María Corina Machado, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, suffered a spinal fracture after leaving Venezuela last week, her spokeswoman announced this Monday (15). “The vertebral fracture is confirmed,” said Claudia Macero, referring to an article published in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
“For now, no other information will be released other than what is stated in the article,” he added. According to the newspaper, the fracture occurred while she was being transported on a small fishing boat in rough seas. The injury was diagnosed at the Ullevål university hospital in Oslo.
The 58-year-old opposition leader arrived in Oslo in the early hours of Thursday, too late to attend the award ceremony, which was received by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa. Since arriving in Norway, she has repeatedly expressed a desire to see a doctor, without explaining why.
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The fracture did not stop her from overcoming a barrier to greet her supporters in the Norwegian capital, in her first public appearance in the Nordic country. At the risk of being declared a fugitive in her country, where she lived in hiding, Machado left Venezuela under circumstances that she keeps secret.
According to Bryan Stern, a former American soldier who founded a company to help foreigners escape dangerous areas, his departure from the South American country was possible thanks to a complex operation dubbed “Golden Dynamite”.
Still according to Stern, Machado left Caracas disguised and wearing a wig, heading to a beach in the north of the country. Upon arriving at the beach, the boat in which he was supposed to escape — an old fishing vessel chosen so as not to arouse suspicion or expose himself to American bombings in the Caribbean Sea against vessels that, according to Washington, transport drugs — was damaged.
Finally, he managed to board, but the GPS didn’t work. Numb from the cold and soaking wet, she was transferred to another boat, where Bryan Stern was waiting for her. Aboard this boat, he arrived in Curaçao, from where he took a private plane to Oslo, with a stopover in the United States.
“There were moments when I felt that my life was at real risk, and it was also a very spiritual moment because, in the end, I simply felt that I was in God’s hands,” Machado said on Friday in Oslo.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal and CBS News revealed details of the undercover operation.
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The Venezuelan met Stern in the middle of the journey. For safety reasons, the extraction specialist withheld details of the mission, such as the exact location where they met and the specific point of departure from Venezuela.
He reported that the boat faced rough seas and was difficult to navigate, but that, despite three-meter waves, conditions were “ideal” for rescue. “The higher the waves, the harder it is for the radar to see,” he told CBS. “But it certainly wasn’t water you wanted to be in.”
When asked whether the operation had support from the American government, the director of the Gray Bull Foundation denied this and stated that the mission’s costs were financed by “generous donors”.
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However, he said it was necessary to maintain contact with the United States Armed Forces and intelligence to prevent the boat from being targeted by the American Army. Donald Trump’s government has been carrying out a military operation in the region for months and has already bombed at least 20 vessels suspected of participating in the transport of narcotics.
“First, keep an eye on us. Second, don’t kill us. Third, if they’re doing something, tell us to get out of the way,” Stern told the Wall Street Journal, describing the conversation with the US military.
He also told CBS that, despite the Nobel winner being “very wet and cold”, she was “very happy”. “She is a tough, strong woman, but she is still a mother, and she spoke about the joy of seeing her children.” Due to exile, María Corina spent two years without seeing them.
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Although the operation was completed successfully, Maduro’s opponent did not arrive in time to participate in the ceremony. To CBS, Stern downplayed the issue: “At least from my perspective, her life was the most important aspect of all of this.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, the operation faced unforeseen events. One of them was a mechanical failure in the vessel that took María Corina to Stern’s boat. According to the newspaper, the need to repair the engine caused a 12-hour delay in the journey.
She did not arrive in Oslo in time for the ceremony and ended up being represented by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, who received the honor in her place. María Corina made a public appearance on Thursday the 11th and thanked everyone who participated in the operation for their help.
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“How many people risked their lives so that I could get to Oslo. I am very grateful to them, and this shows how much this recognition means to the Venezuelan people”, she said in a post published on Nobel’s social networks.
Popular in Venezuela, María Corina Machado has been in hiding since January this year due to political persecution promoted by dictator Nicolás Maduro, to whom she is strongly opposed. She was prevented from running in the 2024 presidential elections, which were won by Maduro, despite international outcry.
Due to the strong appeal it carries, the extraction of María Corina from Venezuela was the main mission carried out by Stern, he told newspapers. “Everyone knows her face. Moving María Corina (Machado) is like moving Hillary Clinton.”
The expert said that the opponent wants to return to Venezuela, despite his advice not to return. Asked if the Gray Bull Foundation would help her with this reentry, Stern believes not. “We never did an infiltration, just an exfiltration. So, I don’t think so. That’s something she needs to determine and decide. But I don’t think she should go back. But she wants to,” he told CBS.
