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The audacious escape of political leader María Corina Machado entailed a long, frightening and soaking sea crossing in the pitch black of night, according to the American man who says he led the mission.

The Dangerous Nighttime Crossing

Bryan Stern, who heads a rescue nonprofit, detailed the operation in a newly published interview. It was perilous. It was terrifying,” stated Stern, an ex-special forces operative, recounting rough and moonless seas that also provided ideal concealment 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 recalled meeting Machado out at sea after she left Venezuela, where she had been lying low since August 2024 due to fear of persecution by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

The Detailed Escape Plan

She boarded his boat for a half-day journey to an undisclosed location to board a flight, in a mission orchestrated just four days earlier. “This was in the middle of the night – minimal moonlight, some cloud coverage, extremely low visibility, vessels running dark. All of us were pretty wet. My team and I were soaked to the gills. She was pretty cold and wet, too. She had a very arduous journey,” Stern noted.

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

Confirmation and Concealment

Spokespeople for Machado verified that Stern’s company was responsible for the extraction, which commenced earlier in the week. This account follows earlier stories 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.

Financing and American Involvement

He told media the mission was funded through “a few generous donors” – 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 US military regarding locations and strategy, largely to avoid being mistakenly fired upon.

Next Steps and Inspiration

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

Stern said 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. Yet she is determined. She is a genuine inspiration,” he concluded.