State Dept. to pay 6-figure sums to Havana Syndrome victims

WASHINGTON — The State Department is preparing to compensate victims of mysterious brain injuries colloquially known as “Havana Syndrome” with six-figure payments, according to officials and a congressional aide. Current and former State Department staff and their families who suffered from “qualifying injuries” since cases were first reported among U.S. embassy personnel in Cuba in 2016 will receive payments of between roughly $100,000 and $200,000 each, the officials and aide said. The officials and aide spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the expected publication next week of the State Department’s plan to compensate victims under the terms of the HAVANA Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year. The State Department declined Thursday to discuss the amounts of the proposed payments but noted that the HAVANA Act authorizes it “to provide payments to personnel for certain qualifying injuries to the brain” and requires it to publish its plans for implementing such relief, which it said would happen “soon.” Despite nearly six years of investigation, scientists, physicians and government officials have been unable to determine the cause of the injuries, which some have speculated are the result of microwave or other types of attack from a foreign power.