María Corina Machado had to make one long and “terrible” sea crossing in the middle of the night to leave Venezuela, according to an American who claims to have been the commander of the operation.
Bryan Stern, the a non-profit rescue organization The Gray Bull Rescue Foundation explained the operation in an interview Thursday in CBS News This allowed the Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to arrive in Norway, although not in time to attend the award ceremony.
“It was dangerous. It was scary.” said Stern, a U.S. Special Forces veteran. The head of the operation He remembered the darkness and the strong waves that they had to deal with in order to leave Venezuela.
Stern said he met Machado at sea as she was leaving her country He lived in secret for eleven months out of fear of possible reprisals from the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Machado boarded a boat waiting for her to perform an act 13 hour journey to an unknown locationwhere he took a plane. The mission, loudly CBSwas scheduled four days before its execution.
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The hug between Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia
“The sea conditions were ideal for us,” there Large waves interfere with radar waves. “But they certainly weren’t what you want for sailing,” Stern explained.
“It was the middle of the night, there was very little moonlight, some cloudiness, poor visibility, The boats had no lights“he described.
“We were all pretty wet. My team and I were soaked to the skin. You too, I was cold and very wet. He had had a very difficult journey. I was very happy. I was very excited. “I was very tired,” Stern added. About twenty people took part in the operationas he said.
A representative for Machado confirmed that Stern’s organization, the Gray Bull Rescue Foundation, conducted the operation, which began Tuesday CBS.
The Wall Street Journal that’s what he said Machado donned a wig and costume to leave the place where he was hiding in Caracas. Stern did not provide details about the land operation.
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María Corina Machado thanked those who “risked their lives” to bring her to Oslo
On the other hand, he clarified that the mission was to remove Machado from Venezuela financed by “some generous donors”everything private. “At least to my knowledge, the U.S. government did not contribute a single dime to this operation,” he said.
However, he noted that his group “unofficially” coordinated with the US military to inform them of their positions and prevent them from attacking them.
Machado said Thursday he had U.S. support to leave Venezuela.
The opposition leader has already said that intends to return to his country, However, without clarifying how and when. Stern explained that his group would not take part in this operation because it was only concerned with expelling people from the countries, not importing them.
“She has to determine and decide for herself. But I think she shouldn’t go back. But she wants to do it. Maria is really inspiring,” Stern concluded.
With information from the AFP agency
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