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This daring escape of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado entailed a long, frightening and very wet sea crossing in the pitch black of night, according to the American man who says he led the mission.

A Perilous Nocturnal Voyage

The rescue organizer, who heads a rescue nonprofit, outlined the mission in a recent interview. It was perilous. It was scary,” stated Stern, a US special forces veteran, describing rough and moonless seas 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 bigger the swells, the harder it is for radar to see,” Stern said.

He described rendezvousing with Machado offshore after she departed from Venezuela, where she had been in hiding since August 2024 fearing targeting by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

A Step-by-Step Extraction

She boarded his boat for a 13- to 14-hour trip to an secret location to catch a plane, in a mission orchestrated just days before. “This was in the middle of the night – very little moon, some cloud coverage, very hard to see, vessels running dark. Everyone was quite damp. My crew and I were drenched. She was pretty cold and wet, too. She had a very arduous journey,” Stern noted.

Regarding her state, he said, “She was very happy. She was thrilled. She was very tired,” and noted about two dozen people were actively participating within his organization.

Confirmation and Concealment

Spokespeople for Machado verified that Stern’s company was behind the operation, which commenced earlier in the week. This report comes after earlier stories that Machado wore a wig and a disguise to leave her hideout in a suburb of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

The veteran declined to share details about the land operation, referencing his company’s future work in the region.

Funding and American Involvement

He stated publicly the mission was financed by “several benefactors” – with no US government figures involved. Official US funds were not used, at least not that I know of,” Stern asserted.

He said, however, that his group did “unofficially collaborate” with the American armed forces regarding locations and strategy, largely to avoid being mistakenly fired upon.

Next Steps and Inspiration

Machado said she had US support to leave Venezuela. She has announced plans to go back, though it is not clear how or when.

Stern indicated his group would play no part in a return mission, as it worked only on getting people out of countries, not in. “That’s for her to determine for herself. But I think she should not go back. But she wants to. She is a genuine inspiration,” he said.