Trump claims US military used ‘secret weapon’ to abduct Maduro

American troops deployed the ‘Discombobulator’ against Venezuelan missile systems, the president says

President Donald Trump said the US military used a new secret weapon to disable Venezuela’s air defense systems during a raid on Caracas that resulted in the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

On January 3, American commandos abducted Maduro from his compound without suffering any casualties or losing a single aircraft. The Pentagon said more than 150 planes and helicopters took part in the operation.

In an interview with the New York Post published on Saturday, Trump said the mysterious weapon had “made [enemy] equipment not work.”

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“The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said. “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,” he added.

Seven US service members were reportedly injured in the raid, and one helicopter was damaged but remained operational. Multiple reports suggested that the US may have used jamming technology to disable radar systems or force them to reveal themselves.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking and weapons charges when they were brought before a New York judge.