Did A Device Bought By US In Undercover Op Cause Mystery Illness Among Spies, Diplomats? Buzz Grows

Last Updated:January 13, 2026, 23:37 IST

Officials paid “eight figures” for the device, which remains under study as questions persist over Havana Syndrome.

US officials are studying the device, though its link to Havana Syndrome remains unproven. (IMAGE: AI-GENERATED/NEWS18)

The US Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device obtained through an undercover operation that some investigators believe could be linked to a series of unexplained illnesses affecting American diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel, commonly referred to as Havana Syndrome, according to a report by US broadcaster CNN.

The device was purchased for millions of dollars by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, using funding provided by the Department of Defense, the broadcaster reported.

Officials involved in the acquisition said the government paid “eight figures" for the device, though they declined to provide an exact amount. The device remains under study, and there is ongoing debate within the US government — including scepticism in some quarters — over whether it is connected to dozens of anomalous health incidents that remain officially unexplained.

According to CNN, one key concern for officials is that if the technology proves viable, it may have proliferated beyond a single actor. The broadcaster, citing unnamed officials, said this could mean more than one country now has access to a device potentially capable of causing serious and career-ending injuries to US personnel.

Those investigations are “the single biggest collaboration point between HSI and the US military," a former Homeland Security official told CNN, underlining the close coordination between the two agencies in sensitive global operations.

The device acquired by HSI is capable of producing pulsed radio waves, one source said. For years, some officials and academics have speculated that pulsed electromagnetic or radiofrequency energy could be responsible for Havana Syndrome cases. While the device is not entirely Russian in origin, it contains Russian components, the report said.

US officials have long struggled to understand how a device powerful enough to cause the injuries reported by some victims could also be portable.

When Did The US Buy The Device?

CNN reported that the device was acquired in the waning days of the Biden administration, though it remains unclear where or from whom it was purchased. HSI has broad authority to investigate crimes linked to customs violations and the overseas spread of controlled technology, and has frequently worked with the US military when sensitive components are discovered abroad.

Defense officials considered the findings significant enough to brief the House and Senate Intelligence Committees late last year, including details about the device and its testing.

‘Could Fit In A Backpack’

One of the sources briefed on the device told CNN that it is small enough to fit inside a backpack, reigniting concerns about how easily such technology could be deployed. The discovery has renewed a contentious debate within the US government over Havana Syndrome, officially referred to as “anomalous health incidents".

What Is Havana Syndrome?

Havana Syndrome first came to light in late 2016, when US diplomats stationed in Havana, Cuba, reported symptoms including severe headaches, vertigo, nausea and cognitive difficulties, often described as resembling head trauma. Similar cases were later reported in multiple countries.

The intelligence and medical communities have struggled to define and diagnose these incidents. In many cases, medical testing occurred long after symptoms first appeared, complicating efforts to identify a clear cause.

In 2022, a US intelligence panel concluded that some cases could “plausibly" have been caused by pulsed electromagnetic energy from an external source. However, in 2023, the intelligence community publicly assessed that it was unlikely the incidents were caused by a foreign adversary. As recently as January 2025, that assessment remained unchanged, though officials have said they cannot entirely rule out external involvement in a small number of cases.

That conclusion has angered many victims, several of whom believe intelligence exists proving that Russia was responsible. Some officers told CNN that their injuries were severe enough to force early retirement and accused the government of downplaying evidence.

The acquisition of the device has been viewed by some victims as potential vindication.

“If the US government has indeed uncovered such devices, then the CIA owes all the victims a major and public apology for how we have been treated," Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer who has said he was injured in Moscow in 2017, was quoted as saying by CNN.

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