Per media lore, U.S. spies and diplomats in Cuba circa 2015 fell victim to strange medical symptoms, as did some of their Canadian counterparts who were posted to Havana. Hence the term describing what befell them, which included acute headaches, vision problems, dizziness, and general loss of mental acuity. Some, but not all, victims recalled experiencing strange noises and sensations, often in their residences. In many cases, sufferers became unable to do their jobs due to untreatable medical issues.

However, as readers of this newsletter know already, this mysterious syndrome long predates 2015 and extends far beyond Cuba. The first documented case occurred in 1996 and involved two counterintelligence officers from the National Security Agency, Chuck Gubete and Mike Beck. While the agency won’t divulge where Gubete and Beck were attacked, it’s known to be Russia. Both men began experiencing the now-familiar symptoms. Gubete died several years ago, succumbing to the undefined malady, while Mike Beck, a former colleague of mine in NSA’s Counterintelligence Division, is dying slowly of Parkinson’s disease, which he believes was caused by the 1996 attack on him in Russia.

I don’t pretend to be impartial here, since several friends and colleagues of mine have fallen victim to the “Havana Syndrome,” experiencing ruined health and worse: hence my pointed question about how many more American spies must die before our government does something here.