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American officials assert their military operation to capture Venezuela's president involved months of careful preparation, however when Donald Trump issued the order to commence, "Operation Absolute Resolve" was completed in about 150 minutes.

The shocking pre-dawn strike on Saturday represented a historic incident within modern politics and culminated in the detention of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Captured by soldiers belonging to a top-tier American military force while they attempted to flee inside a heavily secured panic room, the couple are currently in custody in a detention centre within New York City and are confronting drug trafficking and terrorism accusations.

The Dawn Assault on the Military Complex

With daybreak on Saturday, the magnitude of the military operation in the capital, the nation's primary city, was clear.

Photographs from Fuerte Tiuna, an enormous army installation in which senior leadership live, reveal bombed out buildings and charred, smouldering cars.

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

Just Moments Earlier - Trump Issues the Order

"Operation Absolute Resolve" commenced amid reports of explosions at about 02:00 in Caracas (06:00 GMT).

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

The aim was to neutralize Venezuela's air defences and open up the way for US military helicopters to get to the target.

"We assessed that we had maintained completely the element of surprise", the top general commented.

Strike locations included the compound, a port and an airfield. Images show the complex on fire, with huge flames seen from a great distance.

Residents have described the way US military helicopters flew at low altitude over Caracas, en route to Fuerte Tiuna.

A number of the aircraft were shot at, however were still able to fly, officials said.

"It was a lot of weapons fire," Trump added.

A Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

After landing, troops from an elite special operations unit, acted with speed.

They entered to the compound just after 2 AM Caracas time, and the presidential couple surrendered without a struggle, according to reports.

However, further information emerged. The Maduros attempted to flee into a safe place, described as a heavily fortified bunker.

"The safe place is all steel, and he wasn't able to get to the door because our guys were too quick.

"It was an extremely heavy door, a very heavy door," Trump told reporters. He reached to the door. He was unable to shut it."

However, even assuming they had managed to get into the safe room, troops could have breached it in approximately "under a minute."

From the Capital to Manhattan

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

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

It was on the ship that an iconic image from the entire mission was captured - the president shackled, with hearing protection and darkened eyewear resembling opaque glasses.

After leaving the ship, his initial stop was to the US Navy base in Cuba.

The Maduros then traveled via official aircraft to a military airfield in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Confronting Justice on American Soil

On Saturday, a video emerged showing Maduro at the federal drug agency's main office in the city.

He and Cilia Flores are now being held in a detention centre within the city.

They have been charged including planning narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking, owning machine guns and explosives, and plots to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

They are set to encounter the complete force of the US legal system on American soil in American courts," the Attorney General declared.

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