Judicial Watch Sues FBI, CIA, DIA, ODNI, and ICE for Records on ‘Havana Syndrome’ Investigations

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has filed a federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice and four other federal agencies, seeking records concerning anomalous health incidents (AHIs), commonly referred to as “Havana Syndrome” (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al. (No. 1:26-cv-01702)).

Havana Syndrome is a mysterious set of cognitive and neurological ailments named after cases first reported among diplomats at the U.S. embassy in Cuba. Former Deputy National Security Adviser Charles Kupperman has said that he believes the number of people who have reported anomalous health incidents is near 1,000, if you include family members with symptoms. Kupperman also stated that such incidents were not confined to overseas locations, noting that two government staffers reportedly were affected just steps from the White House.

The lawsuit follows the government’s failure to respond to multiple FOIA requests submitted by Judicial Watch in February 2026 for extensive records dating back to 2016 regarding investigative, analytic, and operational response to Havana Syndrome affecting U.S. personnel both domestically and abroad. The agencies include:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
• Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA),
• Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),

According to the complaint, the FBI request seeks “all records created, received, or maintained” by the Bureau’s Counterintelligence Division, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, and field offices relating to Havana Syndrome investigations, including files indexed under classifications such as Espionage, Sabotage, Domestic Security, and Foreign Counterintelligence. The request also seeks FD-302 interview reports, electronic communications, case files, and interagency coordination records with intelligence and national security partners.

Judicial Watch’s FOIA requests further seek CIA records addressing technical and scientific analysis of potential causal mechanisms for Havana Syndrome, including directional energy, pulsed radiofrequency energy, and ultrasonic or infrasonic hypotheses, as well as intelligence assessments regarding possible foreign attribution, including Russia, China, and Cuba.

The lawsuit also seeks Defense Intelligence Agency records relating to its internal Havana Syndrome investigation reportedly led by retired Army Lt. Col. Greg Edgreen, as well as records concerning the dismissal of former DIA Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse and related congressional findings.

In addition, Judicial Watch is seeking ODNI records related to Intelligence Community Assessment methodology, coordination processes, dissenting analytic views, and evidentiary standards used in Havana Syndrome-related assessments, including the March 2023 Intelligence Community Assessment and subsequent updates.

The complaint further includes a FOIA request submitted to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking records regarding the alleged acquisition and testing of a directed-energy or pulsed-energy device reportedly obtained through Homeland Security Investigations and studied for potential relevance to Havana Syndrome symptoms.

“Federal agencies have stonewalled basic transparency on Havana Syndrome for years. The American people—and the dedicated public servants affected—deserve answers about what happened, what the government knew, and when it knew,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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