What you need to know
Donald Trump said a secret weapon (which he called a “discombobulator”) was used during the detention of Nicolas Maduro.
In an interview with the New York Post, the 79-year-old president said the device was used during the Jan. 3 raid to capture the then-Venezuela president, and that the “(enemy) equipment” had “stopped working.”
“Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump told the outlet, but added, “I would love to talk about it.”
“They never took off the rockets. They had Russian and Chinese rockets, but they didn’t take off a single shot. We went in, they pressed the button, and nothing worked. Everything was ready for us,” the president continued, referring to the “device” that the “discombobulator” had failed.
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A senior U.S. official told CNN that Trump may be referring to a “discombobulator” that combines multiple resources to create a weapon that doesn’t exist.
The newspaper reported that the US used cyber tools and existing sound systems during the raid to capture President Maduro, 63.
PEOPLE reached out to the White House for comment on Sunday, January 25, but did not immediately receive a response.
President Trump confirmed his order for a “massive strike” in Venezuela aimed at dismantling the Maduro regime through a statement shared on Truth Social on January 3.
As a result of the attack, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and deported, according to a statement from President Trump.
Maduro and Flores, 69, were later arraigned in a New York court on January 5.
Maduro was charged with four counts of narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of a machine gun and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Flores was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of a machine gun and a destructive device, and conspiracy to possess a machine gun and a destructive device.
Federico Parra/AFP via Getty
Speaking in Spanish through an interpreter during his arraignment, Mr. Maduro told Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein that he was a “prisoner of war” and was “not guilty” of the crimes he was charged with.
“I am the president of Venezuela,” Maduro said. “I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured in my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”
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President Trump on January 4 issued a warning to Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, urging her to cooperate with his plan and allow the United States “full access” to Venezuela’s natural reserves.
