Donald Trump Says a Secret 'Discombobulator' Was Used When Capturing Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro By Raven Brunner

Donald Trump said a secret weapon — which he referred to as “The Discombobulator” — was used during the capture of Nicolás Maduro.

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump, 79, said the device was used during the Jan. 3 raid to capture Venezuela’s then-president, causing “[enemy] equipment” to “not work.” 

“The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump told the outlet, adding, however, that he “would love to.” 

“They never got their rockets off. They had Russian and Chinese rockets, and they never got one off. We came in, they pressed buttons, and nothing worked. They were all set for us,” the president continued, referring to the “equipment” that “The Discombobulator” made fail.

A senior U.S. official told CNN that Trump could potentially be combining several resources into one weapon that does not exist, in his reference to “The Discombobulator.”

The outlet reported that the United States used cyber tools and existing acoustic systems during the raid to capture Maduro, 63.

PEOPLE reached out to the White House for comment on Sunday, Jan. 25, but did not receive an immediate response.

Trump confirmed the order of “large-scale strikes” in Venezuela in an effort to dismantle the regime of Maduro via a statement shared on Truth Social on Jan. 3.

The raid resulted in Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being captured and flown out of the country, Trump’s statement said.

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Maduro and Flores, 69, were later arraigned in a New York court on Jan. 5.

Maduro was charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. 

Flores was charged with cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Maduro spoke in Spanish through an interpreter during his arraignment and told Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein that he was a “prisoner of war” and he is “not guilty” of the crimes he is charged with.

“I am the president of Venezuela,” Maduro said. “I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”

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Trump issued a warning to Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, on Jan. 4, urging her to cooperate with his plans and allow the U.S. “total access” to Venezuela’s natural reserves.