How Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro was transferred to detention in New York

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was taken into US custody in New York following a tightly secured transfer after his arrival by plane near Stewart Air National Guard Base.

Video shared by an official White House account showed a heavy security presence, with law enforcement officers, including agents identified as belonging to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

DEA officers were seen boarding the plane shortly after it landed. Maduro was later escorted down the aircraft stairs with his head covered.

He appeared handcuffed, with his legs restrained, as officers led him across the tarmac.

A helicopter subsequently transported Maduro and his wife to New York City, where a security convoy drove them to DEA offices.

Footage filmed inside the building and posted online carried the caption “Perp walked,” suggesting a formal arrest process.

After a brief stay at the DEA facility, Maduro was transferred to a Manhattan heliport and flown by helicopter to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

He is expected to remain there pending an appearance before a federal court in Manhattan.

The US has captured Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro following a large-scale strike on the South American country, US President Donald Trump said.

Trump said Venezuela's left-wing president and his wife were flown out in a military operation carried out in conjunction with US law enforcement.

They have been charged with drug and weapons offences in New York.

The operation came after explosions were reported across the capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning, including at military bases.

The Venezuelan government deployed its armed forces and declared a national emergency, with Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez appearing poised to assume leadership of the country.

Maduro was reportedly captured by the US Army’s Delta Force, the military’s top counterterrorism unit, CBS News said. A CIA source inside the Venezuelan government helped track Maduro’s location in the lead-up to the operation, part of an extensive intelligence network.

Speaking alongside Trump on Saturday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Operation Absolute Resolve took months of planning and rehearsals, with forces waiting for favorable weather. More than 150 aircraft were used to transport the extraction team into the capital.

The team entered Maduro’s compound—a "house that was more like a fortress," according to Trump—at 02:01 local time (06:01 GMT), with the lights in Caracas reportedly turned off by US forces. Trump said Maduro attempted to reach a steel-fortified safe room but was unable to close the door.

The president added that no US forces were killed and there were “few” injuries during the operation, which he said he watched live. Maduro and his wife were then placed on a ship and subsequently a plane, which landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Manhattan.