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The US claim the armed forces mission to capture the South American nation's leader involved months of planning, yet when the US President gave the command to launch, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" only lasted about two and a half hours.

The surprise early-morning strike on Saturday represented a historic event in modern politics and led directly to the detention of Venezuela's president along with his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Captured by soldiers belonging to a top-tier American military force when they attempted to escape into a heavily secured safe room, the pair are now detained in a detention centre within New York City and face drug trafficking and terrorism accusations.

A Early Morning Assault on the Military Complex

With daybreak that morning, the extent of the armed intervention in Caracas, the nation's capital, was clear.

Photographs from the vast military base, a massive army installation in which senior leadership reside, show bombed out buildings as well as charred, smouldering vehicles.

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

Hours Earlier - The President Issues the Command

The mission commenced 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 goal was to neutralize the nation's air defences and open up the path for US military helicopters to get to the target.

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

Targeted sites encompassed the base, a maritime facility and an airfield. Images depict Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with massive fires visible from a great distance.

Residents reported how American choppers flew at low altitude above the city, heading for the military base.

A number of the aircraft came under fire, but were still able to fly, officials stated.

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

A Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

Once on the ground, troops from the US Army's Delta Force, acted with speed.

They entered to the compound at 02:01 Caracas time, and the Maduros "gave up" without a struggle, according to reports.

But, further information were provided. They attempted to flee into a safe place, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.

"The safe place was constructed of steel, and he failed to get inside as our personnel were too quick.

"It was an extremely heavy entryway, a massive door," Trump told reporters. He reached to the door. He was unable to close it."

But even if they had managed to get into the bunker, troops could have blown it open in approximately "under a minute."

From the Capital to New York City

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

They were flown out of Caracas via chopper, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a warship stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" by 04:29.

It was on the ship where one of the defining pictures from the entire mission emerged - the president in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors and darkened eyewear resembling dark sunglasses.

After leaving the ship, he was first flown at the American naval installation at Guantánamo Bay.

The Maduros were then flown on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Facing Justice in American Soil

That same day, footage was released showing Maduro at the federal drug agency's main office in the city.

He and Cilia Flores are presently detained in a detention centre within the city.

They have been charged including conspiracy to commit drug-related terrorism and cocaine trafficking, possession of automatic weapons and explosives, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and bombs against the US.

They are set to encounter the complete force of American justice in the United States in American courts," the Attorney General declared.

Video documents Maduro's arrival in US and journey to detention.