From within that Caracas 'fort' to the Manhattan court: Maduro's apprehension in photographs as well as maps.
American officials assert the armed forces mission to capture Venezuela's president took months of planning, but when the US President gave the command to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" concluded after approximately two and a half hours.
The shocking early-morning assault on Saturday marked an unprecedented incident in modern politics and led directly to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores.
Captured by soldiers from a top-tier US army unit when they tried to escape inside a heavily secured safe room, the couple are currently detained at a holding facility in New York and are confronting narco-terrorism indictments.
A Dawn Raid on Fuerte Tiuna
At sunrise on Saturday, the scale of the armed intervention in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, was clear.
Images from the vast military base, a massive army installation where top government officials reside, reveal blasted buildings as well as burned, smoking cars.
The location was this facility where the president and first lady were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernández indicated.
Hours Earlier - The President Issues the Command
The mission began with reports of blasts at about 02:00 in Caracas (6:00 Greenwich Mean Time).
American forces cut power to the city, the President has since said, calling it pitch black and dangerous.
The goal was to disable the nation's air defense systems and open up the path for US military helicopters to reach Fuerte Tiuna.
"We assessed that we had maintained completely the advantage of surprise," the top general commented.
Strike locations encompassed the base, a port and an airfield. Images depict the complex on fire, with huge flames visible for miles.
Residents have described how American choppers flew low over Caracas, en route to the military base.
A number of the aircraft were shot at, but managed to continue flying, military leaders said.
There was a lot of weapons fire," Trump added.
The Lightning-Fast Ground Assault
Once on the ground, forces from an elite special operations unit, sprang into action.
They gained access to the compound just after 2 AM local time, and the presidential couple surrendered without a struggle, according to reports.
However, further information emerged. The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, referred to as a military "fortress".
The secure room was constructed of steel, and he wasn't able to make it to the door as our personnel were too quick.
"It was an extremely heavy entryway, a massive door," Trump told reporters. "He made it to the door. He could not to shut it."
However, even assuming they had succeeded to enter the bunker, forces could have breached it in approximately "under a minute."
From Caracas to Manhattan
Currently under American detention, the couple were moved approximately 3,400 kilometers, to New York City.
They were flown from the capital by helicopter, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a warship stationed in the Caribbean. The team was completed in international waters before 4:30 AM.
It was on the ship that one of the defining pictures of the whole operation was captured - Maduro in handcuffs, with hearing protection and a type of blindfold resembling opaque glasses.
After leaving the ship, his initial stop was at the American naval installation at Guantánamo Bay.
The Maduros then traveled via official aircraft to a military airfield in New York state, before a final helicopter transfer into New York City.
Confronting Justice on US Territory
That same day, a video emerged depicting Maduro inside the federal drug agency's headquarters in New York.
He and Cilia Flores are now being held at a federal holding facility in the city.
They face charges with planning narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and plots to possess such weapons and destructive devices to use against America.
They are set to encounter the complete force of the US legal system in the United States in American courts," a senior legal official declared.
Video documents the leader's entry into American and journey into custody.
