“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.”
Trump’s comments seemed to confirm reports that Washington had purchased an energy weapon suspected of being behind Havana Syndrome, which has bedevilled US diplomats around the world.
The first instances of the condition were reported in 2016, when diplomats stationed in the US Embassy in Cuba began suffering from unexplained cognitive symptoms, including extreme headaches, vertigo, memory loss, and hearing loss.
Since then, cases of Havana Syndrome have been reported by diplomats and government staff in more than 15 countries.
Diplomats stationed in China have also experienced light-headedness, sleep issues and their children getting nosebleeds, according to the New York Times.
Havana Syndrome symptoms, usually associated with head trauma, have no obvious cause.
Some believe the illness arises as a result of a targeted sonic attack. Others attribute it to stress, air pollution, and chemical agents such as pesticides.
A guard who supposedly witnessed the US assault on Maduro’s compound claimed the group defending the Venezuelan leader was hit by some kind of “sonic weapon”.
“Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside,” the unnamed individual said in an account shared by members of the White House.
“We all started bleeding from the nose. Some were vomiting blood. We fell to the ground, unable to move.”
Maduro, 63, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York, awaiting trial on narco-terrorism charges, while Delcy Rodriguez serves as Venezuela’s interim leader.
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