People celebrate after President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country, in Doral, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
According to accounts from Maduro’s security team, defensive systems appeared to fail without warning as drones moved overhead and a small number of helicopters approached.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
President Trump said a classified weapon he calls “The Discombobulator” played a decisive role in the January 3 US raid in Caracas that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on federal drug and weapons charges.
In an Oval Office interview with The New York Post, the president described how the device disabled enemy defenses as US helicopters entered the Venezuelan capital without suffering any American casualties. “The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said, before acknowledging its use during the operation. “They never got their rockets off. They had Russian and Chinese rockets, and they never got one off. We came in, they pressed buttons and nothing worked. They were all set for us.”
According to accounts from Maduro’s security team, defensive systems appeared to fail without warning as drones moved overhead and a small number of helicopters approached.
One guard later said that “suddenly all our radar systems shut down without any explanation,” followed by what he described as a powerful wave that left personnel disoriented and incapacitated.
“At one point, they launched something; I don’t know how to describe it. It was like a very intense sound wave. Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside,” the guard said. “We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move. We couldn’t even stand up after that sonic weapon — or whatever it was.”
Trump raised the weapon when asked about reports that the Biden administration had previously acquired a pulsed energy system suspected of being linked to incidents known as “Havana Syndrome.” He declined to elaborate on its capabilities.
Maduro, 63, is now being held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn awaiting trial on narcoterrorism charges. Venezuela’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, is serving as interim leader. “We have a great relationship with the new president,” Trump said. “She’s been terrific.”
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