State Department sued over ‘Havana Syndrome’
A US diplomatic security official is suing the State Department and Secretary Antony Blinken personally for what he says was retaliation and discrimination on account of the injuries he suffered from the so-called Havana Syndrome.
The federal claim by Mark Lenzi, a member of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), is the first known lawsuit against the US government in relation to the mysterious condition, first reported by US spies in Cuba in 2016.
His 46-page complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, cites the 2020 scientific study commissioned by the State Department to claim the “diagnosed injuries from this affliction are most likely due to pulsed microwave radio frequency radiation.”
Lenzi and his family allegedly began experiencing “sudden and unexplained mental and physical symptoms, including headaches, lightheadedness, nausea, nosebleeds, sleeplessness, and memory loss” in November 2017, while living in Guangzhou, China. When he complained, the lawsuit says, a security engineer performed a perfunctory microwave detection sweep with an “antiquated” device – and the DSS told him off for “being too emotional” about a “security equipment issue.”
He was recalled to the US, where he has stayed ever since, denied promotion or opportunity to apply to overseas postings, including well-paid ‘hardship’ duty such as Serbia or Azerbaijan, the complaint says. Lenzi also claims the State Department had him undergo a psychiatric evaluation after he sent an unclassified email warning colleagues about the potential threat to their health and safety from the ‘Havana Syndrome’.
Lenzi is alleging discrimination and unlawful retaliation, and asking for six years of credit toward his retirement, reinstatement to overseas duty, back and front lost pay with interest, as well as legal fees, and “financial compensation for emotional distress, pain, and suffering.”
The State Department declined to comment on the current litigation, and cited “privacy concerns and security reasons” for not answering questions about embassy operations.
While Lenzi alleges that the State Department has sought to downplay his injuries, the Biden administration has vastly expanded the scope of investigating the alleged directed energy attack, while the US media have attributed it to Russia or China, without evidence.
Cuban scientists have argued there was no scientific evidence for the ‘syndrome’. A Berkeley University researcher said back in 2019 that the sounds allegedly targeting US diplomats and spies were the mating calls of a particular species of cricket. A November 2018 report by an expert advisory panel of scientists called JASON, classified until recently, attributed the syndrome to a combination of crickets and group psychosis.
