Brain-damaging “health attacks” spur US to permanently cut Cuba embassy staff

In December, an investigation by a panel of Cuban scientists concluded that there likely were no attacks. The panel determined that the most likely explanation was mass psychogenic illness (MPI), which is essentially a collective delusion among a cohesive group of people that a sickness is spreading among them. But the US doctors who evaluated the affected individuals dismissed this idea, noting that their observed symptoms and injuries were not ones that could be consciously or unconsciously manipulated.

A Likely Explanation for the “Sonic Weapon” Used at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba

Last August, reports emerged that U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Cuba had suffered a host of mysterious ailments. Speculation soon arose that a high-frequency sonic weapon was to blame. Acoustics experts, however, were quick to point out the unlikeliness of such an attack.

Among other things, ultrasonic frequencies—from 20 to 200 kilohertz—don’t propagate well in air and don’t cause the ear pain, headache, dizziness, and other symptoms reported in Cuba. Also, some victims recalled hearing high-pitched sounds, whereas ultrasound is inaudible to humans.