US-based rescue group Gray Bull has released a short video showing how it helped Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado escape last month.
Machado left Venezuela in early December after spending about a year in hiding to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. She boarded a boat from the coast of Venezuela and headed to a meeting point in the Caribbean. There she was picked up by Gray Bull founder and Special Forces veteran Brian Stern and his team, who were waiting for her on another boat.
An edited two-minute video released Friday shows the moment Machado arrived and boarded the second ship in the middle of the night.
“There it is, there it is, there it is,” the light from Machado’s boat appeared in the distance, and Stern’s voice could be heard approaching his boat.
After confirming Machado’s identity, Stern was heard helping her onto the boat, but due to the darkness of the night, the exact moment of the transfer was barely visible.
“Hello, Maria. My name is Brian. Nice to meet you. Okay,” he said as she rode.
“It’s so wet and so cold,” I heard her say.
The video then cuts to Machado, wearing a black jacket and hat, telling the camera, “I’m Maria Colina Machado. I’m alive. I’m safe and I’m so grateful to Gray Bull.”
The video ends with various still images of Machado and Stern and his team. Ms. Stern’s voice could be heard from above the photo, confirming that it had reached her.
“Jackpot, jackpot, jackpot. The goal is golden dynamite,” Stern said, indicating he was on his way to Curaçao, an island near Venezuela.
Mr Stern previously said he arrived at the coast early in the morning after a long, cold and stressful journey. From there, Machado boarded a plane to Norway, where he was scheduled to receive his Nobel Prize and meet his family.
Gray Bull said last month that the extraction mission lasted almost 16 hours and was carried out near midnight in rough seas. Rescue groups are rescuing civilians in many parts of the world. Directed by Mr. Stern, it carried out at least 800 operations.
Machado declined to comment early Friday on the extraction operation, citing safety concerns for those involved.
CNN has reached out to her team for comment.
Machado previously told reporters that he was receiving support from the U.S. government, but declined to provide further details. “I’ll tell you at some point, because certainly I don’t want to put them at risk right now,” he said.
Stern said last month that the operation was funded by anonymous donors and had no support from the U.S. government to his knowledge, but acknowledged that his team had contacted the U.S. military to alert them to its presence at sea.
