Summarised by Centrist
US President Donald Trump has claimed a previously undisclosed weapon, which he dubbed “the Discombobulator”, was used by US forces during the January 3 operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking to the New York Post, Trump said he was “not allowed to talk about” the weapon, but claimed it rendered enemy equipment inoperable. “They pressed buttons, and nothing worked,” he said, adding that Venezuelan forces had Russian and Chinese rockets that failed to launch.
Trump suggested the device could be used against other US adversaries and said Americans “should be afraid” of the country’s military capabilities, claiming the US had “weapons nobody else knows about”.
Venezuelan officials have said more than 83 people, including 47 soldiers, were killed during the operation. One US service member was injured, with no reported American fatalities.
An account shared by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed a “very intense sound wave” disabled Venezuelan forces and Cuban bodyguards during the raid. The account, attributed to an unnamed Venezuelan security guard, described nosebleeds, vomiting and an inability to move.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima and later transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Maduro has pleaded not guilty to US charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
Read more over at The Daily Mail
Image: James Vaughan
