🔗 Share this article

American officials claim the military operation to capture Venezuela's president involved many weeks of careful preparation, yet when the US President gave the command to launch, the mission dubbed "Absolute Resolve" only lasted approximately 150 minutes.

The unexpected early-morning assault on Saturday marked an unprecedented event in modern politics and culminated in the detention of Nicolás Maduro along with his spouse, Cilia Flores de Maduro.

Apprehended by troops belonging to a top-tier US army unit when they attempted to escape inside a fortified secure chamber, the pair are now detained at a holding facility within New York City and face drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

A Early Morning Assault on Fuerte Tiuna

With daybreak that morning, the scale of the military operation in the capital, Venezuela's primary city, was evident.

Pictures of the vast military base, a massive army installation in which senior leadership reside, show blasted structures as well as charred, smouldering cars.

It was at this compound that the president and first lady were captured, a senior political figure Nahum Fernández stated.

Hours Before - The President Gives the Order

The mission commenced amid reports of blasts around 2 AM in Caracas (06:00 GMT).

American forces cut power to the city, Trump has since said, describing it as pitch black and dangerous.

The aim was to neutralize Venezuela's air defense systems and open up the way for US military helicopters to reach Fuerte Tiuna.

Our evaluation was that we successfully kept totally the element of surprise", the top general remarked.

Strike locations included the compound, a port and an airport. Images depict Fuerte Tiuna engulfed in flames, with huge flames visible for miles.

Venezuelans reported how American choppers 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, 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 entered the facility just after 2 AM Caracas time, and the Maduros surrendered without a struggle, as per accounts.

However, further information were provided. They attempted to flee into a safe place, described as a military "fortress".

The secure room is all steel, and he wasn't able to get to the door as our personnel were so fast.

It featured an extremely heavy entryway, a massive door," the President informed the media. He reached to the door. He could not to shut it."

But even if they had succeeded to get into the safe room, troops could have breached it in approximately "47 seconds".

From the Capital to Manhattan

Now in US custody, Nicolás Maduro and his wife were moved approximately 2,100 miles, to Manhattan.

They were taken by air from the capital via chopper, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a naval vessel positioned in the Caribbean. The team was completed in international waters by 04:29.

It was on the ship that one of the defining pictures from the entire mission was captured - the president in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like dark sunglasses.

After leaving the ship, he was first flown at the American naval installation at Guantánamo Bay.

The Maduros were then flown on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, before a final helicopter transfer to Manhattan.

Confronting Justice in American Soil

That same day, footage emerged showing the detainee inside the federal drug agency's main office in the city.

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

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

"They will soon face the complete force of the US legal system on American soil within US courtrooms," a senior legal official proclaimed.

Footage documents Maduro's arrival into American and journey into custody.