From within the Caracas 'fort' to the New York court: Maduro's apprehension through pictures as well as maps.
American officials claim the military operation to capture Venezuela's leader involved months of planning, yet when Donald Trump gave the order to commence, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" only lasted about 150 minutes.
The surprise pre-dawn assault this past weekend marked an unprecedented incident within modern politics and culminated in the detention for Nicolás Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores.
Captured by troops from an elite US army unit while they tried to flee into a heavily secured panic room, the pair are now in custody in a detention centre within New York City and face drug trafficking and terrorism accusations.
The Early Morning Raid against Fuerte Tiuna
As the sun rose on Saturday, the magnitude of the military operation in Caracas, Venezuela's primary city, was clear.
Images from the vast military base, a massive military complex in which top government officials live, depict blasted structures as well as burned, smouldering vehicles.
The location was this base where Maduro and his wife were captured, a senior political figure a party official indicated.
Hours Before - The President Gives the Command
The mission started amid reports of blasts around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT).
The US disabled electricity across the capital, the President has since said, describing it as "dark and deadly".
The objective was to disable the nation's air defences and open up the path for US military helicopters to get to the target.
"We assessed that we had maintained completely the advantage of surprise," the top general stated.
Strike locations encompassed the base, a maritime facility and an airfield. Images depict Fuerte Tiuna on fire, with massive fires seen for miles.
Venezuelans have described the way American choppers flew low over Caracas, heading for Fuerte Tiuna.
Some of the helicopters came under fire, however were still able to fly, military leaders stated.
"It was significant gunfire," Trump noted.
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 Maduros surrendered without resistance, as per accounts.
However, more details emerged. The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, referred to as a heavily fortified bunker.
"The safe place was constructed of steel, and he wasn't able to make it inside because our guys were so fast.
It featured an extremely heavy entryway, a very heavy door," Trump informed the media. "He made it to the door. He could not to close it."
However, even assuming they had managed to get into the safe room, troops could have breached it in about "under a minute."
From Caracas to New York City
Currently under American detention, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were transported some 2,100 miles, to New York City.
They were taken by air out of Caracas by helicopter, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a naval vessel stationed off the coast. The operation was completed "over the water" by 04:29.
It was on the ship that an iconic image of the whole operation emerged - the president shackled, with hearing protection and a type of blindfold that looked like opaque glasses.
After leaving the ship, his initial stop was 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, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.
Facing The Legal System on American Soil
That same day, a video was released depicting Maduro inside the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) main office in the city.
The couple are presently being held at a federal holding facility in the city.
They face charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine, possession of machine guns 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 the US legal system in the United States within US courtrooms," a senior legal official declared.
Video documents Maduro's arrival in US and journey to detention.
