The story of the incredible operation that took Nobel laureate Maria Machado out of Venezuela: “My name is Bryan Stern. Pleased to meet you”

Maria Corina Machado, laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, was taken out of Venezuela last week in an operation called “Golden Dynamite”, writes AFP, adding that everything turned into an incredible odyssey during which the Venezuelan opponent suffered a fracture of a vertebra.

One of the main characters of the operation, a former American soldier, now a specialist in extracting people from dangerous places, told how everything unfolded.

At the risk of being declared a fugitive, Machado left Caracas, where she had been living in hiding since August 2024, and arrived in Oslo on the night of Wednesday to Thursday – too late to attend the Nobel ceremony – after a botched operation, according to the American who claims to have orchestrated it all.

The 58-year-old opponent was injured during this tumultuous journey, in which, as she herself says, she was scared to death.

Machado injured his spine in the sea escape

“The vertebral fracture is confirmed,” his spokeswoman Claudia Macero said, confirming a report originally published by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. “At this time, no additional information beyond what is stated in the article will be released,” she added in a message.

According to Aftenposten, Norway's leading daily, the fracture was caused during his extraction, off the coast of Venezuela, on board a small fishing boat that had to navigate a very rough sea.

The fracture was diagnosed at Ullevål University Hospital in Oslo, the newspaper states. Without giving details, Machado has repeatedly expressed his desire to see a doctor since his arrival in Oslo.

The fracture did not stop her from scaling a barrier to greet supporters during her first public appearance in the Norwegian capital hours after landing.

Maduro: “He is a demon”

An enemy of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, Machado went underground in Venezuela in August 2024, days after presidential elections in which he was banned from participating.

The opposition, like much of the international community, does not recognize the outcome of the election that allowed Nicolas Maduro to secure a third six-year term.

Maduro mocked the Nobel laureate's injury.

Machado “says she has a fractured vertebra, but what is fractured is her brain and her soul, because she is a demon, she hates Venezuela, she hates you,” the Venezuelan president said on his television show Monday night.

“My name is Bryan Stern”

Saying she wants to protect those who helped her, the opposition has remained tight-lipped about the circumstances in which she left Venezuela last week.

But according to the account of Bryan Stern, an ex-US combatant who created a company to remove foreigners from dangerous areas, this exit is the result of a rock-and-roll operation, called “Golden Dynamite”.

According to him, Machado left Caracas disguised and wearing a wig and passed through ten checkpoints without being identified before arriving at a beach in the north of the country.

Chosen to avoid arousing suspicion and exposing himself to deadly American attacks targeting vessels accused by the United States of dealing in drug trafficking, the old fishing vessel he must board was broken.

Once repaired, the fragile craft navigated the night through “5- to 10-foot waves,” according to Bryan Stern, but veered off course after running out of GPS.

Machado was eventually transferred, wet and cold, to another boat which the American greeted with a “My name is Bryan Stern. Pleased to meet you.”

“I just felt like I was in God's hands”

Aboard it, she arrives in Curaçao, a small Dutch island located about sixty kilometers away, then boards a private plane that takes her to Oslo, after a stopover in the United States.

Asked Friday if she feared for her life, she said yes.

“There were times when I felt my life was in danger,” she confessed. “It was also a very spiritual moment because at the end I just felt like I was in God's hands,” added Machado.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him for his efforts in favor of a democratic transition in Venezuela.

A 58-year-old engineer, Machado was due to receive the award in person at Oslo City Hall in the presence of King Harald, defying a travel ban imposed by her country's authorities and after more than a year in hiding. But she didn't make it to the Norwegian capital in time for the ceremony.