The American military operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, ex-president of Venezuela, has already made history. Presented as a maneuver of unprecedented precision, it took place before dawn: synchronized attacks, massive jamming of communications and extraction of the head of state, alive, to the United States to be judged there. But in the information fog that followed, a spectacular rumor appeared online: Venezuelan soldiers had been struck down by a sonic weapon so powerful that it caused them to bleed noses and vomit blood.
In ordinary times, this type of story would quickly disappear from the radar, disseminated only in certain conspiratorial spheres. This was without counting on Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the White House, who relayed these rumors on her
The message at the origin of this affair would be a voice recording in Spanish broadcast on WhatsApp and transcribed on X. We discover the testimony of an alleged security guard loyal to Maduro: “We were on guard duty, and suddenly all our radars went off for no reason. Then drones appeared, lots of drones. We didn’t know what to do.” Nothing unusual so far, but the man continues: “They released something… like a very intense sonic wave. I felt like my head was exploding from the inside. We were all bleeding from our noses. Some vomited blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move.”
Problem: no independent source has corroborated this testimony which therefore boils down to… a tweet. The Pentagon has never confirmed the use of acoustic weapons in the operation and all versions of the story appear to come from the same voicemail. In other words, no tangible proof has been produced, only the rumor has been relayed.
What we do know, however, is that the American raid was based on very real technological superiority. Available data shows a large-scale operation involving more than 150 aircraft – fighters, bombers, drones, electronic warfare planes – intended to stifle Venezuelan defenses. The Navy’s EA-18G Growlers, specialized in jamming radars and communications, ensured dominance in the air, while the “Delta Force” led the assault on the ground.
The hypothesis deemed implausible
But what exactly is a sonic weapon? The term includes both crowd control devices (such as LRAD sound cannons, directional speakers emitting deafening sounds) and more experimental concepts using infrasound or ultrasound. These technologies can actually cause pain, nausea or disorientation if their intensity is sufficient. However, the symptoms described – bleeding and vomiting blood – defy the laws of acoustic physics and seem implausible.
Sound can stress the body, disrupt the vestibular system and weaken balance, or, at extreme volume, damage the ears. But producing internal lesions remotely, in the open air, would require colossal power – quickly dissipated by obstacles, the relief of the terrain and even the wind. Such a phenomenon would be almost impossible without a strong explosion, shock wave or visible mechanical impact.
A directed energy weapon?
Some Internet users suggest that the weapon used may not be acoustic, but a form of directed energy weapon (AED). These systems – lasers, high-intensity microwaves, radio waves – do exist in American military research programs. But their known use remains defensive, consisting mainly of neutralizing drones, jamming sensors or deactivating systems. One of the most famous, called the “Active Denial System,” is designed to disperse crowds, not through unbearable sound, but by causing an unpleasant burning sensation on the skin of those affected. Nothing to do with the massive hemorrhages described here.
These weapons straight out of a work of science fiction are fascinating. The mysterious affair of “Havana syndrome” is one of the most famous examples. In 2020, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found “plausible” the hypothesis that weapons of this type would be used against American diplomats in Cuba. In 2023, however, the American intelligence community concluded that no foreign adversary was involved or had such a device. The most recent assessment, in 2025, maintains this position.
So why has this sonic weapon rumor been so successful? Firstly because it fills the void left by military secrecy surrounding the raid. Then, because it offers a flattering story for the American army: that of a nation endowed with an almost supernatural power, capable of neutralizing an enemy regime without firing a shot (and making its adversaries vomit blood). “I send a warning to anyone who would consider confronting the United States. They are capable of unimaginable things”would have warned the witness in the recording. A storytelling perfect, which seems to fit perfectly into American propaganda.
For now, such an American sonic weapon remains an operational myth: attractive, plausible to the ear of conspiracy theorists, but without the slightest material trace. The real means of Nicolás Maduro’s downfall—electronic warfare, air superiority, and interforce coordination—are sufficient proof of American military superiority, without the need to invoke phantom technology.
