- A Venezuelan guard described the US January 3 raid as a massacre with overwhelming firepower
- The guard reported use of an unknown weapon causing intense sound waves and physical harm
- US forces disabled Venezuelan radar and used drones and advanced technology in the assault
A Venezuelan security guard, who was on duty during the US operation to capture the country's leader Nicolas Maduro, has revealed what transpired during Operation Absolute Resolve on January 3. Reshared by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X, a post, quoting an interview with the guard, detailed what the guard called a “massacre.”
“It was a massacre. We were hundreds, but we had no chance,” the Venezuelan guard said. “They (US forces) were shooting with such precision and speed, it seemed like each soldier was firing 300 rounds per minute. We couldn't do anything.”
He claimed an unfamiliar weapon was used in the assault. “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,” the guard said.
More than 100 people were killed during the US attack that captured the Venezuelan president and his wife Cilia Flores, according to Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. The Cuban government also confirmed that 32 of its nationals were killed during the raid. Cuba, a long‑standing ally of Venezuela, has for years provided Maduro with security details and personnel throughout the Venezuelan military. No one from the US forces died, Trump said.
According to the guard, Venezuelan defences were caught off guard on the day. “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,” he said.
Helicopters arrived, “barely eight”, he estimated, from which a small number of US soldiers descended. “Maybe 20 men. But those men were technologically very advanced. They didn't look like anything we've fought against before,” he said.
Asked whether his comrades were able to resist, he replied, “not at all”. “Those 20 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,” the guard said.
The US has defended the attack as a “law enforcement action” to detain Maduro on narcotics and weapons charges.
Maduro has claimed he was “kidnapped” and the US action was condemned by Venezuela's allies, including Cuba, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as several Latin American countries. It also drew criticism from parts of Europe and the UN.
The guard warned other nations, “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."
“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,” the guard added.
