From within that Caracas stronghold all the way to the New York court: The Venezuelan leader's apprehension in images and maps.
The US claim their armed forces mission to capture Venezuela's president took months of planning, but when Donald Trump issued the order to commence, "Operation Absolute Resolve" concluded after approximately two and a half hours.
The unexpected pre-dawn assault this past weekend signified a never-before-seen incident within contemporary international relations and led directly to the arrest of Venezuela's president along with his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro.
Seized by soldiers from a top-tier American military force as they tried to flee into a heavily secured panic room, the two are now in custody in a detention centre within New York City and face drug trafficking and terrorism indictments.
A Early Morning Assault against Fuerte Tiuna
With daybreak that morning, the scale of the armed intervention in Caracas, the nation's capital, was evident.
Images from the vast military base, an enormous army installation where senior leadership live, reveal blasted buildings and burned, smouldering vehicles.
The location was this facility where Maduro and his wife were apprehended, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández indicated.
Just Moments Before - Trump Issues the Order
"Operation Absolute Resolve" started with reports of blasts at approximately 2 AM in Caracas (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).
American forces disabled electricity to the city, the President has since said, describing it as pitch black and dangerous.
The aim was to disable Venezuela's air defences and clear the way for US military helicopters to reach the target.
Our evaluation was that we successfully kept totally the element of surprise", the top general stated.
Strike locations encompassed the compound, a port and an airfield. Pictures show the complex on fire, with huge flames visible for miles.
Residents have described the way US military helicopters flew low over Caracas, en route to the military base.
Some of the helicopters came under fire, but were still able to fly, officials stated.
"It was a lot of weapons fire," Trump noted.
The Rapid Ground Assault
After landing, forces from an elite special operations unit, moved quickly.
They gained access the facility at 02:01 local time, and the Maduros "gave up" without resistance, as per accounts.
But, more details were provided. They tried to escape into a secure location, described as a military "fortress".
The secure room is all steel, and he wasn't able to make it inside because our guys were so fast.
It featured an extremely heavy door, a very heavy door," the President told reporters. He reached to the door. He could not to shut it."
However, even assuming they had succeeded to enter the safe room, forces could have blown it open in approximately "47 seconds".
From Caracas to Manhattan
Currently under American detention, the couple were moved approximately 2,100 miles, to New York City.
They were flown from the capital via chopper, and transferred to a US warship, a warship stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" by 04:29.
Aboard the vessel where one of the defining pictures of the whole operation was captured - the president in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors 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.
They then traveled via official aircraft to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, and then via helicopter into New York City.
Confronting Justice on US Territory
On Saturday, footage was released showing Maduro at the federal drug agency's headquarters in the city.
The couple are now detained at a federal holding facility within the city.
They have been charged including planning narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking, owning automatic weapons and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons and bombs to use against America.
"They will soon face the complete force of the US legal system on American soil in American courts," the Attorney General proclaimed.
Video shows the leader's entry into American and transport to detention.
