US covert team leader describes ‘dangerous’ mission to rescue Venezuelan opposition leader

A U.S. covert team carried out a mission to extract Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, as her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf in Europe.

Special forces veteran Bryan Stern described the treacherous operation and the measures taken to get her safely out of Venezuela.

“It was dangerous for her — very dangerous for her — dangerous for everybody involved, frankly,” said Stern, head of the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, on Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show.”
 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado waves at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, early Thursday, Dec. 11. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Machado shocked much of the world when she appeared on a balcony in Oslo, Norway, on Thursday, thousands of miles from Venezuela. 

Stern explained his group had been doing missions in Venezuela, but when they were first contacted about this task, they had no idea it involved such a high-profile figure.

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“We didn’t know it was María at first,” he said, adding that learning her identity changed “everything.”

“She’s been a hero of mine for years. Being asked to participate in this — let alone lead this operation — is probably the greatest privilege I’ll ever have in my career,” Stern also said.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures during an anti-government protest on Jan. 9 in Caracas, Venezuela.  (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

The escape unfolded by land, air and sea. At one point, Stern said they were in a small fishing boat in the middle of the night, battling “five- to 10-foot” rough seas. He described a retired Marine on the boat vomiting for hours due to the difficult conditions on the water.

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“María didn’t complain once,” Stern said, describing her behavior throughout the journey as “inspirational.”

Stern noted that the team operated under the constant threat of detection by Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s forces, and that he didn’t relax until Machado was in Norway.

The daughter of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ana Corina Sosa, accepts the award on behalf of her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall, Norway, on Dec. 10. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, Pool via AP)

“When I saw María hug her daughter is when I took a deep breath,” he said.

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Machado had been in hiding since January after she was detained in Caracas, an arrest her supporters say came after she joined crowds protesting Maduro’s inauguration. She has long been an outspoken critic of the Maduro regime and its contested elections, and she leads Venezuela’s main opposition movement.

She won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting democracy and human rights. Machado has publicly thanked President Donald Trump for his support against the regime and told Fox News Digital she dedicated the prize to him as well.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro brandishes a sword said to have belonged to independence hero Simon Bolivar during a civic-military event at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Nov. 25. (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

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Her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award in her place on Wednesday, saying her mother will “never give up” on wanting to live in a free Venezuela.

Machado’s extraction comes as the U.S. steps up pressure on the Maduro government. Earlier in December, the White House confirmed the military seized a multimillion-dollar tanker reportedly carrying illicit Iranian oil.