🔗 Share this article From within the Venezuelan capital stronghold to a New York courtroom: Maduro's capture through images as well as geographic charts. The US claim their military operation to capture Venezuela's president took many weeks of planning, but when Donald Trump gave the command to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" concluded after roughly two and a half hours. The surprise early-morning attack on Saturday marked an unprecedented event within modern politics and resulted in the detention for Venezuela's president along with his spouse, Cilia Flores. Seized by soldiers belonging to a top-tier American military force as they attempted to escape inside a heavily secured secure chamber, the couple are currently in custody in a detention centre in New York and are confronting drug trafficking and terrorism indictments. A Early Morning Raid on Fuerte Tiuna As the sun rose that morning, the scale of the armed intervention in Caracas, Venezuela's primary city, was clear. Photographs of Fuerte Tiuna, a massive military complex where senior leadership live, show bombed out buildings as well as burned, smoking cars. The location was this compound where Maduro and his wife were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández reported. Fuerte Tiuna, the country's largest military complex, was targeted in American airstrikes early on that Saturday. Just Moments Earlier - The President Issues the Order "Operation Absolute Resolve" commenced with reports of blasts at approximately 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT). The US disabled electricity across the capital, the President later described, calling it "dark and deadly". The objective was to disable Venezuela's air defense systems and clear the path for American assault helicopters to reach Fuerte Tiuna. Our evaluation was that we successfully kept totally the advantage of surprise," a senior military officer stated. Strike locations encompassed the compound, a maritime facility and an airport. Images show Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with massive fires visible for miles. Venezuela announced a national emergency following the US strikes. Venezuelans have described the way US military helicopters flew low over Caracas, en route to the military base. A number of the aircraft came under fire, however were still able to fly, officials said. "It was a lot of gunfire," the President added. American aircraft flying over Caracas, with columns of smoke from prior bombings plainly seen. A Rapid Ground Assault After landing, troops from an elite special operations unit, moved quickly. They entered to the compound at 02:01 Caracas time, and the presidential couple "gave up" without resistance, as per reports. But, further information were provided. The Maduros attempted to flee into a safe place, referred to as a military "fortress". "The safe place was constructed of steel, and he failed to get to the door because our guys were too quick. It featured a very thick entryway, a massive door," the President told reporters. "He made it the entrance. He was unable to shut it." However, even assuming they had succeeded to get into the bunker, troops could have blown it open in approximately "under a minute." From the Capital to New York City Now in US custody, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported approximately 3,400 kilometers, to Manhattan. They were taken by air out of Caracas via chopper, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a naval vessel stationed off the coast. The team was back in international waters by 04:29. It was on the ship where one of the defining pictures from the entire mission emerged - the president in handcuffs, with hearing protection and darkened eyewear that looked like opaque glasses. An image showing the detained leader reportedly captured aboard the warship. From the USS Iwo Jima, his initial stop was at the American naval installation in Cuba. The Maduros then traveled via official aircraft to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan. A helicopter transporting the detainees touches down at a helipad in New York City. Maduro could be seen flashing a peace sign when he arrived at a heliport in the city. Tight security was present around the helipad during the arrival in New York City. Facing The Legal System on US Territory On Saturday, a video was released showing Maduro at the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in the city. The couple are now being held in a detention centre within the city. They have been charged with planning drug-related terrorism and cocaine trafficking, owning automatic weapons and destructive devices, and plots to acquire such weapons and destructive devices against the US. They are set to encounter the complete force of American justice in the United States in American courts," a senior legal official proclaimed. Footage shows Maduro's arrival into American and transport to detention.