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The US claim the armed forces mission to capture the South American nation's leader took months of planning, but when the US President gave the order to commence, "Operation Absolute Resolve" only lasted approximately 150 minutes.

The unexpected early-morning attack on Saturday marked a historic incident within modern politics and culminated in the detention of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Apprehended by troops belonging to an elite American military force when they tried to escape inside a fortified panic room, the two are currently being held in a detention centre in New York and are confronting drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

The Early Morning Assault on Fuerte Tiuna

At sunrise on Saturday, the magnitude of the military operation in the capital, Venezuela's capital, was clear.

Images of Fuerte Tiuna, a massive army installation in which senior leadership reside, depict bombed out buildings and burned, smouldering cars.

It was at this base that the president and first lady were captured, a senior political figure a party official reported.

Just Moments Earlier - The President Issues the Order

The mission began with reports of blasts at about 02:00 in Caracas (06:00 GMT).

American forces disabled electricity to the city, the President later described, describing it as pitch black and dangerous.

The aim was to disable Venezuela's air defense systems and open up the way for US military helicopters to reach the target.

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

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

Venezuelans have described how US military helicopters flew low over Caracas, en route to the military base.

A number of the aircraft were shot at, but managed to continue flying, military leaders stated.

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

The Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

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

They gained access to the compound at 02:01 local time, and the Maduros "gave up" without resistance, according to reports.

However, more details were provided. They attempted to flee into a safe place, described as a military "fortress".

"The safe place was constructed of steel, and he wasn't able to make it inside as our personnel were so fast.

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

However, even assuming they had managed to enter the bunker, forces could have breached it in approximately "47 seconds".

From Caracas to Manhattan

Now in US custody, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported some 2,100 miles, to New York City.

They were flown out of Caracas via chopper, and transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, a warship stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" before 4:30 AM.

Aboard the vessel that an iconic image from the entire mission emerged - Maduro shackled, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like opaque glasses.

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

The Maduros then traveled via official aircraft to a military airfield in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Confronting Justice in American Soil

That same day, footage emerged depicting the detainee inside the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) main office in New York.

He and Cilia Flores are presently being held in a detention centre in the city.

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

They are set to encounter the full wrath of the US legal system in the United States within US courtrooms," a senior legal official declared.

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