How a US Military Veteran Aided the Venezuelan Opposition Leader Flee Venezuela

The daring escape of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado involved a long, “scary” and very wet boat journey in the pitch black of night, as detailed by the US veteran who claims to have commanded the operation.

The Dangerous Nighttime Voyage

Bryan Stern, who leads a rescue nonprofit, detailed the operation in a newly published media appearance. It was perilous. It was terrifying,” stated Stern, a US special forces veteran, describing dark and choppy conditions that also provided convenient cover for the escape.

“The sea conditions were ideal for us, but certainly not water that you would want to be on ... the bigger the swells, the more difficult radar detection becomes,” he remarked.

He described meeting Machado out at sea after she left the country, where she had been lying low since August 2024 fearing targeting by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

A Detailed Escape Plan

Machado embarked on his boat for a half-day journey to an undisclosed location to catch a plane, as part of planned just four days earlier. “This was in the middle of the night – very little moon, some cloud coverage, very hard to see, boats have no lights. Everyone was quite damp. My team and I were soaked to the gills. She was also chilled and wet. She endured a grueling passage,” Stern noted.

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

Verification and Disguise

A representative for Machado verified that Stern’s foundation was responsible for the extraction, which commenced earlier in the week. This report comes after earlier stories that Machado used a wig and costume to flee her safe house in a suburb of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

Stern did not divulge specifics about the ground segment, citing his company’s future work in the region.

Funding and US Involvement

He told media the endeavor was funded through “a few generous donors” – with no US government figures involved. “The US government did not contribute a single penny, 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

The opposition leader stated she had US support to leave Venezuela. She has declared her intention to go back, though it is not clear how or when.

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. But she wants to. She is a genuine inspiration,” he concluded.