🔗 Share this article

The US claim their military operation aimed at apprehending Venezuela's leader took months of planning, but when the US President gave the command to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" was completed in about two and a half hours.

The shocking early-morning assault this past weekend represented an unprecedented event in contemporary international relations and resulted in the detention for Venezuela's president and his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Seized by troops belonging to an elite US army unit as they attempted to escape inside a heavily secured secure chamber, the pair are now being held at a holding facility in New York and face drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

A Early Morning Assault on the Military Complex

With daybreak that morning, the magnitude of the armed intervention in the capital, the nation's capital, was clear.

Images of Fuerte Tiuna, an enormous military complex where top government officials live, show destroyed buildings and burned, smouldering vehicles.

It was at this facility that the president and first lady were apprehended, a senior political figure Nahum Fernández reported.

Just Moments Before - The President Issues the Order

"Operation Absolute Resolve" started with reports of explosions around 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT).

American forces cut power to the city, the President has since said, calling it pitch black and dangerous.

The objective was to disable the nation's air defences and open up the way for American assault helicopters to get to Fuerte Tiuna.

Our evaluation was that we successfully kept completely the advantage of surprise," the top general commented.

Targeted sites encompassed the base, a maritime facility and an airfield. Pictures depict the complex on fire, with massive fires seen from a great distance.

Venezuelans have described the way American choppers flew low above the city, heading for Fuerte Tiuna.

Some of the helicopters were shot at, however managed to continue flying, military leaders said.

"It was a lot of gunfire," Trump added.

The Lightning-Fast Ground Assault

After landing, forces from an elite special operations unit, moved quickly.

They gained access the facility just after 2 AM Caracas time, and the Maduros surrendered without resistance, according to accounts.

But, more details emerged. The Maduros attempted to flee into a secure location, described as a heavily fortified bunker.

"The safe place was constructed of steel, and he wasn't able to get inside as our personnel were too quick.

It featured a very thick door, a massive door," the President 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 bunker, troops could have breached it in approximately "under a minute."

From the Capital to Manhattan

Currently under American detention, the couple were transported some 3,400 kilometers, to New York City.

They were taken by air out of Caracas via chopper, and transferred to a US warship, a warship stationed off the coast. The team was back "over the water" by 04:29.

Aboard the vessel where one of the defining pictures from the entire mission was captured - Maduro in handcuffs, 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 were then flown on a government plane to a military airfield in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Facing The Legal System in American Soil

On Saturday, a video was released showing the detainee inside the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in the city.

The couple are now detained in a detention centre in the city.

They face charges with planning drug-related terrorism and import cocaine, owning automatic weapons and explosives, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and bombs against the US.

"They will soon face the full wrath of the US legal system in the United States in American courts," the Attorney General declared.

Footage documents the leader's entry into American and journey into custody.