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The US assert their military operation to capture the South American nation's leader involved months of careful preparation, yet when the US President gave the order to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" was completed in approximately two and a half hours.

The surprise early-morning assault this past weekend signified a never-before-seen incident in modern politics and culminated in the arrest of Venezuela's president along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

Captured by troops belonging to a top-tier American military force as they attempted to escape into a heavily secured panic room, the couple are now being held at a holding facility in New York and are confronting drug trafficking and terrorism accusations.

The Dawn Raid on Fuerte Tiuna

As the sun rose that morning, the magnitude of the armed intervention in Caracas, the nation's capital, was evident.

Pictures of Fuerte Tiuna, a huge army installation where senior leadership reside, show bombed out buildings as well as burned, smoking cars.

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

Hours Before - The President Gives the Command

The mission started amid reports of explosions around 02:00 in Caracas (06:00 GMT).

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

The aim was to disable Venezuela's air defences and clear the path for US military helicopters to reach Fuerte Tiuna.

"We assessed that we successfully kept totally the element of surprise", a senior military officer stated.

Targeted sites encompassed the base, a port and an airport. Pictures show the complex engulfed in flames, with huge flames seen from a great distance.

Residents reported how American choppers flew at low altitude above the city, en route to the military base.

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

"It was a lot of gunfire," the President added.

The Lightning-Fast On-the-Ground Operation

Once on the ground, troops from the US Army's Delta Force, moved quickly.

They entered the facility just after 2 AM Caracas time, and the presidential couple "gave up" without a struggle, as per accounts.

But, more details emerged. The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.

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

It featured an extremely heavy door, a massive door," the President told reporters. He reached the entrance. He was unable to shut it."

But even if they had succeeded to get into the bunker, troops could have blown it open in about "under a minute."

From Caracas to New York City

Now in US custody, the couple were transported some 3,400 kilometers, to Manhattan.

They were flown out of Caracas via chopper, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a warship stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" by 04:29.

It was on the ship that an iconic image from the entire mission emerged - the president shackled, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like dark sunglasses.

From the USS Iwo Jima, he was first flown to the US Navy base at Guantánamo Bay.

The Maduros then traveled on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer into New York City.

Facing Justice in American Soil

On Saturday, a video emerged showing the detainee at the federal drug agency's headquarters in the city.

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

They face charges with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine, owning automatic weapons and explosives, and plots to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

"They will soon face the full wrath of the US legal system in the United States within US courtrooms," a senior legal official declared.

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