Some said it sounded like the screech of grinding metal. Others described it as a piercing, clicking or buzzing noise.
Beginning in late 2016, diplomats and intelligence agents stationed at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba, reported hearing weird noises in their homes and hotel rooms. It was, some said, as if a beam of energy was being fired at them from outside.
Soon afterwards, they began to feel unwell. They described shooting pains, headaches, dizziness, pressure in the ears, vertigo, nausea and confusion. Some had problems with their balance. Others began to struggle with their memory.
The condition became known as Havana Syndrome, and it wasn’t long before it started to spread. In the following years, hundreds of North American officials from all over the globe reported similar experiences.
On one occasion, a member of the National Security Council was struck down outside the White House. In another, a senior Defense Department official was overcome at a NATO summit in Vilnius.
