The so-called “Discombobulator,” which allegedly incapacitated Maduro’s Cuban bodyguards without exposing US troops to a firefight, may have contributed to the lighting raid’s success.
The recent highly successful tactical raid conducted by the United States military directed against the now former president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has quickly become the stuff of legends in international military circles. Even America’s rivals, notably the Russians and the Chinese, were in awe at the speed and proficiency with which the Americans moved to accomplish their mission.
With that raid now weeks behind us, some information has bubbled out that help to answer some of the many technical mysteries surrounding that lightning snatch-and-grab. That operation—codenamed “Absolute Resolve”—lasted a total of 30 minutes, with 6 of those minutes being the most intense wherein Maduro and his paramour were successfully snatched by the US Delta Force.
Two important questions arise in the aftermath of that event.
The first is how DELTA Force successfully penetrated, captured, and escaped Caracas with no casualties, no loss of equipment, and in such a way that Maduro’s mostly Cuban security team were left completely disoriented.
Another question that arises is how the Americans managed to totally suppress what we were all told were advanced Russian-made air defense systems.
What Exactly Is the “Discombobulator”?
To the first query, President Donald Trump himself seems to have opened the veil of secrecy surrounding the technical aspects of the Maduro raid. The 47th president calls it the “Discombobulator”—which sounds more like something from Buck Rogers than an actual US military weapon.
According to Trump, per the New York Post, the device in question employed electromagnetic (EM) warfare to disable Venezuela’s defensive equipment—including the Russian and Chinese rockets—making them inoperable during the operation. Per Trump, he’s “not allowed to talk about” in detail, reinforcing this purported device’s classified nature.
Al Jazeera, however, is skeptical. A recent piece in the Qatar-based publication notes that Venezuela’s defense minister accused the US of using advanced military technologies, calling Venezuela a “weapons factory.”
Although there is no confirmed description or public acknowledgement of this “sonic” weapon, it is very possible that the Discombobulator, if real, is not the only classified technology that was employed by the US military in the run-up to their successful raid on Maduro’s compound in Caracas.
Let’s just look at the purported details surrounding the Discombobulator. According to unconfirmed sources, when the Delta Force operators rolled up to Maduro’s presidential compound, large numbers of the well-trained and armed Cuban security force surrounding Maduro were simply incapacitated. One unsubstantiated report about the DELTA attack on the compound depicts a scene in which the Cuban guards simply collapsed, with blood streaming from their nose and ears. Another anecdotal narrative claims that the so-called Discombobulator was so effective in neutralizing the Cuban defenders of Maduro that the DELTA Force operators expended a minimal amount of ammunition.
We Know from “Havana Syndrome” that These Weapons Exist
Now, if this weapon is accurate then it aligns with a suspected system that both the Americans and Russians (formerly Soviet Union) developed back in the Cold War era.
In what has become an epidemic plaguing American foreign service officers as well as intelligence operatives assigned to overseas postings, a string of highly debilitating injuries has been reported among that group of Americans which mirrors head trauma. It has long been suspected that this affliction—known as “Havana Syndrome” because it was first noticed by American personnel working at the US embassy in Havana, Cuba—is believed to be caused by a directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy device.
Some have referred to this alternatively as a microwave weapon or a sonic weapon. Interestingly, a sonic weapon was precisely how President Trump described the Discombobulator.
The earliest reports of rudimentary, lower-level microwave beaming weapons utilized by the Soviet Union directed against the US embassy in Moscow were documented in the 1970s.
Regardless, there is plenty of evidence that these weapons have been developed over the course of many decades and have even been employed in a limited fashion throughout that time.
Could Microwave Weapons Disable Air Defenses, Too?
But can a so-called “Discombobulator,” which allegedly uses some form of directed energy—specifically pulsed microwave or radiofrequency radiation—be responsible also for the disabling of those Russian-made and Chinese-made air defense systems? That hardly seems likely.
What we know about that aspect of the story, at least according to background sources, is that the US military allegedly possesses some yet-to-be acknowledged electromagnetic (EM) device that essentially fry the operating systems on those Russian-and-Chinese-made air defense systems (and other platforms).
Deployed shortly before US forces enter within firing range, these unspecified EM weapons will neutralize systems that would have posed threats to US military helicopters and aircraft, allowing for the forces that stormed Caracas on January 3 to dominate the airspace.
Just as with the Discombobulator, there is very little evidence to substantiate these claims. That’s not to discount them altogether. But we live in an age where verification is key. And these claims, while they may very well be true, do lack any verification.
Intelligence Penetration: The Silent Enabler
There is another possibility, which brings us back to that original Al Jazeera piece expressing skepticism over Trump’s extraordinary claims. Remember, during the Havana Syndrome investigation, the Biden administration had concluded that there was no conclusive evidence supporting claims about Havana Syndrome—and that in many instances it could be chalked up to stress rather than enemy activity.
Setting that aside, let us look at the events before, during, and after the Maduro raid. For starters, Maduro placed the bulk of his armed forces on vacation for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. This left his forces in an understaffed, stand down mode that was conducive for exploitation by US Special Forces.
Then, there were reports that CIA infiltrators had gained access to the highest echelons of the regime in Caracas. That infiltrator was allegedly feeding updated, sensitive intelligence to American forces right until the strike on Caracas occurred.
Immediately after the raid captured Maduro, the regime elevated the vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez—who immediately indicated that she would be cooperative with the United States going forward.
So it is certainly possible that the air defenses were deactivated as part of some covert plot arranged between Maduro’s successors and the Trump administration. All this talk about Discombobulators and EM weapons could simply be a trick designed to make the rest of the world still fear an American military that, until the Maduro raid, was being questioned as incompetent after more than 20 years of failed conflicts in the Middle East.
American military power has always rested upon the notion that Washington possessed exotic technologies. While there have been instances where America does have access to advanced technologies generations beyond their adversaries, there are also instances in which these claims were part of a psychological operation to convince American rivals that we were more advanced than we were as a component of deterrence.
Plus, everyone knows that the US directed energy weapon program has generally been a failure. Now, we’re led to believe the Americans possess these wünderweapons?
Maybe they do. Then again, though, perhaps they just want China and Russia to believe they do. We’ll never know for sure. But let’s keep some perspective here.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest. Recently, Weichert became the host of The National Security Hour on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio, where he discusses national security policy every Wednesday at 8pm Eastern. Weichert hosts a companion book talk series on Rumble entitled “National Security Talk.” He is also a contributor at Popular Mechanics and has consulted regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, and the Asia Times. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Lucas Parker.
