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President Donald Trump asserted this Saturday that a secret weapon was used in the extraction operation of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3.
In an interview published by The New York Post, the president referred to the weapon as “The discombobulator” (which has begun to be translated as “el Desorientador”), a device he “is not allowed to talk about,” but which caused “the [enemy] equipment to malfunction.”
However, a senior U.S. official told CNN that the president might be confusing several tools used by the U.S. military into a single one that does not exist.
According to CNN, U.S. Deltas used cyber tools to disable early warning systems and other defense mechanisms, while also employing acoustic systems to disorient personnel on the ground.
CNN also points out that the U.S. military has previously used a heat ray weapon, called the Active Denial System (ADS), which employs directed pulsed energy, but its use in Caracas has not been confirmed.
The ADS fires an invisible beam of electromagnetic waves with a range of just over 800 meters that penetrates human skin and produces a sensation of heat, causing people to move away. It is a non-lethal weapon.
It is also possible, according to an expert consulted by CNN, that the U.S. has used one-way attack drones to neutralize Venezuelan air defense systems.
The attack
The early morning of January 3, 2026, will be remembered as the endpoint of Nicolás Maduro's regime. A series of explosions in Caracas marked the beginning of the “Operation Absolute Resolution,” the military deployment ordered by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, which culminated in the capture of the Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores.
After three in the morning, Venezuelan social media began reporting intense explosions in Caracas. At 3:46 am, Maduro publicly denounced a bombing by the United States, stating, "We were attacked." An hour later, the regime declared a state of emergency and acknowledged a "serious military aggression."
At 4:36 AM, Donald Trump officially confirmed the capture of Maduro and Cilia Flores in a military operation that was “precise and without American casualties.” The action was carried out by Delta Force, an elite unit of the U.S. military, which stormed the presidential complex where both were asleep.
The attacks destroyed key military facilities and communication centers of the regime. According to reports, Maduro's Cuban security — responsible for his personal protection — was neutralized in a matter of minutes, leaving the intelligence network of Chavismo without response.
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