an engine that didn’t work, no GPS on the high seas and fear of an American attack

Operation Golden Dynamite. A nod to Alfred Nobel, the inventor of the explosive, this was the name under which the daring action of extraction Maria Corina Machado from his hiding place in Venezuela, avoiding the tentacles of the Chavista regime, and take him to Oslo to collect the Nobel Peace Prize. A dangerous journey during which dangers, delays and fear of being confused with drug dealers.

The architect of the rescue was Brian Sterna US Army veteran who in 2021 created Gray Bull, a company specializing in private evacuations in war zones like Afghanistan or Gaza. He and his team, experts in intelligence and special operations, were contacted to extract an important “package” from Venezuela Friday, December 5.

Stern, anticipating possible U.S. military intervention in the Caribbean, had already taken steps in case his services were required. But his mission was to bring the main opponent of the Nicolas Maduro. “Moving Maria is like moving Hillary Clinton,” he told The Wall Street Journala diary that revealed the details of an operation funded by anonymous donors. “I have not received a dollar from the American government,” the veteran guaranteed in an interview with NBCNews.

María Corina Machado’s odyssey lasted almost three days: She left the suburbs of Caracas in a costume and wig and traveled overland to a fishing village on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. He then boarded a fishing boat heading to the Dutch island of Curaçao, a sea journey that lasted about 12 hours. There, a private plane from Miami was waiting to pick her up and take her to Oslo.

Stern and his team of three dozen collaborators”, were in constant contact with senior US military officials before and during the operation: share your live location, describe problems, send updates and ask for help to geolocate your target. The head of the operation denied having received help from within the Chavista regime.

The first setback occurred on the beach in the coastal town. The boat that was to take María Corina Machado to the agreed point in the middle of the sea, where she would meet Stern, was presented mechanical problems. The plan called for a departure on Tuesday the 9th at dawn, but the engine could not start until dusk, twelve hours later.

Bad sea conditions also slowed down navigation. However, the moment of greatest uncertainty occurred when the U.S. veteran lost contact with Venezuelan opposition boatwho ran out of GPS and appeared about 25 miles from the planned location, where he spent more than six hours waiting and fearing being identified by the Bolivarian Navy Coast Guard.

Laughter and a photo

Stern had outlined his plan to U.S. forces, fearing that two small ships carrying goods in the middle of the Caribbean would be mistaken for the drug boats the Trump administration has been bombing for months. “First of all, keep an eye on us. Second, don’t kill us. And third, if you do anything, let us know and we will stay away,” the veteran instructed his military contacts.

After arduous searching, Stern managed to locate María Corina Machado’s small boat. He sent a photo of the two of them, smiling and wet in the dark, via satellite phone and Starlink to U.S. government and military officials. The “parcel” had been collected and was already on its way to Curaçao.

“It was dangerous. It was terrifying. The sea conditions were ideal for us, but these were not waters we wanted to be in, the higher the waves, the more difficult it is to see the radar. That’s how it works,” Stern said in a network interview CBS. He added that when they met the opponent, “everyone was soaked.”

The veteran, who reiterated that he was “never” hired by the Trump administration, avoided talking about the land phase because “we still have work in Venezuela and we do not want to endanger the people, sources or methods involved.”