From that Caracas 'fort' all the way to a Manhattan court: Maduro's apprehension in images as well as geographic charts.

The US assert the military operation to capture the South American nation's president took many weeks of careful preparation, yet when Donald Trump gave the order to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" was completed in roughly two and a half hours.

The shocking pre-dawn attack this past weekend represented an unprecedented incident in modern politics and led directly to the detention of Venezuela's president and his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Seized by soldiers belonging to a top-tier US army unit when they tried to escape into a fortified panic room, the couple are currently in custody in a detention centre in New York and face drug trafficking and terrorism accusations.

The Dawn Raid on the Military Complex

At sunrise on Saturday, the scale of the military operation in Caracas, the nation's primary city, became apparent.

Pictures of Fuerte Tiuna, an enormous army installation where senior leadership live, depict blasted buildings as well as burned, smouldering vehicles.

It was at this compound where the president and first lady were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader a party official reported.

Hours Earlier - Trump Issues the Order

"Operation Absolute Resolve" began amid reports of explosions around 02:00 local time (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).

American forces disabled electricity to the city, Trump has since said, calling it pitch black and dangerous.

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

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

Targeted sites encompassed the base, a port and an airport. Images depict the complex on fire, with massive fires seen for miles.

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

A number of the aircraft came under fire, however were still able to fly, military leaders said.

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

A Lightning-Fast On-the-Ground Operation

After landing, forces from the US Army's Delta Force, acted with speed.

They entered the facility just after 2 AM Caracas time, and the presidential couple surrendered without a struggle, as per reports.

But, more details were provided. The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, described as a heavily fortified bunker.

"The safe place was constructed of steel, and he failed to make it to the door because our guys were too quick.

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

But even if they had managed to enter the bunker, troops could have blown it open in approximately "under a minute."

From the Capital to Manhattan

Currently under American detention, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported approximately 3,400 kilometers, to New York City.

They were taken by air out of Caracas via chopper, and taken to a US warship, a warship positioned in the Caribbean. The team was completed in international waters before 4:30 AM.

It was on the ship where one of the defining pictures of the whole operation was captured - the president shackled, with hearing protection and a type of blindfold that looked like dark sunglasses.

From the USS Iwo Jima, he was first flown at the American naval installation in Cuba.

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

Facing The Legal System on American Soil

On Saturday, a video emerged depicting the detainee at the federal drug agency's main office in New York.

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

They face charges with planning drug-related terrorism and import cocaine, owning machine guns and destructive devices, and plots to possess such weapons and destructive devices to use against America.

They are set to encounter the full wrath of American justice in the United States in American courts," the Attorney General proclaimed.

Video documents Maduro's arrival into American and journey to detention.