Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado had to disguise herself and move through choppy, cold seas as part of a secret mission to leave the country. At the time, she was under constant surveillance and at the risk of arrest by Venezuelan authorities.
According to Bryan Stern, a US special forces veteran and founder of the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, Machado could not leave Venezuela through normal routes due to tight monitoring of her movements. As a result, a high-risk operation plan, dubbed Operation Golden Dynamite, was put in place to move her out.
The operation was named "Golden Dynamite" because Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, and Machado was trying to reach Oslo to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.
Stern told the BBC that Machado had to disguise herself to avoid being recognised. She was moved discreetly to the coast. The most dangerous phase of the mission involved travelling through choppy, cold seas, with Machado transferred between two boats.
Stern described very rough seas, with waves reaching up to 10 feet, and said the trip took place in complete darkness. "The seas are very rough. It's pitch black. We're using flashlights to communicate. This is very scary, lots of things can go wrong," he said.
During the operation, multiple precautions were taken to protect Machado's identity. He said the team worked to mask her face and hide her digital footprint. "The biometric threat is so real," he noted, adding that steps were taken to make sure she could not be traced via her phone.
After reaching a secure location, she boarded a flight out of the region, completing the operation. He described the journey "cold, wet and long", adding Machado remained calm throughout and did not complain once despite the harsh conditions. "She was soaking wet and freezing cold and didn't complain once," he said.
This was not the first attempt to move her out of Venezuela. Stern said an earlier plan had failed.
Machado's team contacted Stern in early December. He said he spoke to the team on a Friday, his rescue team was deployed by Sunday, and by Tuesday, the mission had been successfully completed.
Several escape routes were considered, but the team ultimately chose a plan involving a sea evacuation, which Stern said offered the best chance to avoid Venezuelan security forces.
Stern also discussed how the operation protected the safety of Venezuelans who assisted. He explained that the identities of helpers were kept secret, and Grey Bull often uses deception operations. He said some people who assisted did not even realise they were part of the mission, while others thought they knew the full plan, but actually didn't.
Machado has accused Nicholas Maduro, the Venezuelan President, of stealing the country's July 2024 election, from which she was banned. She won the Peace Prize for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy".
