A video released this Friday shows the clandestine operation that allowed opposition leader María Corina Machado to leave Venezuela on December 9th to travel to Oslo and receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The footage, watermarked by Grey Bull Rescue, the group of contractors specializing in extractions and rescues that designed and executed the plan to move Machado, shows the moment the boat with which the opposition leader left Venezuela meets the Grey Bull ship, at sea and in the dead of night. 'Hello María, my name is Bryan, nice to meet you, I've got you,' is heard over the noise of the wind as Bryan Stern, the group's founder, approaches both boats. 'We've been in the region for a month working in Venezuela, but this operation is the big enchilada, taking her from where she is to where she needs to be, it's clearly a challenge,' Stern tells the camera from the boat. The footage then shows a navigation in total darkness with the help of radars and in quite rough seas. Afterwards, over a montage of some photos of Machado and selfies with Stern, the celebratory 'Jackpot, jackpot, jackpot. Objective: golden dynamite' of the mission's success is heard. At that moment, Machado had been in hiding in Venezuela for almost a year after leading the opposition movement against chavism and Nicolás Maduro in the July 2024 presidential elections. Thanks to the operation, the politician arrived in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize awarded for her leadership, which Machado gave to U.S. President Donald Trump on January 15th during their meeting at the White House. The video also shows the initial moment of the operation, when the group of contractors left Curaçao still during the day to head to the meeting with Machado. 'It was terrifying,' Stern said at the time to the CBS channel.
