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The US claim their military operation to capture the South American nation's president required many weeks of planning, however the moment Donald Trump issued the command to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" concluded after roughly two and a half hours.

The shocking early-morning attack this past weekend represented an unprecedented event within contemporary international relations and led directly to the detention of Venezuela's president and his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Captured by soldiers from a top-tier US army unit while they attempted to flee into a fortified safe room, the pair are currently detained in a detention centre within New York City and face narco-terrorism charges.

The Early Morning Assault against Fuerte Tiuna

As the sun rose that morning, the extent of the military operation in the capital, Venezuela's capital, was clear.

Images from the vast military base, an enormous military complex where senior leadership live, reveal destroyed structures and charred, smouldering vehicles.

The location was this base where Maduro and his wife were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández stated.

Hours Before - Trump Issues the Order

The mission began amid reports of blasts at about 02:00 local time (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

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

The goal was to disable the nation's air defences and open up the path for American assault helicopters to get to the target.

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

Strike locations encompassed the compound, a port and an airport. Images show Fuerte Tiuna on fire, with huge flames visible from a great distance.

Venezuelans reported the way US military helicopters flew at low altitude over Caracas, heading for the military base.

A number of the aircraft came under fire, but managed to continue flying, military leaders said.

There was a lot of weapons fire," the President noted.

A Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

After landing, troops from the US Army's Delta Force, sprang into action.

They gained access the facility at 02:01 Caracas time, and the presidential couple surrendered without resistance, according to reports.

However, more details emerged. The Maduros attempted to flee into a safe place, described as a military "fortress".

"The safe place is all steel, and he failed to make it inside as our personnel were too quick.

It featured an extremely heavy door, a very heavy door," Trump informed the media. He reached to the door. He could not to close it."

However, even assuming they had succeeded to get into the safe room, forces could have breached it in approximately "under a minute."

From the Capital to Manhattan

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

They were taken by air out of Caracas by helicopter, and transferred to a US warship, a naval vessel stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" before 4:30 AM.

It was on the ship that an iconic image of the whole operation emerged - Maduro in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like dark sunglasses.

After leaving the ship, his initial stop was 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.

Confronting The Legal System in US Territory

That same day, footage was released showing the detainee inside the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in New York.

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

They face charges including conspiracy to commit drug-related terrorism and import cocaine, owning automatic weapons and destructive devices, and plots to acquire machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

They are set to encounter the complete force of the US legal system on American soil in American courts," the Attorney General declared.

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