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American officials state their military operation to capture the South American nation's leader involved months of planning, however the moment the US President issued the command to commence, "Operation Absolute Resolve" was completed in approximately two and a half hours.

The shocking early-morning strike this past weekend represented a historic event in contemporary international relations and culminated in the arrest for Venezuela's president along with his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Captured by troops from a top-tier American military force as they tried to escape inside a heavily secured panic room, the couple are currently in custody in a detention centre within New York City and are confronting drug trafficking and terrorism indictments.

A Dawn Raid against Fuerte Tiuna

With daybreak on Saturday, the scale of the armed intervention in the capital, Venezuela's primary city, became apparent.

Photographs of Fuerte Tiuna, a massive army installation in which top government officials reside, reveal blasted structures as well as burned, smoking vehicles.

The location was this facility where Maduro and his wife were apprehended, a senior political figure a party official stated.

Hours Earlier - Trump Gives the Order

"Operation Absolute Resolve" began amid reports of blasts around 02:00 local time (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

The US cut power across the capital, Trump has since said, describing it as "dark and deadly".

The aim was to neutralize Venezuela's air defences and clear the way for US military helicopters to get to the target.

Our evaluation was that we successfully kept totally the element of surprise", a senior military officer remarked.

Targeted sites encompassed the compound, a maritime facility and an airfield. Pictures depict the complex engulfed in flames, with huge flames seen from a great distance.

Venezuelans have described how American choppers flew at low altitude over Caracas, heading for the military base.

A number of the aircraft came under fire, but managed to continue flying, military leaders stated.

"It was a lot of gunfire," Trump noted.

A Rapid Ground Assault

After landing, troops from an elite special operations unit, moved quickly.

They gained access to the compound at 02:01 Caracas time, and the presidential couple surrendered without a struggle, according to reports.

But, more details were provided. The Maduros tried to escape into a secure location, described as a military "fortress".

The secure room is all steel, and he failed to get to the door because our guys were so fast.

It featured a very thick entryway, a very heavy door," the President told reporters. "He made it the entrance. He could not to close it."

But even if they had succeeded to get into the bunker, forces could have breached it in approximately "47 seconds".

From Caracas to New York City

Currently under American detention, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported some 2,100 miles, to New York City.

They were taken by air from the capital via chopper, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a naval vessel positioned in the Caribbean. The operation was completed in international waters before 4:30 AM.

Aboard the vessel where one of the defining pictures from the entire mission was captured - the president shackled, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like opaque glasses.

From the USS Iwo Jima, he was first flown at the American naval installation at Guantánamo Bay.

They were then flown via official aircraft to a military airfield in New York, and then via helicopter to Manhattan.

Confronting Justice in American Soil

That same day, footage emerged depicting the detainee at the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in the city.

The couple are presently detained at a federal holding facility within the city.

They have been charged including conspiracy to commit drug-related terrorism and import cocaine, owning machine guns and explosives, and conspiracy to acquire machine guns and bombs to use against America.

They are set to encounter the full wrath of the US legal system on American soil within US courtrooms," a senior legal official proclaimed.

Video shows Maduro's arrival in US and transport to detention.