From within that Caracas stronghold all the way to a Manhattan courtroom: The Venezuelan leader's apprehension through photographs as well as geographic charts.

The US assert their armed forces mission to capture the South American nation's leader required months of planning, however the moment the US President issued the command to commence, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" concluded after approximately 150 minutes.

The surprise early-morning assault this past weekend represented an unprecedented incident within contemporary international relations and resulted in the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Captured by soldiers from an elite American military force while they attempted to flee into 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 Early Morning Assault against Fuerte Tiuna

With daybreak on Saturday, the magnitude of the armed intervention in the capital, Venezuela's primary city, was evident.

Pictures from the vast military base, a massive military complex where senior leadership reside, show bombed out structures as well as burned, smouldering cars.

The location was this facility where the president and first lady were apprehended, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández reported.

Hours Earlier - The President Issues the Order

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

American forces disabled electricity to the city, Trump has since said, describing it as "dark and deadly".

The objective was to neutralize the nation's air defences and clear the path for US military helicopters to get to the target.

Our evaluation was that we had maintained totally the advantage of surprise," a senior military officer remarked.

Strike locations encompassed the compound, a port and an airport. Pictures depict the complex engulfed in flames, with massive fires visible for miles.

Residents reported the way American choppers flew low over Caracas, heading for the military base.

Some of the helicopters were shot at, but were still able to fly, military leaders said.

There was a lot of weapons fire," Trump added.

The Rapid Ground Assault

Once on the ground, forces from the US Army's Delta Force, sprang into action.

They entered the facility at 02:01 local time, and the Maduros "gave up" without resistance, as per reports.

But, further information emerged. They tried to escape into a safe place, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.

"The safe place was constructed of steel, and he wasn't able to get to the door because our guys were too quick.

It featured an extremely heavy door, a very heavy door," the President told reporters. He reached the entrance. He could not to shut it."

However, even assuming they had succeeded to get into the safe room, troops could have blown it open in about "under a minute."

From the Capital to Manhattan

Currently under American detention, the couple were transported some 3,400 kilometers, to New York City.

They were taken by air from the capital via chopper, and taken to a US warship, a warship positioned in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" before 4:30 AM.

Aboard the vessel that an iconic image of the whole operation emerged - Maduro in handcuffs, with hearing protection and darkened eyewear resembling opaque glasses.

From the USS Iwo Jima, his initial stop was to the US Navy base in Cuba.

The Maduros then traveled on a government plane to a military airfield in New York, before a final helicopter transfer into New York City.

Confronting Justice in US Territory

That same day, a video was released depicting Maduro at the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) main office in the city.

He and Cilia Flores are presently detained at a federal holding facility within the city.

They face charges with planning narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking, owning automatic weapons and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and bombs to use against America.

"They will soon face the complete force of American justice in the United States within US courtrooms," a senior legal official declared.

Video shows the leader's entry into American and transport into custody.