Did US forces use a “mystery weapon” in the raid that captured Venezuela’s Maduro?

New details have emerged from the United States military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, including claims that US forces deployed a previously unseen weapon that incapacitated defenders with violent physical symptoms.

According to a dramatic first-hand account from a Venezuelan security guard — shared on X by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — the assault involved advanced technology that stunned Maduro’s forces and left many of them incapacitated.

The guard told reporters that Venezuelan radar systems inexplicably failed shortly before the assault, leaving defenders blind to the incoming attack. Drones quickly appeared overhead, followed by about eight helicopters carrying what he estimated were around 20 US troops.

He described the Americans as using weapons and systems “unlike anything we’ve fought against before,” moving with extraordinary speed and precision. Venezuelan defenders were reportedly overwhelmed within minutes.

Sonic or Directed-Energy Technology?

The most striking part of the testimony came when the guard described a mysterious device deployed during the assault. He said the effect was like “a very intense sound wave” that struck Venezuelan forces mid-battle:

“Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside. We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move…”

Those symptoms — bleeding, nausea, collapse — have led some observers to speculate the weapon might have been a sonic or other directed-energy system, although no official confirmation has been made.

Unverified and Contested Claims

The White House has not publicly confirmed the use of such a weapon, and there is no independent verification of the guard’s account. It remains unclear whether the effects he described resulted from a specialized device, conventional force, or a combination of battlefield factors.

Venezuela’s Interior Ministry has said roughly 100 members of its security forces were killed during the operation, but it has not attributed those deaths to any specific technology.

Broader Impact

The testimony has sparked widespread attention — and concern — across Latin America about the capabilities of modern US military technology and the future of regional security.