In August, a secret group of CIA agents was sent to Venezuela. Together with a source close to Maduro and surveillance drones, the president's daily routines and movements were mapped out in minute detail.
At the same time, the elite Delta Force prepared at home in Kentucky by practicing in a full-scale replica of one of Maduro's houses in the capital Caracas, writes The New York Times .
Cloudless weather
U.S. President Donald Trump had given the green light to carry out the attack on Venezuela as early as Christmas, but the exact timing was up to the Pentagon.
The wait for cloudless weather delayed the operation until January 3, U.S. military chief Dan Caine said at a press conference with President Donald Trump.
Trump ordered the attack at 4:46 a.m. local time in Sweden.
More than 150 aircraft, helicopters, drones and bombers participated, taking off from 20 different military bases and ships.
While fighter jets attacked radar, radio and air defense installations and explosions shook Caracas, parts of the power grid were disrupted.
Found in the bedroom
The elite soldiers were flown in low by helicopters and at 7:01 a.m. the force reached Maduro's stronghold. One of the helicopters was hit but did not crash, according to Dan Caine.
After descending, the soldiers forced their way into the building using explosives.
Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores were in the bedroom. The couple tried to escape into a steel-reinforced so-called panic room, according to Donald Trump.
He reached the door but couldn't close it, Trump said a few hours after the operation.
About five minutes after the force entered the building, the soldiers reported that Maduro had been arrested, writes The New York Times.
To New York
At 9:29 a.m. local time in Sweden, Maduro and Flores were transferred to the amphibious ship USS Iwo Jima, around 160 kilometers off the coast of Venezuela.
The couple was transferred to Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, where the FBI and an aircraft were waiting for the onward journey to a detention center in New York.
A number of U.S. soldiers were injured in the operation but no one was killed, according to Trump.
At least 40 people were killed in Venezuela, according to the Venezuelan government.
Correction: In an earlier version of the text, there was an incorrect name for the amphibious ship USS Iwo Jima.
