There is frightening new evidence to suggest the Cuban sonic attacks are real

American embassy staff describe hearing strange sounds and suffering odd symptoms.
(Image credit: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images)

Mysterious "sonic" attacks targeting American diplomats in Cuba are so unlike anything State Department and FBI officials have ever seen that the Cuban government's claim that the high-pitched whirring sounds reported by U.S. Embassy staff are just cicadas seems almost plausible. Doctors treating victims of the attacks, though, have now found visible, perceptible damage to patients' brains, marking the first solid evidence that the sophisticated weapon described by embassy staff is entirely real, The Associated Press reports.

The futuristic attacks began last fall when U.S. diplomats abruptly started to lose their hearing. Eventually, at least 24 people reported symptoms including "mild traumatic brain injury, permanent hearing loss, loss of balance, severe headaches, and brain swelling," The New York Times reports, adding that "the FBI has been unable to duplicate the effects the diplomats have experienced in a lab." The United States pulled approximately 60 percent of its staff off the island as a safety precaution. In November, evidence arose that a USAID officer working out of Uzbekistan experienced a similar attack, giving credence to the theory that Russia is responsible.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.