Did US use 'discombobulator' in Caracas raid to capture Maduro? Here's what we know

US President Donald Trump said that American military forces used a "discombobulator" during the operation in Caracas to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3. 

"The discombobulator. I'm not allowed to talk about it," he said in an interview with The New York Post. Trump mentioned that the weapon made the Venezuelan military's equipment "not work", adding, "They never got their rockets off". 

The device reportedly rendered Venezuela's defence systems inoperable, rendering Russian and Chinese-made rockets incapable. "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."

Donald Trump further claimed that the technology helped shut down most of the lights in Caracas during Maduro's capture. 

Meanwhile, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that Venezuela has "had enough" of US interference. "Enough of Washington's orders to Venezuelan politicians, let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and conflicts," she said.  

"Enough of foreign powers." 

How does a discombobulator work?

While its exact details are not known, military experts say the weapon functions through two primary mechanisms -- Electronic Neutralisation (soft kill) and Biological Incapacitation. 

The device uses pulse-modulated high-power microwave (HPM) energy to disable electronics, causing 'latch-up' in digital logic gates and freezes semiconductors without physical destruction. It was also credited with knocking out the power grid in Caracas, which helped facilitate the stealth operation. 

This mechanism reportedly rendered Venezuelan radar, communications, and missile guidance systems inoperable during the raid to capture Maduro. The weapon also utilises the microwave auditory effect/Frey Effect to create phantom sounds inside a target's head. 

Security personnel suffered from extreme nausea, vertigo, and physical collapse, with some even reporting nosebleeds and vomiting. 

Venezuela accuses the US of using the country as a "weapons laboratory"

Previously, Venezuela's defence minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, accused the US of using the South American country as a "weapons laboratory" during the abduction of Maduro and his wife. He said that the US used the country as a testing ground for "advanced military technologies" that rely on AI. 

On January 16, he said that 47 Venezuelan soldiers and 32 Cuban soldiers in Maduro's security circle were killed during the US attack. 

“The president of the United States admitted that they had used weapons that had never been used on battlefields, weapons that no one in the world possessed. They used that technology against the Venezuelan people on January 3, 2026," he told Venezuelan daily El Universal.  

He referred to Trump's admission to using a "sonic weapon" in an interview with the US channel NewsNation. The best sonic weapons in the US arsenal are directional acoustic hailing and warning devices, especially the long-range acoustic device (LRAD).