An organization of war veterans in the United States says it was responsible for the operation that took María Corina Machado from Venezuela. The action would have lasted 16 hours, in a scenario of extreme danger.
The opponent of dictator Nicolás Maduro was in hiding, and left the country to go to Oslo, Norway, to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to a statement from Gray Bull Rescue, the operation was called “Golden Dynamite” and involved numerous risks to the team and to Machado herself.
“This was the most risky and dangerous mission we have ever carried out. It was also one of the most significant. The operation lasted almost 16 hours, by land and sea, and required precision and expertise at each stage”, said the group.
According to a report from the WSJ (Wall Street Journal), to be able to leave Venezuela.
A source close to the operation told the American newspaper that she had help from two people and it took her 10 hours to leave the suburb of Caracas where she was hiding and pass through 10 military checkpoints without being arrested, before arriving at a fishing village on the coast.
Bryan Stern, founder of Gray Bull, praised Maduro’s opposition on social media and noted that the mission “tested our team in ways that few will ever fully understand.”
“Nobody’s blood pressure was low… It was dangerous. It was scary. The sea conditions were ideal for us, but it certainly wasn’t water you wanted to be in,” he commented.
According to the WSJ investigation, the group that participated in the operation contacted the US Armed Forces and warned them about the boat trip to avoid an American attack.
Dozens of boats have been attacked by the US in the Caribbean in recent months, claiming they were carrying drugs towards the country.
At a press conference on Thursday (11), to travel to Norway, he refused to give further details.
In an interview with CBS News, the founder of Gray Bull stated that everything went well in the operation and highlighted that the Nobel Prize winner was the highest profile person the organization has ever helped to rescue.
The group is based in Tampa, USA, and began operating during the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. The official website reports that he has participated in operations in Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, Israel, Haiti and Lebanon, as well as rescues after natural disasters in the United States.
