Viral claims suggest US forces used a sonic or directed-energy weapon during an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, citing a guard's account of intense sound waves causing incapacitation, nosebleeds, and vomiting. However, Mark S. Zaid, a lawyer for Havana Syndrome victims, has dismissed these claims, stating that while the US government may possess such devices, they were not used in the Venezuela operation. Some reports also linked the symptoms to directed energy weapons.