Havana is the capital of Cuba. This place has inspired several songs and more (eg Camila Cabello). Havana). But this place inspired more than just songs; it also inspired the name of a mysterious illness that mostly affects American diplomats and intelligence officials, Havana syndrome.
In 2021, the Biden government signed the Havana Law promising some victims compensation for their suffering and medical expenses. Fast forward to August 2022 The newspaper “New York Times it was reported that the CIA began to pay compensation to victims of a mysterious disease.
1/3 Although there is consensus that the mass psychogenic hypothesis #Havana Syndrome unlikely, there is an attempt to present it as a functional neurological disorder (FND). #FND serves as a placeholder for conditions whose cause is unknown and is the opposite of organic disorders ->
— Len Behr, MD (@PSardonicus) August 19, 2022
Who gets compensated? Earlier this year, reports suggested that the Biden government had decided to pay a six-figure sum (about $140,000 or $187,000) to victims of Havana syndrome. But not every government official who reported illness was eligible for compensation. Only those whose doctors determined they had suffered debilitating brain injury and trauma were eligible. The terms of which are still unclear.
What is Havana Syndrome? Now this is where things get more complicated. There is no convincing evidence that the disease exists at all, what causes it, and much more. It’s just a name given after several U.S. diplomats and other intelligence officers stationed in Havana, Cuba’s capital, began reporting bouts of a mysterious illness that struck their very entourage in 2016.
The same illness was later reported by officials outside of Cuba and in countries such as China.
I think we may find ourselves in a vicious circle of information. Consider downloading the documents/videos I post from trusted sources and then posting them for people who may not pay much attention to Havana Syndrome or understand how it affects them. pic.twitter.com/BlC7yyDxCf
— Non-Lethal Weapon Bioeffects (@Bioeffects1998) August 22, 2022
What are the symptoms? The victims experienced headaches, migraines, dizziness, nausea, depression, forgetfulness, etc. Some of the symptoms became so severe that they had to be evacuated for medical reasons. They were then transferred from one medical facility to another in the US to try to find out exactly what happened.
What causes Havana syndrome? When the first few cases were reported in 2016, conspiracy theories swirled around that enemy spies, such as Russian government agents or Cuban agents, were targeting US officials using high-energy sources or microwave weapons. However, until now this theory has not been recognized as final.
When it comes to Havana Syndrome, there is still a big question mark:
Is it real at all?
Not surprisingly, reports of new Havana Syndrome “fits” seem to have disappeared, because that’s what happens with this sort of thing when perception changes, but there was a surprising lack of reappraisal.
— Adam W. Gaffney (@awgaffney) August 19, 2022
Yes, some reports say that this may be the result of people redefining mundane “ambiguous symptoms under a new label or exhibiting anxiety-induced health complaints.” So while the symptoms described by the victims may not be fake, they also cannot be the result of the spies firing some mysterious energy gun. But again, nothing has been proven.
Collective hysteria, or a high-stress job, or just rumors of spies with energy guns controlling the mania? We do not know.
However, the Biden government’s idea of compensation is also fraught with the possibility that it decides which victims get paid and which don’t.