🔗 Share this article

This audacious escape of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado entailed a lengthy, frightening and soaking sea crossing in the dead of night, according to the American man who claims to have commanded the mission.

The Perilous Nocturnal Voyage

Bryan Stern, who heads a rescue nonprofit, detailed the mission in a recent interview. It was perilous. It was scary,” said Stern, a US special forces veteran, recounting rough and moonless seas that also provided ideal concealment for the escape.

“The ocean was perfect for our purposes, but certainly not water that you would want to be on ... the higher the waves, the more difficult radar detection becomes,” Stern said.

He recalled meeting Machado out at sea after she left the country, where she had been in hiding since August 2024 due to fear of targeting by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

The Detailed Escape Plan

She boarded his boat for a half-day journey to an secret location to board a flight, in a mission orchestrated just days before. The operation occurred at midnight – very little moon, a little bit of cloud cover, very hard to see, vessels running dark. Everyone was quite damp. My team and I were soaked to the gills. She was pretty cold and wet, too. She had a very arduous journey,” Stern noted.

Regarding her state, he commented, “She was very happy. She was thrilled. She was exhausted,” and noted about two dozen people were actively participating within his team.

Confirmation and Concealment

A representative for Machado confirmed that Stern’s foundation was behind the extraction, which commenced earlier in the week. This account comes after previous reporting that Machado used a wig and costume to leave her hideout in a suburb of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

The veteran declined to share specifics about the land operation, citing his company’s future work in the region.

Financing and American Role

He told media the endeavor was financed by “several benefactors” – none of whom were US government figures involved. “The US government did not contribute a single penny, at least not that I know of,” Stern asserted.

He said, however, that his group did coordinate informally with the US military regarding positioning and plans, primarily to prevent being mistakenly fired upon.

Next Steps and Admiration

Machado said she had American backing to depart Venezuela. She has announced plans to return home, though the specifics remain uncertain how or when.

Stern said his group would not be involved in a return mission, as it worked only on getting people out of countries, not bringing them back. “That’s for her to determine and for her to decide. But I think she should not go back. Yet she is determined. Maria is truly inspirational,” he said.