US veteran rescues 'most wanted woman in Western Hemisphere' from Venezuela in secret operation

The rescue cognition to extract Venezuelan absorption person María Corina Machado and transport her to Norway successful clip to judge her Nobel Peace Prize progressive a analyzable bid of complications and assorted components successful land, oversea and air.   

The mission, dubbed Operation Golden Dynamite, was spearheaded by Bryan Stern, a U.S. peculiar forces seasoned and laminitis of the Tampa-based Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, which specializes successful high-risk rescue missions and evacuations, notably from struggle and catastrophe zones.

Getting her retired of Venezuela, wherever she is considered a fugitive by President Nicolás Maduro, progressive disguises, deception, navigating choppy seas and arranging formation options.

"She's perceived by the Maduro authorities the mode we perceived Osama bin Laden, similar that," Stern told Fox News. "That level of manhunt if you will."

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Venezuelan absorption person Maria Corina Machado gestures astatine a protestation up of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro for his 3rd term, successful Caracas, Venezuela, January 9, 2025.  (Maxwell Briceno/Reuters)

Machado has been hiding retired successful Venezuela since Maduro won a highly disputed predetermination past twelvemonth and had not been seen successful nationalist successful months. 

Stern emphasized that the U.S. authorities was not progressive successful the operation. 

His squad had been gathering up a beingness successful the Caribbean, Venezuela and the neighboring land of Aruba successful mentation for operations successful the South American region.

The biggest challenge, Stern said, was getting Machado retired of the state contempt her being a well-known fig there. In bid to determination her from her location to a "beach landing site," his squad reportedly did "all kinds of things designed to make a small spot of confusion."

"Anything that we could person perchance deliberation of that we thought could fell her face… was employed." Stern said. "Anything we could deliberation of, her integer signature, her carnal signature. On apical of that, we did immoderate deception operations connected the ground. We made immoderate sound successful immoderate places designed to get radical to deliberation thing was happening that wasn't."

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Venezuelan person Nicolás Maduro brandishes a sword said to person belonged to independency leader Simon Bolivar during a civic-military lawsuit astatine the subject academy successful Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.  (Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

The maritime cognition started disconnected rough, Stern recounted. Of the 2 boats deployed for the mission, the vas that physically extracted Machado reportedly mislaid its GPS successful the turbulent seas and suffered a mechanical hiccup that delayed the operation. The squad was forced to proceed into the "dead of night" successful "pitch-black darkness," navigating seas truthful convulsive that 1 of Stern’s seasoned operators reportedly vomited for 9 hours straight.

Reaching the rendezvous constituent added different furniture of difficulty. Stern’s vessel and Machado’s vas had to find each different successful pitch-black seas portion maintaining vigor soundlessness to debar detection, yet locating 1 different by flashlight.

Stern said helium had to stay cautious, fearing that the approaching vessel could person been a trap acceptable by Venezuelan forces. To corroborate it was harmless to proceed, his larger vas circled Machado’s vessel and shined lights connected the crew. 

After Stern physically pulled Machado onto his boat, helium past alerted the remainder of the squad that Machado was secured: "Jackpot, jackpot, jackpot."

"Now we are connected the tally with Maria Corina Machado, the astir wanted pistillate successful the Western Hemisphere, connected my boat," helium said.

"I person the astir wanted idiosyncratic successful the Western hemisphere that I'm trying to determination around," Stern said. "Personally, she's a leader of mine. She's a leader of mine. I've been tracking her for years."

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Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado waves astatine the Grand Hotel successful Oslo, Norway, aboriginal Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Once successful planetary waters, the caller interest was avoiding immoderate quality that they had kidnapped a Venezuelan, which would person fixed the authorities immoderate justification to attack.

"They lie. They could person killed america for immoderate reason," Stern said. "We're successful the mediate of the d--- water and there's nary 1 astir to spot the truth… we are scared, we are nervous, we're connected the tally and we level it getting to the rendezvous."

Stern ordered his vessel skipper to thrust afloat throttle and not halt for anything, fearing pursuit by the Venezuelan regime.

"My vessel guy, I told him I don't care, I don't attraction who comes," Stern said. "You don't stop. You bash not stop. I don't care, I don't attraction who. You bash not halt astatine all. Let them pursuit america if they person to. We person got to get to land."

At immoderate constituent during the escape, 2 F-18 combatant jets reportedly flew overhead. Stern described the infinitesimal arsenic a imaginable complication, since they could not find whether the jets were hostile oregon friendly, though helium noted it was apt not portion of a Navy coordination.

"There's an craft bearer successful the Caribbean throwing airplanes disconnected each 20 minutes. I don't know," Stern said. "I tin archer you that cipher successful the Navy said, 'Don't worry, brother, we sent 2 F-18s to screen you.'"

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The maritime squad successfully delivered Machado to safety. Stern said his squad had besides prepared for a imaginable aerial extraction, but that program was abandoned aft a last-minute alteration connected Machado’s side. Instead, the last formation to Norway was arranged by her idiosyncratic web utilizing a friend’s backstage jet, culminating successful her harmless arrival.

While Grey Bull Rescue has conducted operations successful high-threat environments specified arsenic Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and Haiti, Stern said the extraction of Machado was uniquely challenging, describing it arsenic "overwhelmingly" the astir analyzable ngo successful the organization’s 800-mission history.