Name: Havana Syndrome: Pentagon testing mysterious device bought in undercover operation
Uploaded: 2026-01-14T17:06:53.000Z
Duration: 9 min 28 s
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Well, we're learning that the Pentagon is testing a device that could be behind mysterious ailments that hit American spies, diplomats and troops.

Adverbs of degree

The illness first emerged nearly 10 years ago.

That's when US diplomats in Havana, Cuba reported vertigo, severe headaches and other signs of trauma.

Later cases of so called Havana Syndrome were reported worldwide.

Sources say the device was purchased for millions of dollars in an undercover operation in the last days of the Biden administration.

Senior national security reporter Zach Cohen joins us now from Washington.

What more are you learning about this, Zach?

Sources telling us that the Pentagon spent millions of dollars to purchase this device as part of an undercover operation conducted jointly with the Department of Homeland Security in the waning days of the Biden administration and that U.S.

officials have spent over a year now examining the device, studying it, and

still have not definitively concluded whether or not it is linked to those mysterious health incidents.

Over a dozen that we know of have been reported.

But there is evidence suggesting new evidence suggesting that it potentially was, and

we're learning from our sources that the makeup of this device really is something that investigators have honed in on.

They've found that the device produces what's known as pulsed radio waves.

That's something US Officials and academics have long speculated to be the source, the cause of these symptoms that have been reported by US Spies, diplomats and troops around the world, and

We're also learning that while not entirely Russian in origin, the device is comprised of various Russian components, which obviously raises significant concerns and questions about a country that the US Considers to be a foreign adversary potentially having some role in developing this device that is suspected of being used to target US Officials around the world.

And we're also told too, a key part of this is that the device is relatively small in its fit into a backpack.

And that gets to one of the core questions that has been on the top of mind for US Officials is how can a device that cause so much damage, the damage that's been reported by these victims, but

It seems this device would check that box as well.

So we're going to continue to push the US Government, the US Intelligence community, the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security.

For more clarity on this, you may remember that the CIA, their response to these victims has really shifted over time.

Those victims feel largely that the Biden administration, and

to date the Trump administration, has largely dismissed their reported symptoms.

Their calls for some sort of an answer as to an accountability as to what happened while they were serving their country and a key concern Here as well is if this device does prove to be viable, it could mean that it was potentially proliferated, meaning that there could be several foreign countries that have this capability and could potential use it against US Service members, US diplomats abroad in a way that this device is suspected to have been used.

Important to follow up on and to hopefully find out more for those victims.

Joining us now is the editor for the Insider, Michael Weiss.

And, Michael, you've been reporting on Havana Syndrome for quite a bit now.

What's your reaction to this new reporting?

Well, first of all, it's a fantastic piece by cnn, and

it sort of conforms to a lot of what we at the insider had.

Two years ago, in a collaboration with 60 Minutes, we found evidence suggesting that a unit of Russian military intelligence, the GRU, known as Unit 29155.

Everybody in the world knows who they are because these are the guys responsible for poisoning Sergey and Julius Skripal and Salisbury.

All that they do, Jake, is kinetic operations.

They kill people and they blow things up.

We found evidence that this unit had not only worked on research, scientific research, into directed energy weapons.

We have the documents from their inboxes to prove it.

But we were able to locate two of their operatives in two places.

Two different cities at two different time periods.

Tbilisi, Georgia, and Frankfurt, Germany, actually, going back to 2014.

So this predates Havana, Cuba, in 2016, where two victims whose medical records we also examined alleged that they succumbed to these symptoms.

And as you mentioned, there are neurological symptoms, traumatic brain injuries, and

in some cases, really physically debilitating ailments.

He has to walk around with a weighted vest for the rest of his life.

I mean, it renders you dysfunctional at its worst.

These two victims identified two of these GRU operatives and said these people were skulking around outside of our area.

In one case was a residence in Tbilisi, Georgia, in a suburban community.

And the other case, it was Frankfurt, the consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, and, you know, credible actors.

One worked for doj, and the other worked for a US Intelligence agency.

So one of the main bulwarks that we've been trying to determine here is could a device like this exist?

And CNN reports that not only has the Pentagon been tinkering with this thing for a year, but

And, oh, by the way, it has Russian components.

Although the device is not entirely made up of Russian components.

Two years ago, you published your investigation linking Havana Syndrome to the use of energy weapons and a Russian military intelligence unit at the time.

Now, Vice President J.D. vance, then Senator J.D.

vance responded, quote, feels like a lot of journalists have lost their minds, unquote.

He went on to say something even weirder.

Now, your investigation led to US Senators urging the Biden administrative bipartisan group of US Senators urging the Biden administration to reinvestigate the root cause of Havana Syndrome.

We should note then, Senator, now Secretary of State Marco Rubio's signature is on there.

I assume that J.D. vance has called you and apologized.

You'll be shocked to discover he has not.

And it was a very kind of churlish and puerile comment from J.D. vance.

I kind of got the impression he didn't bother to read our investigation.

You know, one of the results of that investigation, we were kind of girding our loins for what the pushback from the intelligence community was going to be.

And what we discovered is nobody could knock down what we uncovered.

Nobody could say this is just patently false.

It was an attempt to kind of deflect and say, well, you know, we still don't have any credible evidence, et cetera.

But then some interesting things happened.

The intelligence community assessment came out, and two agencies.

they said that there's now a 50, 50 chance that such a device could exist.

One agency went on to say it may have been used against Americans abroad.

The other agency cast some doubt on that.

But that was a big move of the needle in terms of evidentiary support for ahi.

And then another thing happened, which is the House Permanent Select Committee Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community, came out with a report last year saying that it's increasingly likely that some cases of AHI are caused by a foreign adversary.

So again, you're seeing fall into place here.

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Havana Syndrome: Pentagon testing mysterious device bought in undercover operation

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