US pays out $3m to victims of mysterious Havana Syndrome

The US Department of Defence announced it will prioritize "the attraction of affected personnel" while confirming a $3 million payout to individuals affected by Havana Syndrome, authorized under the Havana Act signed into law in 2021. For years, speculation has swirled over what—or who—is responsible for the condition. Some have asserted that the ailment stems from microwave exposure, suggesting that a foreign power might have employed a type of sonar weapon to target U.S. personnel abroad and their dependents. Former CIA officer Erika Stith told CBS News in 2022, "My encephalon is broken," adding, "We got this arsenic a effect of serving our country. And we merit to beryllium taken attraction of," she said. Last year, the majority of U.S. intelligence agencies and departments concluded that it was "very unlikely" that a foreign actor had used "a caller limb oregon prototype instrumentality to harm" U.S. staff and their families. A small segment of the intelligence community, however, did not wholly dismiss the possibility. A report from the National Intelligence Council noted that none of the agencies or departments consulted "call[ed] into question the experiences oregon suffering" of U.S. workers and their relatives. The council stated that those affected "experienced genuine, sometimes achy and traumatic, carnal symptoms and sensory phenomena and honestly and sincerely reported those events arsenic imaginable anomalous wellness incidents".