Device that may be linked to

The US government quietly acquired a device in late 2024 that officials believe may be linked to the debilitating condition known as “Havana Syndrome,” which more than 1,500 US officials have reported experiencing since 2016, according to multiple sources briefed on the matter who spoke to News themezone.

The device was clandestinely purchased in the final weeks of the Biden administration by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division, using Pentagon funds that exceeded eight figures, according to two people familiar with the matter. He device It is portable, the size of a backpack and contains components of Russian origin, the two people said.

Three of the people said the Pentagon has been testing the device, which emits pulsed radio frequency energy, for more than a year, but they did not offer details about the nature of the tests. They said department researchers believe it may be able to reproduce the effects described by victims of the “Havana Syndrome”, a term derived from cases first reported by U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials in Havana, Cuba, in 2016. U.S. officials reported some of their findings to congressional oversight committees last year.

Details about the United States’ acquisition of the device were reported by independent journalist Sasha Ingber and CNN.

The Pentagon and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The CIA declined to comment.

Victims have reported a variety of neurological symptoms, including severe headaches and pressure in the head, vertigo, nausea, and ringing or clicking sensations in the ears. Many have described hearing a loud, painful sound that seemed to subside when they moved to another location. For some, the effects were so severe that they were eventually forced to quit their jobs. Information Numerous cases have emerged on every populated continent, spanning dozens of countries and involving diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel.

Some Havana Syndrome victims have spent more than a decade trying to draw attention to their cases, often blaming their government employers for failing to provide them with meaningful support or access to specialized medical care. In the absence of official recognition, some have resorted to paying out of pocket for expensive diagnoses and treatments, and have described a sense of isolation and marginalization as their condition is not recognized.

An initial US intelligence assessment will be completed in 2023 concluded It was “highly unlikely” that a foreign adversary was responsible for the illnesses, which the Biden administration formally called “Anomalous Health Incidents” or AHIs. That conclusion was reaffirmed in an updated review published in January 2025, which found that the majority of the intelligence community continued to view foreign involvement as highly unlikely. However, two agencies revised their positions, saying there was a “roughly equal chance” that a foreign adversary had developed a device capable of harming U.S. officials and their families, stopping short of linking such a device directly to the reported AHIs.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has been conducting a review of the intelligence community’s previous investigations into the incidents. Three people familiar with the review told News themezone that it is virtually complete, but said it has not yet been briefed to lawmakers or prepared for public release.

An ODNI spokesperson said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “remains committed to sharing the results of her investigation into anomalous health incidents with the American people.”

“However, we are not going to rush to publish incomplete information,” the spokesperson said, noting that a team was continuing to work “tirelessly” to complete the assessment.

Former top CIA intelligence officer Marc Polymeropoulos, who spoke publicly about the symptoms he suffered after being beaten in Moscow in 2017, criticized the agencies for what he called false prior investigations.

“The CIA always claimed that none of this technology existed, that no device existed, and they based their [assessments] about this,” he said, “so all your analytical assumptions are now shattered.”

“Now a complete new analytical review is warranted, and the DNI should request it,” he said.