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The US claim the armed forces mission aimed at apprehending the South American nation's leader involved many weeks of careful preparation, however when Donald Trump gave the command to commence, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" concluded after about 150 minutes.

The surprise early-morning strike on Saturday signified a historic event within contemporary international relations and led directly to the arrest for Venezuela's president along with his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Apprehended by soldiers from an elite US army unit while they tried to flee inside a heavily secured secure chamber, the couple are now being held at a holding facility in New York and are confronting narco-terrorism indictments.

A Early Morning Assault on the Military Complex

With daybreak on Saturday, the extent of the armed intervention in the capital, the nation's primary city, was clear.

Photographs of Fuerte Tiuna, a huge army installation in which senior leadership live, show bombed out buildings and charred, smouldering cars.

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

Just Moments Before - The President Issues the Command

"Operation Absolute Resolve" commenced amid reports of explosions at about 02:00 in Caracas (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

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

The goal was to disable the nation's air defences and clear the path for American assault helicopters to reach Fuerte Tiuna.

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

Targeted sites encompassed the base, a port and an airfield. Images show the complex on fire, with huge flames visible for miles.

Venezuelans have described how US military helicopters flew at low altitude above the city, heading for the military base.

Some of the helicopters came under fire, however were still able to fly, military leaders said.

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

The Rapid Ground Assault

After landing, forces from an elite special operations unit, sprang into action.

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

But, more details were provided. The Maduros tried to escape into a secure location, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.

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

"It was an extremely heavy entryway, a massive door," Trump informed the media. "He made it to the door. He was unable to shut it."

However, even assuming they had succeeded to enter the safe room, troops could have blown it open in about "47 seconds".

From the Capital to New York City

Now in US custody, the couple were moved some 2,100 miles, to New York City.

They were taken by air from the capital via chopper, and transferred to a US warship, a naval vessel stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back in international waters by 04:29.

It was on the ship where an iconic image of the whole operation emerged - Maduro shackled, wearing ear protectors and darkened eyewear that looked like opaque glasses.

After leaving the ship, he was first flown to the US Navy base in Cuba.

The Maduros then traveled via official aircraft to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Facing Justice on American Soil

That same day, a video emerged depicting the detainee at the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in New York.

The couple are now being held in a detention centre within the city.

They have been charged including planning narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking, possession of automatic weapons and destructive devices, and plots to acquire machine guns and destructive devices to use against America.

They are set to encounter the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," a senior legal official proclaimed.

Video documents Maduro's arrival in US and journey to detention.