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The rescue operation to remove the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado and moved to Norway during the acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize combined the complex problems of the elements of land, sea and air.
The Mission, Operation called Gold Dynamite, was organized by Bryan Stern, the founder of the special veterans of the Brey Rescue Foundation, which deals with high risk rescue conflicts, with the notable of the quotes.
To get him out of Venezuela, where he was considered a candidate by President Nicolás Maduro, involved in cover-ups, deception, he boarded the sea and planned flight options.
“He’s seen by the maduro regime the same way they saw Osama bin Laden, like that,” Stern told FOX news. “That level of Manhunt if you will.”
US Cofirt team leader describes ‘dangerous’ mission to rescue Venezuelan opposition leader
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado Machado addresses a protest before the birth of President Nicolás Maduro on his third birthday, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 9, 2025. (Maxwell Brineno/Reuters)
Machado has been in hiding in Venezuela since Maduro won a contested election last year and has not been seen in public in months.
He was quick to emphasize that the US government was not involved in the operation.
His group is building a presence in the Caribbean, Venezuela and the neighboring island of Aruba to prepare for operations in the South American region.
The biggest challenge, said Stret, was getting Machado out of the country despite being a well-known figure there. In order to move him from his house to a house “in an area that reached the beach,” his team reportedly said that “all kinds of things were done to create a little confusion.”
“Anything we could think of that we could think of that we thought we could hide his face … Serter said. “Anything we could think of, his digital signature, his physical signature. In addition, we have carried out other manipulation activities on the ground. We made noise in other places that were designed to do something that was going to happen.”
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Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro faces the sword of Indence Hero Simon Bolivar during a military ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)
Naval operations started badly, recounted. Of the two boats deployed, the physical extraction vessel Machado reportedly lost its GPS in rough seas and suffered a mehendi hiccup that delayed operations. The group was forced to continue at ‘night’ in the dead of “black darkness,” they wandered the sea so that one of the experienced sailors was reported to have proposed nine hours.
Reaching the rendezvous point added another layer of difficulty. Stern’s boat and Machado’s Machado had to find each other in the dark sea while maintaining radio silence to avoid detection, eventually being found by flashlight.
Surter said he had to remain vigilant, fearing that the approaching boat might have been a nearby trap for Venezuelan forces. To make sure it was safe to proceed, his super cruiser circled Machado’s boat and turned on the lights.
After being literally dragged to the body by his boat, he then warned the entire group that was protected by Machado: “Jackpot, Jackpot, Jackpot.”
“Now we are running with Maria Corina Machado, the most famous woman in the Western Hemisphere, in my boat,” he said.
“I have the most wanted person in the western hemisphere that I’m trying to get around,” said Strent. “For me, he’s my hero. He’s my hero. I’ve followed him for years.”
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Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Coria Machado Waves at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, Thursday morning Thursday, December 11, 2025. (Lise åSerud / NTB Scanpix via AP)
Once in international waters, the new priority was avoiding the appearance that they had captured Venezuela, which would have given the government any reason to attack.
“They lied. They could have killed us for any reason,” said Strent. “We are in the middle of the D — Ocean and there is no one around to see the truth … We are scared, we are afraid, we are on the edge and we are getting to the rendezvous.”
Shenter ordered his boat’s captain to drive full speed and stop at nothing, fearing to pursue the Venezuelan government.
“I told him, I told him I don’t care, I don’t care who comes,” said Strent. “You don’t stop. You don’t mark. I don’t care, I don’t care who it is. Don’t leave us.”
At some point during the escape, Je-18 fighter jets were reported flying past. Stern described the moment as a possible problem, because they could not determine whether the jerseys were hostile or friendly, although they did not see the possibility that it was not part of the communication of the soldiers.
“There’s an aircraft carrier in the Caribbean that drops planes every twenty minutes. I don’t know,” Stret said. “I can tell you that there is no one in Zavy saying, ‘Don’t worry, brother, we sent two F-18s to cover you.'”
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The marine team successfully brought Machado to safety. Serter said his team had also prepared for a possible evacuation, but that arrangement was scrapped after a last-minute substitution by Machado’s side. Instead, the last flight to Norway was arranged by his private network using a friend’s private plane, making it to a safe landing.
While the rescue of the gray bull has carried out operations in threatening areas such as Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and Haiti, the biggest challenge in the “great history of the 800 mission.
