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The audacious getaway of political leader María Corina Machado entailed a lengthy, frightening and very wet boat journey in the pitch black of night, according to the American man who claims to have commanded the operation.

The Dangerous Nighttime Crossing

Bryan Stern, who leads a nonprofit rescue organisation, detailed the mission in a newly published interview. It was perilous. It was terrifying,” said Stern, a US special forces veteran, describing dark and choppy conditions that simultaneously offered convenient cover for the flight.

“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,” he remarked.

He recalled meeting Machado out at sea after she left 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 journey to an undisclosed location to catch a plane, in a mission orchestrated just four days earlier. The operation occurred at midnight – minimal moonlight, a little bit of cloud cover, extremely low visibility, boats have no lights. 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 added.

Describing her condition, he commented, “She was very happy. She was very excited. She was very tired,” adding that about two dozen people were directly involved within his organization.

Confirmation and Concealment

Spokespeople for Machado verified that Stern’s company was responsible for the extraction, which commenced earlier in the week. This account comes after previous reporting that Machado used a wig and costume to flee her hideout in a outskirts of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

Stern did not divulge details about the land operation, referencing his company’s future work in the region.

Financing and US Role

He stated publicly the mission was funded through “a few generous donors” – none of whom were US government figures involved. Official US funds were not used, to my knowledge,” Stern asserted.

He said, however, that his group did coordinate informally with the US military regarding positioning and plans, primarily to prevent being targeted by airstrikes.

Next Steps and Inspiration

Machado said she had US support to depart Venezuela. She has announced plans to return home, though the specifics remain uncertain the method or timing.

Stern said his group would not be involved in that operation, as it worked only on extracting individuals from countries, not in. “She must decide that and for her to decide. But I think she should not go back. Yet she is determined. She is a genuine inspiration,” he concluded.