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Sprawling revelations about so-called Havana Syndrome show no signs of going away.
Rumors of the alleged neurological condition — and the mythological spy-weapon that might cause it — have begun re-circulating in recent months, stirred up by early 2026 reporting that the US government paid as much as eight figures to procure a mysterious device linked to the ailment.
Now, ex-government whistleblowers are adding fuel to Havana Syndrome’s smoldering embers. In a baffling interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes, former CIA officers and conveniently anonymous government officials chimed in on the conversation, demanding answers and blasting the government for initiating what they call a massive coverup.
According to CBS‘ sources, a Havana Syndrome weapon has been in the hands of a US military lab for over a year. The weapon — small enough to be held by a person, but powerful enough to blast through windows and drywall to hit a target hundreds of feet away — had allegedly even been tested on rats and sheep. Those tests, CBS insists, show injuries “consistent with those seen in humans.” (An interesting framing, given that symptoms of Havana Syndrome aren’t even consistent among humans.)
One of the former agents who agreed to give his name was Marc Polymeropoulos, who according to CBS, spent 26 years “involved in every covert action program in the Middle East.”
In the segment, Polymeropoulos criticized a previous Intelligence Community Assessment from 2023, which found it was “very unlikely” the neurological symptoms were caused by a foreign adversary, as well as the government’s refusal to take Havana Syndrome seriously.
“I did some very interesting things for the US government, always with the idea that they would have my back if I got jammed up,” the CIA officer said. “I just needed to get medical care when I came back, and they wouldn’t even do that. So this moral injury, this sense of betrayal is so acute with me. That’s something that I can never forgive them for.”
The scientific community remains divided. No peer-reviewed study has confirmed the existence of such a weapon in the hands of US adversaries, though a government researcher in Norway reportedly assembled something close, earning himself a visit from the US State Department.
And while anything is possible with regard to Havana Syndrome, there’s a much simpler explanation for the 60 Minutes piece: CBS‘ new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
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