These two assessments had concluded that it was “very unlikely” that the symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary.
14ymedio, Madrid, June 15, 2026 — Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has revoked two National Intelligence Council assessments produced during the Biden administration that concluded it was “unlikely” that the so-called Havana Syndrome was the result of an attack directed by foreign adversaries.
According to a memorandum signed on June 11 by Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sara Lynn Picket and addressed to the entire intelligence community, the reports prepared during the Biden years have been dismissed “because those assessments did not comply with established analytical standards.”
Among the reports’ main shortcomings, the office cited the “selective exclusion of intelligence information and evidence that did not support the analytical conclusions” and the “omission of information necessary to understand the quality and reliability of sources.” It also argued that intelligence collection was restricted “to maintain an analytical line based on the absence of evidence.”
Among the reports’ main shortcomings, the office cited the “selective exclusion of intelligence information and evidence that did not support the analytical conclusions”
The so-called Havana Syndrome, also referred to by U.S. intelligence as “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs), consists of a range of neurological symptoms, including migraines, nausea, dizziness, and others, reported since 2016 by U.S. diplomats and government officials. Many patients have described their symptoms as beginning after hearing a sharp, localized sound, leading some investigations to explore the possibility of acoustic attacks.
The first cases were reported at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba—hence the name—although similar incidents were later reported in several countries, including China and Russia, without any consensus having emerged regarding their cause.
The appearance of these incidents in Havana was one of the reasons the normalization process with Cuba, initiated by President Barack Obama, did not continue. In 2017, during his first term, President Donald Trump suspended consular services in Havana and drastically reduced the diplomatic staff on the Island.
Bill Burns, CIA director under Joe Biden, had initially assumed that intelligence findings would eventually point to Russia as being responsible for the alleged targeted attacks and launched an extensive investigation. However, the lack of conclusive evidence gradually altered his position.
Victims argued that U.S. authorities were ignoring relevant evidence linking Russia to the incidents
One of the two reports revoked today, published in 2023, stated that the intelligence community was unable to connect any case to a foreign adversary and considered it unlikely that the illness resulted from a campaign directed by an enemy of the United States. In the second report, issued in January 2025, the intelligence community concluded that it was “very unlikely” that the symptoms had been caused by a foreign adversary, although an official from the Office of the DNI emphasized that analysts could not “rule out” that possibility in a small number of cases.
The two assessments now discarded generated divisions within the intelligence community. While senior intelligence officials pointed to possible medical or environmental causes, victims argued that U.S. authorities were overlooking significant evidence linking Russia to the incidents.
According to reports published in U.S. media last January, during the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency, the U.S. government secretly purchased, for more than $10 million, equipment containing Russian-made components that emitted pulsed radio waves, based on the hypothesis that such technology could produce the symptoms associated with Havana Syndrome.
Another investigation conducted by The Insider, 60 Minutes, and Der Spiegel, published in April 2024, asserted that the condition may have originated from “directed-energy” weapons operated by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Armed Forces.
“These flawed, fraudulent, and manipulated intelligence community assessments have caused significant harm.”
The revocation promoted by Gabbard has been welcomed by former officials who suffered from the condition, including Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who experienced Havana Syndrome symptoms while in Russia. However, it remains unclear whether a major new investigation will be launched, as Gabbard is scheduled to leave her position next week and will not be in a position to oversee the matter.
Last January, the House Intelligence Committee requested that the Office of the DNI withdraw these assessments, arguing that new evidence had emerged supporting the theory that at least some cases may have been caused by a directed-energy weapon developed by a foreign adversary.
Republican Representative Rick Crawford, chairman of the committee, was unequivocal in comments following the revocation: “These flawed, fraudulent, and manipulated intelligence community assessments have caused significant harm to some of the bravest men and women in our nation.”
For Tulsi Gabbard, the move was one of her final actions before leaving office after submitting her resignation to President Donald Trump in order to care for her husband, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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