U.S. Special Forces Veteran Who Extracted Maria Corina Machado From Venezuela Says Choppy Seas Helped Operation: 'It Was Scary'

The U.S. special forces veteran who helped extract Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from the country and get her to the plane that ultimately took her to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize detailed how the operation unfolded.

Speaking to CBS News, Bryan Stern, who heads the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation, said the higher the waves are, the harder "it is for radar to see." "No one's blood pressure was low, throughout any phase of this operation, including mine," he added.

Stern went on to say the operation was "dangerous" and "scary," but highlighted the "conditions were ideal for us." "The higher the waves, the harder it is for radar to see. That's how it works."

Stern said the operation was among the hardest he has conducted, noting Machado has a "very large target on her back" considering she is being pursued by the Maduro regime. "This is not a random shopkeeper who doesn't wanna be in Venezuela anymore. This is moving around a rock star," he said.

Another report by the Wall Street Journal noted that Machado's team coordinated her escape with the U.S. partly to avoid being targeted by Washington forces as part of its pressure campaign against the Maduro regime.

"We coordinated that she was going to leave by a specific area so that they would not blow up the boat," a person close to the operation said. Around the same time, two Navy jets spent about 40 minutes flying in tight circles near the route, making it the closest incursion of U.S. aircraft in the Venezuelan airspace since the campaign began in September.

The escape began on Monday afternoon. She went from a suburb in Caracas, where she has been in hiding for a year, to a coastal fishing village.

To get there, she had to go through 10 military checkpoints before reaching her destination, where a boat awaited to sail her through the Caribbean and to Curaçao. Along with two companions, they endured choppy seas that slowed down their wooden fishing skiff.

Machado reached Curaçao and met a private contractor specialized in extractions. After spending a night in the country, Machado boarded an executive jet provided by a Miami associate and made it for Norway. She arrived after the award was given, with her daughter receiving it on her behalf.

Machado is set to spend a few days in Norway, then tour European countries to gather support for her cause, and will eventually make it to the U.S., according to a person close to her.