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The daring escape of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado involved a long, frightening and very wet boat journey in the dead of night, according to the US veteran who claims to have commanded the operation.

A Dangerous Nighttime Voyage

Bryan Stern, who heads a rescue nonprofit, outlined the mission in a recent media appearance. “It was dangerous. It was scary,” said Stern, a US special forces veteran, describing dark and choppy conditions that also provided convenient cover for the flight.

“The ocean was perfect for our purposes, but certainly not water that you would want to be on ... the bigger the swells, the harder it is for radar to see,” Stern said.

He described rendezvousing with Machado offshore after she departed from Venezuela, where she had been in hiding for over a year due to fear of persecution by the administration of President Nicolás Maduro.

A Step-by-Step Extraction

She boarded his boat for a 13- to 14-hour trip to an secret location to catch a plane, as part of orchestrated just four days earlier. “This was in the middle of the night – minimal moonlight, a little bit of cloud cover, extremely low visibility, vessels running dark. All of us were pretty wet. My crew and I were drenched. She was also chilled and wet. She had a very arduous journey,” Stern noted.

Describing her condition, he commented, She was elated. She was very excited. She was very tired,” and noted about twenty-four people were directly involved within his team.

Confirmation and Concealment

A representative for Machado verified that Stern’s company was behind the operation, which commenced earlier in the week. This account comes after previous reporting that Machado used a wig and costume to flee her safe house in a outskirts of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

The veteran declined to share details about the land operation, citing his organization's ongoing operations in the region.

Funding and US Role

He stated publicly the mission was funded through “several benefactors” – none of whom were US officials involved. Official US funds were not used, to my knowledge,” Stern said.

He said, however, that his group did coordinate informally with the American armed forces regarding locations and strategy, largely to avoid being mistakenly fired upon.

Next Steps and Admiration

The opposition leader stated she had American backing to depart Venezuela. She has announced plans to go back, though the specifics remain uncertain how or when.

Stern indicated his group would play no part in a return mission, as it worked only on extracting individuals from countries, not bringing them back. “She must decide that for herself. But I think she should not go back. But she wants to. Maria is truly inspirational,” he concluded.