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American officials assert the armed forces mission to capture Venezuela's president involved months of planning, but when the US President issued the order to commence, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" concluded after approximately 150 minutes.

The surprise early-morning strike this past weekend represented an unprecedented incident in contemporary international relations and culminated in the detention of Venezuela's president along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

Seized by troops belonging to an elite US army unit as they attempted to escape into a fortified safe room, the pair are now in custody at a holding facility in New York and face narco-terrorism indictments.

A Early Morning Raid against the Military Complex

As the sun rose that morning, the magnitude of the armed intervention in the capital, the nation's primary city, became apparent.

Images of Fuerte Tiuna, an enormous army installation where key officials reside, reveal bombed out buildings and burned, smoking vehicles.

The location was this facility that Maduro and his wife were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader a party official stated.

Hours Before - The President Issues the Command

The mission commenced with reports of explosions around 2 AM local time (06:00 GMT).

The US disabled electricity to the city, the President has since said, calling it "dark and deadly".

The objective was to disable Venezuela's air defences and open up the way for American assault helicopters to get to the target.

"We assessed that we had maintained totally the advantage of surprise," the top general remarked.

Strike locations included the base, a port and an airport. Pictures depict Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with huge flames seen from a great distance.

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

A number of the aircraft were shot at, but were still able to fly, officials stated.

There was significant weapons fire," Trump noted.

The Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

Once on the ground, forces from an elite special operations unit, sprang into action.

They entered the facility at 02:01 local time, and the presidential couple "gave up" without a struggle, according to reports.

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

"The safe place is all steel, and he wasn't able to get inside because our guys were too quick.

"It was an extremely heavy door, a massive door," Trump told reporters. He reached to the door. He could not to close it."

However, even assuming they had succeeded to enter the bunker, forces could have blown it open in about "47 seconds".

From Caracas to New York City

Now in US custody, the couple were transported some 2,100 miles, to New York City.

They were flown out of Caracas by helicopter, and taken to a US warship, a warship positioned off the coast. The team was completed "over the water" by 04:29.

It was on the ship that an iconic image from the entire mission was captured - the president in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors and darkened eyewear that looked like opaque glasses.

From the USS Iwo Jima, he was first flown at the American naval installation in Cuba.

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

Confronting Justice on US Territory

On Saturday, a video was released showing the detainee inside the federal drug agency's main office in New York.

The couple are presently being held in a detention centre in the city.

They face charges with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine, owning machine guns and explosives, and plots to acquire such weapons and bombs against the US.

"They will soon face the full wrath of the US legal system on American soil within US courtrooms," the Attorney General declared.

Footage documents the leader's entry in US and journey into custody.