For months, US spies had been monitoring Venezuelan President’s Nicolás Maduro’s every move.
A small team, including one source within the Venezuelan government, had been observing where the 63-year-old slept, what he ate, what he wore and even, according to top military officials, "his pets".
Then, in early December, a planned mission dubbed "Operation Absolute Resolve" was finalised.
The order from US President Donald Trump to begin the mission finally came at 22:46 EST on Friday.
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