What the alleged ‘sonic weapon’ used in Venezuela may actually have been

By Fox News · Fox News

Claims that a mysterious "sonic weapon" was used in Venezuela have fueled speculation about exotic U.S. military technology and its potential effects on the human body. One eyewitness account from a Venezuelan guard, shared on social media by White Hosue press secretary Karoline Leavitt , claimed the weapon brought Venezuelan and Cuban security forces to their knees, "bleeding through their nose" and vomiting blood. While the Trump administration has not confirmed what weapon, if any, may have been used, defense experts point to a well-known acoustic device that has been in use for years. US USED SONIC WEAPON ON VENEZUELAN TROOPS, REPORT SHARED BY LEAVITT CLAIMS Known as a long-range acoustic device, it’s been described as the "voice of God," according to Mark Cancian, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The device deploys a directed, short-range "cone of sound." "It's not like a microphone, you know, where everybody's neighborhood, it's only within this cone," said Cancian. U.S. operators may have deployed it as they were landing on the ground in Caracas, Venezuela, as a way to disorient security forces and warn them to drop their weapons. LRADs can project spoken commands at intense volumes or emit a loud, piercing tone designed to get attention and deter movement. At close range, the sound can be painful and disorienting, and in extreme cases can damage hearing or rupture eardrums, but the devices are not designed to cause lasting physical harm. It can cause pain and temporary disorientation, and can cause ruptured eardrums, but is not designed to inflict long-term damage. U.S. forces used them for crowd control in Iraq when Iraqis got too close to U.S. military installments, according to Cancian. The devices can reach up to 140 decibels of sound. The intensity drops quickly with distance and angle. This is why operators can stand nearby but outside the beam. US MILITARY DETAILS TIMELINE…