Overview
- Trump told NewsNation the United States deployed a previously undisclosed sonic device in the Jan. 3 operation that seized Nicolás Maduro, asserting that “nobody else has it.”
- The White House earlier amplified a viral account from an unnamed Venezuelan guard, first posted by activist Mike Netter, alleging an intense sound wave caused collapse, nosebleeds, and vomiting blood.
- The Pentagon has not confirmed the claim, and defense experts say known nonlethal acoustic and directed‑energy systems exist yet do not clearly match the severe symptoms described.
- The Kremlin asked Washington for clarification and said Russian services would examine Trump’s remarks, underscoring the diplomatic fallout.
- Venezuelan authorities report at least 100 deaths from the raid, legal and health questions persist over any use of such devices, and it remains unclear whether reported casualties are linked to a sonic system.