María Corina Machado, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had to overcome a remarkable obstacle just to attend the ceremony: leaving Venezuela. After more than a year in hiding following an election that many viewed as fraudulent, her extraction to Oslo was the product of a tense, precisely planned operation.
At the center of the effort was Bryan Stern, a U.S. Special Forces veteran and founder of the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation. Stern and a team of U.S. military veterans, who say they have carried out hundreds of extractions, had about a week to assemble and rehearse what they called Operation Golden Dynamite, a nod to Alfred Nobel.
They quickly ruled out a land route because Machado risked being recognized at checkpoints. Instead they chose a sea passage, mindful of increased U.S. naval activity off Venezuela’s coast after recent strikes on suspected narco-trafficking vessels. Stern says he coordinated with U.S. officials aware of operations in the area and intentionally avoided using a fast, conspicuous boat that might draw attention.
The plan nearly unraveled when Machado’s vessel failed to arrive at the planned Caribbean rendezvous. Stern says the team pivoted, went out to meet her, and carried out a nighttime transfer in rough seas. With 10-foot waves and only flashlights for guidance, each crew approached cautiously, unsure whether the other party might be cartel members, government agents, or other threats.
When they were close enough to hear one another, a voice across the water identified herself: ‘It’s me — María!’ Stern pulled her aboard, and the passage to a nearby Caribbean island—widely reported to be Curaçao, though he declined to confirm—was calmer. From there a private plane carried her onward to Oslo.
Stern praised Machado’s toughness. Despite the cold, wet conditions and hunger that had the veterans grumbling, she did not complain. Stern said he had long admired her political fight, called her ‘gnarly,’ and described her as ‘pretty awesome.’