This account from a Venezuelan security guard loyal to Nicolás Maduro is absolutely chilling—and it explains a lot about why the tone across Latin America suddenly changed

🚨This account from a Venezuelan security guard loyal to Nicolás Maduro is absolutely chilling—and it explains a lot about why the tone across Latin America suddenly changed.

Security Guard: On the day of the operation, we didn't hear anything coming. We were on guard, but suddenly all our radar systems shut down without any explanation. The next thing we saw were drones, a lot of drones, flying over our positions. We didn't know how to react.

Security Guard: After those drones appeared, some helicopters arrived, but there were very few. I think barely eight helicopters. From those helicopters, soldiers came down, but a very small number. Maybe twenty men. But those men were technologically very advanced. They didn't look like anything we've fought against before.

Security Guard: Yes, but it was a massacre. We were hundreds, but we had no chance. They were shooting with such precision and speed... it seemed like each soldier was firing 300 rounds per minute. We couldn't do anything.

Security Guard: No help at all. Because it wasn't just the weapons. At one point, they launched something—I don't know how to describe it... it was like a very intense sound wave. Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside. We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move.

Security Guard: No, not at all. Those twenty men, without a single casualty, killed hundreds of us. We had no way to compete with their technology, with their weapons. I swear, I've never seen anything like it. We couldn't even stand up after that sonic weapon or whatever it was.

Interviewer: So do you think the rest of the region should think twice before confronting the Americans?

Security Guard: Without a doubt. I'm sending a warning to anyone who thinks they can fight the United States. They have no idea what they're capable of. After what I saw, I never want to be on the other side of that again. They're not to be messed with.

Interviewer: And now that Trump has said Mexico is on the list, do you think the situation will change in Latin America?

Security Guard: Definitely. Everyone is already talking about this. No one wants to go through what we went through. Now everyone thinks twice. What happened here is going to change a lot of things, not just in Venezuela but throughout the region.

Grok Summary:

The U.S. Department of Defense has been testing a device for over a year that some investigators suspect may be linked to Havana Syndrome (officially called anomalous health incidents or AHIs), mysterious ailments affecting U.S. spies, diplomats, and troops since late 2016.

The device was acquired through an undercover operation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI, a division of the Department of Homeland Security) in the final days of the Biden administration. Funding came from the Defense Department, with the purchase costing an "eight-figure" amount (tens of millions of dollars).

Key details about the device:

It produces pulsed radio waves (or pulsed electromagnetic/radio-frequency energy), a mechanism some officials and experts have long speculated could cause the symptoms (e.g., severe headaches, vertigo, cognitive issues resembling head trauma).
It contains Russian components, though it is not entirely Russian-made in origin.
It is portable enough to fit in a backpack, addressing a major longstanding question about how such a powerful device could be feasibly deployed covertly.

Testing continues, with ongoing debate and some skepticism within the government about its direct connection to the dozens of unexplained cases. Officials briefed congressional intelligence committees on the findings late last year.

This development has reignited tensions over Havana Syndrome:

Symptoms first appeared among U.S. diplomats in Havana, Cuba, then spread globally.
A 2022 intelligence assessment found some cases could "plausibly" involve pulsed electromagnetic energy from an external source.
However, broader U.S. intelligence community conclusions (as recently as January 2025) deemed it very unlikely that a foreign adversary (e.g., Russia) was responsible for a targeted campaign, though not entirely ruled out in isolated instances.
Victims and some former officials (including ex-CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos) have accused the government of downplaying evidence and gaslighting those affected, viewing this device acquisition as potential vindication. Polymeropoulos called for a major public apology from the CIA if links are confirmed.

Concerns now include potential proliferation of the technology to multiple countries, which could enable more attacks causing severe, career-ending injuries.

The Pentagon, HSI, DHS, and CIA were approached for comment by CNN (the original reporting source), but only the CIA explicitly declined. The exact origin of the device (where or from whom it was bought) remains undisclosed, though HSI has a history of collaborating with the military on global proliferation and customs-related investigations.

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