The Havana Syndrome Hoax: How Hegemony Can Twist the Truth

The case of Havana Syndrome is an example of how the US has twisted the truth as per its narrative.

The U.S. government has the dominant power, and its influence on the media, public opinion, and even scientific research helped to shape the narrative around the Havana Syndrome.

Because no matter how hard the U.S. government tries to twist the facts, we’ll unravel all for you!

The Havana Syndrome is a term used to describe the mysterious set of physical symptoms experienced by U.S. embassy staff stationed in Havana, Cuba from 2016 to 2017. The symptoms included hearing loss, dizziness, headaches, and nausea as well as cognitive issues like memory loss and confusion.

Since 2017, reports of these symptoms have been made by U.S. intelligence and military personnel, their family members, and others from locations such as Australia, Austria, China, Colombia, Germany and Russia.

The U.S. government quickly attributed the symptoms to a sonic attack, though no evidence of such an attack was ever found.

The U.S. government’s narrative had two main components: first, that the symptoms were the result of a sonic attack; and second, that the attack was perpetrated by a foreign adversary, likely Cuba or Russia.

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This narrative was quickly adopted by the mainstream media, which helped to spread the story and reinforced Washington’s falsehoods. The media coverage was often sensationalized and focused on the “mystery” surrounding the symptoms and the U.S. government’s search for the perpetrator.

The U.S. government also used its influence to shape the scientific research and investigation into the symptoms.

It provided funding for research and studies, which often focused on the sonic attack theory. This funding was used to support research that was biased in favour of the US government’s narrative, while other rational explanations were ignored or dismissed.

For instance, the possibility of a natural cause or a psychosomatic explanation was largely overlooked. However, a recent finding will make the US’ government bury its head in shame because all its narrative has been smashed into thin air.

The Truth

An intelligence report has ruled out a long-held belief that the condition called “Havana syndrome” was caused by a foreign adversary using energy waves as a weapon.

On March 1st, the results of an investigation conducted by seven US intelligence agencies spanning multiple years were made public with the declassification of its findings.

The Washington Post reported that the investigation did not support the allegations of the people affected by “Havana Syndrome” that they had been deliberately attacked, potentially by Cuba or Russia. The report also challenges the idea that the symptoms, such as headaches, nausea, memory loss, and dizziness, were caused by a mysterious energy weapon.

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Similarly, Reuters reported that in January, a CIA official declared that the majority of the 1,000 reported cases explored by the investigation could be attributed to medical conditions, environmental and technical factors, such as previously undiagnosed illnesses.

Out of the seven agencies that were involved, the Washington Post reported that some of them had differing levels of certainty regarding whether a foreign power was responsible for the incidents, with one agency abstaining.

Nonetheless, there was not a considerable variance of opinion, and none of them contested the finding that a foreign country was not the source of the symptoms.

Anxiety over the unknown illnesses was rampant in the US, and some US dignitaries falsely stated that the Havana Syndrome was a premeditated assault on American individuals abroad by the Cuban government.

And in order to strengthen its lies and misinformation against Cuba, in October of 2021, US Congress passed the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act.

This allowed official bureaus to provide remuneration for those affected by neurological damage, including current and former employees and their dependents.

But, you’d wonder why is the US now releasing an intelligence report that is defying what it earlier said. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.

President Donald Trump used the Havana Syndrome Hoax as a pretext to initiate new sanctions against Cuba, imposing 243 sanctions and designating Havana as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

With Latin America declaring a war on US sanctions on Cuba, Washington has felt cornered. Now, it needs to spin the lie it threw long back.

Therefore, the case of Havana Syndrome serves as a cautionary tale about the power of hegemony and its potential to distort the truth. It is a reminder that when one power is able to exert its influence over the discourse and shape the narrative, it can be difficult to get an accurate picture of what is actually happening.

Now, the question arises, with the confirmation that the Cuban government is not responsible for the sonic attacks, will President Biden apologize and lift the economic and diplomatic restrictions on Cuba imposed by the previous administration’s maximum pressure campaign?

This would be an excellent opportunity for the US government to take responsibility and improve relations with Cuba. A good start would be to remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list and undo the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.