question unresolved: who now controls these weapons? The alleged Russian manufacture of critical components, the criminal network's involvement in selling the device and the possibility of multiple devices circulating suggest that the threat may extend beyond direct state-sponsored operations.

- The episode closes with the question of whether military victims of Havana syndrome should receive the Purple Heart. One speaker argues that such recognition should not be controversial, reinforcing the report's central concern about acknowledging and supporting personnel who may have suffered injuries while serving their country.