Nicolas Maduro’s bodyguards did not know what had hit them when US forces swooped in to snatch the Venezuelan leader from beneath their noses.
One moment they were ready to fight. The next, a wave of sound knocked them off their feet, leaving them bleeding from the nose and vomiting blood, according to one account of the daring raid.
Experts have questioned the details from that account, which has been circulated by the White House, but also say a mysterious weapon could indeed have been deployed by US special forces.
The US, and its adversaries, spent decades exploring sonic and radio-wave technologies to cripple enemy combatants.
Two intelligence sources had concluded the top-secret technology may be behind the so-called Havana Syndrome, a mysterious affliction which has bedevilled American diplomats around the world.
The first instances of the condition were reported in 2016, when American 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 personnel in more than 15 countries.
According to The New York Times, diplomats stationed in China have also experienced light-headedness, sleep issues and their children getting nosebleeds.
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.
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