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American officials claim their military operation to capture Venezuela's leader required months of planning, but the moment Donald Trump gave the order to launch, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" only lasted approximately 150 minutes.

The surprise early-morning assault this past weekend marked an unprecedented incident in contemporary international relations and culminated in the detention of Nicolás Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Apprehended by soldiers belonging to a top-tier American military force as they tried to flee into a fortified secure chamber, the pair are currently in custody in a detention centre in New York and are confronting narco-terrorism charges.

A Early Morning Raid on the Military Complex

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

Photographs of the vast military base, an enormous army installation where senior leadership reside, show destroyed buildings as well as burned, smoking cars.

The location was this facility that the president and first lady were apprehended, Venezuelan ruling party leader a party official indicated.

Just Moments Before - Trump Gives the Order

"Operation Absolute Resolve" commenced amid reports of blasts at approximately 2 AM in Caracas (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

American forces disabled electricity across the capital, the President later described, calling it "dark and deadly".

The goal was to disable Venezuela's air defences and clear the way for American assault helicopters to get to the target.

"We assessed that we had maintained completely the advantage of surprise," the top general commented.

Strike locations included the compound, a maritime facility and an airfield. Pictures show Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with massive fires visible for miles.

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

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

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

A Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

Once on the ground, troops from an elite special operations unit, acted with speed.

They entered the facility at 02:01 Caracas time, and the Maduros surrendered without a struggle, as per accounts.

But, more details emerged. They attempted to flee into a safe place, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.

The secure room is all steel, and he failed to get to the door as our personnel were too quick.

It featured a very thick entryway, a very heavy door," Trump informed the media. He reached the entrance. He was unable to shut it."

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

From the Capital to New York City

Currently under American detention, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported approximately 2,100 miles, to New York City.

They were flown out of Caracas via chopper, and transferred to a US warship, a warship positioned in the Caribbean. The operation was back "over the water" by 04:29.

It was on the ship where one of the defining pictures of the whole operation emerged - Maduro in handcuffs, with hearing protection and a type of blindfold resembling dark sunglasses.

After leaving the ship, his initial stop was to the US Navy base at Guantánamo Bay.

The Maduros were then flown on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Confronting Justice in US Territory

On Saturday, a video was released depicting the detainee at the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in the city.

The couple are presently detained at a federal holding facility within the city.

They have been charged with planning drug-related terrorism and cocaine trafficking, possession of automatic weapons and explosives, and plots to acquire such weapons and destructive devices against the US.

They are set to encounter the complete force of the US legal system in the United States within US courtrooms," a senior legal official proclaimed.

Footage shows the leader's entry in US and transport into custody.