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The US claim the armed forces mission aimed at apprehending the South American nation's president required many weeks of planning, yet the moment Donald Trump gave the command to commence, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" was completed in approximately two and a half hours.

The surprise pre-dawn strike on Saturday marked a never-before-seen incident within contemporary international relations and resulted in the arrest of Nicolás Maduro along with his spouse, Cilia Flores.

Seized by troops from a top-tier American military force when they attempted to escape inside a fortified safe room, the two are currently being held at a holding facility in New York and face drug trafficking and terrorism indictments.

A Dawn Raid on the Military Complex

As the sun rose that morning, the scale of the military operation in the capital, the nation's primary city, became apparent.

Images of the vast military base, a huge army installation where top government officials live, show blasted structures as well as burned, smoking cars.

The location was this compound that Maduro and his wife were apprehended, a senior political figure a party official stated.

Hours Before - The President Issues the Order

The mission began amid reports of blasts at about 2 AM local time (06:00 GMT).

The US disabled electricity to the city, Trump later described, describing it as "dark and deadly".

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

"We assessed that we had maintained completely the advantage of surprise," a senior military officer commented.

Strike locations encompassed the compound, a port and an airport. Pictures show Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with massive fires visible from a great distance.

Residents have described the way American choppers flew low above the city, heading for Fuerte Tiuna.

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

"It was significant weapons fire," the President added.

The Rapid On-the-Ground Operation

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

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

However, further information emerged. They attempted to flee into a safe place, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.

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

"It was a very thick entryway, a massive door," Trump told reporters. He reached to the door. He could not to close it."

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

From the Capital to Manhattan

Now in US custody, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported approximately 3,400 kilometers, to Manhattan.

They were flown from the capital by helicopter, and transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, a naval vessel positioned off the coast. The team was completed "over the water" by 04:29.

Aboard the vessel where one of the defining pictures of the whole operation was captured - Maduro shackled, with hearing protection and darkened eyewear that looked like dark sunglasses.

After leaving the ship, his initial stop was at the American naval installation in Cuba.

The Maduros then traveled on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, and then via helicopter into New York City.

Confronting Justice on American Soil

That same day, footage emerged depicting the detainee at the federal drug agency's headquarters in New York.

He and Cilia Flores are presently being held at a federal holding facility within the city.

They face charges with conspiracy to commit drug-related terrorism and import cocaine, owning automatic weapons and destructive devices, and conspiracy to acquire such weapons and bombs against the US.

"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice in the United States in American courts," the Attorney General declared.

Footage shows the leader's entry in US and journey to detention.