Monday, January 26, 2026 -President Donald Trump, has claimed that American forces used a secret weapon he referred to as a “discombobulator” during the operation that led to the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.
Speaking in an interview with the New York Post, Trump said
he was not permitted to discuss details of the weapon but suggested it rendered
enemy equipment inoperable during the operation.
“The discombobulator, I’m not allowed to talk about it,”
Trump said, adding that it “made [enemy] equipment not work.”
However, a senior US official has cast doubt on the existence
of such a weapon, suggesting the president may have been conflating multiple
military tools and capabilities rather than referring to a single device
According to the official, US forces employed cyber
capabilities during the operation to disable Venezuelan early-warning systems
and other defence infrastructure. Acoustic systems were also reportedly used to
disorient personnel on the ground.
The US military has long possessed a non-lethal
directed-energy weapon known as the Active Denial System (ADS), sometimes
referred to as a “heat ray.” While it remains unclear whether ADS was deployed
during the operation, the system uses electromagnetic waves to create an
intense heating sensation on the skin, forcing individuals to move away from
the beam
Reports that ADS can reach targets more than half a mile away
and is designed to disperse crowds without causing permanent injury.
Days after Maduro’s capture, White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt reposted comments allegedly made by a Venezuelan security
guard who claimed US forces “launched something” resembling a powerful sound
wave during the operation.
The guard alleged that he and others experienced severe
physical effects, including intense head pain, nosebleeds and vomiting blood,
leaving them unable to move.
The January 3 operation began with coordinated strikes across
Venezuela that disabled radar, communications and air-defence systems, paving
the way for US helicopters to enter Venezuelan airspace.
Air Force General Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs
of Staff, said more than 150 aircraft — including bombers, fighter jets and
intelligence and surveillance platforms were deployed from roughly 20 land- and
sea-based locations
Experts believe one-way attack drones were also used during
strikes in the coastal city of Higuerote, a key location for Venezuelan
air-defence installations.
Video footage from the operation shows intense gunfire as US
forces landed inside Fort Tiuna, a major military complex in Caracas. Military
analysts say the sounds are consistent with MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters firing
30-millimetre autocannons
The precise location within Fort Tiuna where Maduro was
captured, as well as full operational details, have not been publicly
disclosed.
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