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American officials assert the armed forces mission to capture the South American nation's leader took many weeks of careful preparation, but the moment Donald Trump issued the command to commence, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" concluded after roughly 150 minutes.

The surprise pre-dawn attack on Saturday represented a historic incident within modern politics and resulted in the detention of Venezuela's president and his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Seized by soldiers belonging to an elite US army unit as they tried to escape into a heavily secured panic room, the couple are currently detained in a detention centre in New York and are confronting drug trafficking and terrorism indictments.

A Early Morning Raid on the Military Complex

At sunrise that morning, the scale of the armed intervention in the capital, the nation's capital, was evident.

Pictures from Fuerte Tiuna, an enormous army installation in which top government officials live, reveal blasted structures as well as charred, smouldering cars.

The location was this compound where the president and first lady were apprehended, a senior political figure Nahum Fernández reported.

Just Moments Before - The President Issues the Order

The mission commenced with reports of blasts at about 02:00 in Caracas (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

American forces disabled electricity to the city, the President later described, describing it as "dark and deadly".

The aim was to neutralize the nation's air defences and open up the way for American assault helicopters to get to Fuerte Tiuna.

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

Targeted sites encompassed the base, a port and an airport. Pictures show Fuerte Tiuna on fire, with huge flames seen for miles.

Residents have described the way American choppers flew low above the city, heading for the military base.

A number of the aircraft were shot at, but were still able to fly, officials said.

"It was significant weapons fire," Trump noted.

The Rapid Ground Assault

After landing, troops from the US Army's Delta Force, moved quickly.

They entered to the compound just after 2 AM Caracas time, and the Maduros "gave up" without resistance, according to accounts.

However, further information were provided. The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, described as a heavily fortified bunker.

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

"It was a very thick entryway, a massive door," the President informed the media. "He made it the entrance. He was unable to shut it."

But even if they had managed to enter the safe room, forces could have breached it in approximately "47 seconds".

From Caracas to Manhattan

Now in US custody, the couple were transported approximately 3,400 kilometers, to New York City.

They were flown from the capital via chopper, and transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, a naval vessel stationed off the coast. The team was completed in international waters by 04:29.

It was on the ship where an iconic image from the entire mission was captured - the president shackled, with hearing protection and darkened eyewear resembling opaque glasses.

From the USS Iwo Jima, his initial stop was at the American naval installation at Guantánamo Bay.

They then traveled via official aircraft to a military airfield in New York, and then via helicopter into New York City.

Confronting Justice on American Soil

That same day, a video emerged showing Maduro inside the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in the city.

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

They face charges with conspiracy to commit drug-related terrorism and cocaine trafficking, owning machine guns and explosives, and plots to acquire machine guns and bombs against the US.

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

Video shows Maduro's arrival in US and journey into custody.