Eyewitness accounts from the Venezuela raid describe immediate and severe effects on personnel within the target area. A Maduro bodyguard testified:

"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."

Speculation ensued: EMP weapon may have been used to disable electronics, radar systems etc, acronym such as CHAMP. Other acronyms such as EPIC. The relation with “Havana Syndrome”? First reported in 2016 among U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Havana, Cuba. Symptoms included: Sudden onset of vertigo, nausea, headaches, “Piercing” sound or pressure in the head, Cognitive difficulties (“brain fog”), Nosebleeds in a small subset of cases (not universal). No consistent physical injury or biomarkers were found across all cases. Leading Scientific Hypothesis: Pulsed RF Energy. A 2020 report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences (NASEM) concluded that directed, pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy was the most plausible mechanism. Proposed physics: Thermoelastic expansion, a rapid, tiny heating of brain tissue creates a pressure wave perceived as sound and possibly disrupting neural function. Crucially, this effect does not involve significant tissue heating, skin burns, or vascular rupture and does not reliably cause nosebleeds. Some speculate that it is a grenade that releases a nerve agent or another agent. Such a grenade could appear as a sonic boom but is a quick dispersal of a nerve agent. These narcotic do not kill the opposition but could cause them to not resist for instance. Voice of god technology. The US also uses bribery, installs puppets and or gains permission from key people to not meet resistance beforehand.

60 minutes did a piece on it titled: Source: Havana Syndrome investigation is "a massive CIA cover-up" | 60 Minutes, it speaks of a pulsed energy weapon made in Soviet Union that can damage humans, the size of a backpack and a range of 300 feet.

Many a YouTube video theory: the Discombobulator is directed-energy microwave weapon utilizing the Frey Effect.

Protection comes from disabling the vehicles the device is mounted on, while electromagnetic shielding clothing (particularly silver-threaded or metalized fabrics), RF-blocking headgear, and Faraday cage principles are possible, MG Military Suit. Several military suppliers now produce protective equipment specifically designed to counter such threats. A detector, that alerts if such a weapon is used as it is a line of sight weapon. The weapon might have two modes wide area and targeted. The "Discombobulator" does NOT require individual tracking. It uses a microwave beam that can be: Flooded over a wide area (like a "flashlight" beam affecting everyone in range). Narrowly focused for higher intensity on a specific target.