President Trump and his top advisers had for months telegraphed their plans to take down Nicolás Maduro. And yet, when it finally happened, Washington and Caracas were stunned by the ferocity and speed of the attack.

Since August, the U.S. had assembled warships, jet fighters and roughly 15,000 troops on Venezuela’s doorstep. Bombers routinely flew show-of-force missions while U.S. intelligence personnel were known to be inside the South American country. The Pentagon released videos of American forces in the Caribbean training to raid compounds and conduct nighttime flight operations, as well as dozens of airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats.

Still, some politicians and analysts in both countries questioned whether Trump, who ran for office on keeping the U.S. out of regime-change wars, would follow through.

Then, in the early hours of Saturday morning, explosions rang out in the Venezuelan capital.

By the time the sun rose in Caracas, Maduro’s nearly 13-year grip on power had ended. In handcuffs, blindfolded and wearing a gray sweatsuit, he was on a U.S. warship, on his way to New York City to face narcoterrorism charges following a five-hour operation. What happens next isn’t clear, as the U.S. faces the prospect of overseeing Venezuela during a perilous moment.

The mission was the culmination of months of secretive planning—and a series of mixed signals—that allowed the U.S. to preserve the element of surprise, even though the attack at times seemed inevitable.

Starting late this past summer, intelligence personnel began tracking what Maduro ate and wore, where he lived and traveled—helped by an asset within the Venezuelan leader’s inner circle, according to administration officials and others familiar with the operation.

Meanwhile, U.S. special operations forces rehearsed and rehearsed, practicing how to extract the Venezuelan president inside a replica of his fortified compound. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and homeland security adviser Stephen Miller met regularly to discuss the mission.

Throughout, Trump’s advisers were torn about the wisdom of a military operation—and they offered at times conflicting statements publicly, insisting they weren’t trying to oust Maduro even as the U.S. military presence in the region ballooned. Military officials told Trump that any mistake in the intricate mission could result in an embarrassing failure. Regime change, even if portrayed as a crackdown on drugs, could enrage Trump’s conservative base, some of the president’s advisers warned.

But Trump ultimately concluded that Maduro, indicted in the U.S., needed to face justice and that his supporters would still back his decision, administration officials said. Trump demanded that the plan to push Maduro out be closely held within a small circle of top advisers to protect the element of surprise.

Everything needed for the operation was in place by late December, but Trump waited to see if Maduro would relinquish power on his own. When he considered the diplomatic route exhausted, Trump gave his approval for the operation, the officials said.

U.S. forces tried several times to launch the extraction mission, including on Christmas and New Year’s Day, but the earlier attempts were hampered by weather, the officials said, and the bombers, jet fighters and tankers that had flown into the Caribbean from their bases in the continental U.S. were told to turn around.

Trump deferred to the Pentagon on when it was best to give the green light, a senior administration official said. At 10:46 p.m. on Friday, Operation Absolute Resolve was a go.

“Good luck and godspeed,” Trump told military leaders, a message relayed to the readied U.S. forces.

In a makeshift secure facility at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club, Trump watched one of the greatest gambles of his two presidencies unfold. Flanked by top aides, Trump received blow-by-blow updates as 150 warplanes flew from 20 locations throughout the Western Hemisphere to reach the Venezuelan capital before troops pushed their way into Maduro’s bedroom. His team monitored the social-media site X on a large screen for any mentions of the word “Venezuela,” according to images released by the administration.

It was just after 1:30 a.m. local time in Caracas—an hour ahead of Washington—when residents say they began to hear planes overheard.

Gabriela Márquez was fast asleep in her East Caracas home when her brother woke her up, telling her that the U.S. had launched an attack on Maduro’s regime.

“They’re really bombing,” her brother said. Márquez ran to the roof of her house, where the roar of planes overhead filled the night sky. “You could only hear explosions,” she said.

Residents of Caracas reported bursts that rattled their windows, drove families to hide under furniture, and sent others into the streets to film the plumes of smoke and low-flying U.S. aircraft over the capital. They logged on to VPNs to access YouTube and X, which are blocked in Venezuela, to piece together which sites had been hit and trade rumors about U.S. soldiers in the streets.

Mateo Giraldo, a taxi driver, was driving a couple miles away from the La Carlota air base in Caracas when he heard the explosions. “The car leaped off the ground from the shock wave,” he said. “I thought I would die.”

The U.S. sent overwhelming air power for the operation: F-18, F-22, and F-35 jet fighters, EA-18 Growler electronic warfare planes, E-2 Hawkeye command-and-control aircraft and B-1 bombers that can carry 24 cruise missiles each, as well as remotely piloted drones. They were tasked with “dismantling and disabling” Venezuela’s air-defense systems, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters Saturday, “to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area.”

The helicopters, which carried an extraction force and law-enforcement officers, at some points flew only about 100 feet above the water during the flights into Venezuela. One U.S. aircraft was hit during the operation, but remained flyable throughout the mission and returned home safely. U.S. forces sustained some injuries, but no Americans were killed, Trump said.

At 2:01 a.m. local time, a U.S. Special Forces team arrived at Maduro’s compound, according to Caine. As they approached, the U.S. helicopters came under fire, Caine said. American forces responded with “overwhelming force and self-defense,” he said.

When U.S. Special Forces arrived inside the compound, they exchanged gunfire with Venezuelan personnel, according to Trump. Maduro and his wife attempted to flee into a steel-reinforced safe room but were unable to close the door in time. They “gave up” and were taken into custody by the Justice Department, Caine said.

Denis Esquivel was asleep at his home near Maduro’s compound when commotion from his neighbors stirred him awake. Police officers stationed on the street outside his apartment were no longer there. “They ran off and only left behind some shotgun shells,” he said. “The only thing I knew was that the palace was in darkness.”

Some Caracas residents said their electricity went off around the time of the attack. “The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have,” Trump said.

By 3:29 a.m. local time, Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, were aboard U.S. aircraft on their way out of Venezuela. Trump later posted a photo of Maduro on the USS Iwo Jima after his capture, wearing dark sunglasses, what appear to be handcuffs and a Nike sweatsuit.

Both Maduro and Flores now face federal charges in the Southern District of New York, according to a released indictment. The indictment alleges that Maduro facilitated the transport of “thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.”

Maduro and Flores arrived Saturday evening in New York, where they will be held in federal custody during their legal proceedings.

On Saturday in Caracas, people were anxious about what comes next. Some people said they were staying home. Others lined up to buy food and gasoline.

“Everything is uncertain now,” said Maria Eugenia Rengifo, who was at home with her family when she was jolted awake by the explosions. “Like everyone, I’m concerned about the security of my family, above all the children.”

Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com, Dustin Volz at dustin.volz@wsj.com, Vera Bergengruen at vera.bergengruen@wsj.com and Shelby Holliday at shelby.holliday@wsj.com

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