Redacción: La Tabla/Plataforma de Periodismo de Datos 14 ENE 2026
A technical analysis from La Tabla, based on the specifications of the deployed weapons and the official narrative, concludes that the physical devastation described by Minister Diosdado Cabello aligns with the combined use of precision munitions and heavy aerial fire against fortified military targets.
In a press conference held on January 13, 2026, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello depicted a scene of extreme devastation following the airstrikes that occurred ten days earlier. “The blasts were so intense that there are people whose locations remain unknown,” Cabello stated, detailing that the victims’ bodies were “fragmented in such a way that it is impossible” to identify them visually. Consequently, forensic police and the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Investigations (IVIC) are working to identify remains through DNA analysis.
This analysis from La Tabla, based on the documented capabilities of the American conventional arsenal present in the region, finds a direct technical correlation between the effects described by the authority and the tactical use of three primary weapon systems.
The Triangle of Destruction
The operation on January 3, which targeted military and air defense infrastructure, likely employed a lethal combination designed to quickly neutralize hardened targets.
1. AGM-114 Hellfire Missile: High-Speed Shrapnel
This air-to-ground missile, often used by platforms like the MQ-9 Reaper drone, is designed with a fragmentation warhead. Upon impact, its metal casing bursts into thousands of fragments at extreme speeds, creating a concentrated lethal radius. It is an ideal weapon for destroying military vehicles, command posts, or stationed missile systems such as the BUK-M2E reported in Venezuelan targets. A direct hit on this type of equipment can generate a massive secondary explosion, multiplying the shrapnel and blast wave.
2. GBU-39/B Bomb (Small Diameter Bomb): Precision with Penetrating Impact
Weighing 129 kg, this GPS-guided bomb is renowned for its precision and ability to minimize collateral damage by limiting its explosive power. However, its design includes a penetrating fragmentation warhead aimed at destroying reinforced structures. The controlled detonation generates a powerful shock wave and projects metallic fragments at high speed. Its use against hangars, communication centers, or concrete buildings within military complexes can cause severe devastation inside the target.
3. AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship: The Persistent Artillery from the Sky
This attack aircraft is distinguished by its sustained fire capability. Its most lethal weapon is a 105 mm howitzer, an adapted piece of field artillery. Each high-explosive projectile of this caliber generates a devastating pressure wave and a dense cloud of heavy shrapnel. The AC-130 can maintain precise and sustained fire over an area for several minutes, saturating the target with multiple impacts of this power. The effect on light structures, clustered vehicles, and personnel is catastrophic, potentially causing the traumatic disintegration reported by forensic authorities.
Technical Coherence between Arsenal and Effects
The scenario described by Minister Cabello—the need to resort to DNA for identifying severely fragmented human remains—does not require the presence of unknown or “exotic” weapons for explanation. It is technically coherent with the effects produced by the phased and combined use of this conventional arsenal in a large-scale operation.
The selection of these systems is not random: it responds to a military doctrine designed to quickly nullify air defenses (Hellfire missiles and SDBs against radars and launchers) and destroy critical command infrastructure (heavy fire from the AC-130 against barracks and communication centers). The concentrated explosive violence of these weapons, employed in the densely populated urban context of Caracas and La Guaira, results in the extreme devastation and massive body fragmentation that currently challenges Venezuelan forensic experts.
This analysis is based on the public technical specifications of the mentioned weapon systems and the official report from Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on January 13, 2026.