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The US state the armed forces mission to capture Venezuela's president involved months of planning, but the moment Donald Trump gave the order to commence, "Operation Absolute Resolve" was completed in about 150 minutes.

The unexpected early-morning attack on Saturday represented an unprecedented event within modern politics and resulted in the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores.

Captured by soldiers belonging to a top-tier American military force while they tried to escape inside a fortified panic room, the pair are now being held at a holding facility in New York and face drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

A Early Morning Assault on the Military Complex

As the sun rose that morning, the extent of the armed intervention in Caracas, Venezuela's primary city, was evident.

Images of the vast military base, an enormous army installation in which top government officials reside, depict destroyed buildings and burned, smoking vehicles.

The location was this base that the president and first lady were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader a party official stated.

Hours Before - The President Gives the Order

"Operation Absolute Resolve" started with reports of blasts at about 2 AM local time (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

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

The goal was to disable the nation's air defense systems and clear the way for American assault helicopters to reach the target.

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

Targeted sites included the base, a port and an airfield. Images depict Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with massive fires seen for miles.

Residents have described the way American choppers flew at low altitude above the city, en route to Fuerte Tiuna.

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

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

A Lightning-Fast On-the-Ground Operation

After landing, forces from an elite special operations unit, acted with speed.

They entered to the compound at 02:01 local time, and the presidential couple surrendered without resistance, as per reports.

But, further information emerged. The Maduros tried to escape into a secure location, referred to as a military "fortress".

"The safe place is all steel, and he wasn't able to get to the door as our personnel were so fast.

It featured a very thick entryway, a massive door," the President told reporters. He reached the entrance. He was unable to shut it."

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

From Caracas to Manhattan

Currently under American detention, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported approximately 3,400 kilometers, to Manhattan.

They were flown from the capital via chopper, and taken to a US warship, a naval vessel positioned off the coast. The operation was completed in international waters before 4:30 AM.

It was on the ship that one of the defining pictures from the entire mission was captured - Maduro shackled, wearing ear protectors and darkened eyewear that looked like dark sunglasses.

After leaving the ship, he was first flown at the American naval installation in Cuba.

The Maduros were then flown via official aircraft to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, and then via helicopter into New York City.

Confronting Justice in US Territory

That same day, a video was released showing the detainee inside the federal drug agency's headquarters 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 acquire machine guns and destructive devices to use against America.

"They will soon face the complete force of the US legal system on American soil in American courts," a senior legal official proclaimed.

Footage documents the leader's entry into American and transport to detention.