Video Of Machado’s Daring Escape From Venezuela To Accept Nobel Released | Watch

Last Updated:January 17, 2026, 23:30 IST

Machado, who had been banned from public office and was in hiding for nearly a year amid a government crackdown, fled Venezuela in a covert operation to accept the award.

The video showed Machado boarding a small boat from the Venezuelan coast late at night and travelling to a rendezvous point in the Caribbean Sea. (X)

A newly released video showed Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado making a dramatic escape from Venezuela by boat in early December 2025 to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.

Machado, who had been banned from public office and was in hiding for nearly a year amid a government crackdown, fled Venezuela in a covert operation carried out with the help of a US-based rescue group, Grey Bull Rescue, CNN reported.

The two-minute-video, released on Friday, showed Machado boarding a small boat from the Venezuelan coast late at night and travelling to a rendezvous point in the Caribbean Sea. There, she was transferred to another vessel operated by Grey Bull Rescue, led by its founder Bryan Stern, a US special forces veteran.

As lights from Machado’s boat appeared in the distance, Stern wass heard saying, “That’s them, that’s them, that’s them." After confirming her identity, Stern helped her aboard, telling her, “Hi, María. My name is Bryan. Nice to meet you. I got you." Machado was heard saying she was “so wet and so cold."

In the video, Machado later spoke directly to the camera, saying, “I am María Corina Machado. I’m alive, I’m safe, and I’m very grateful." The clip ended with Stern confirming the mission’s success, calling it “Objective Golden Dynamite."

According to Grey Bull Rescue, the extraction lasted nearly 16 hours and took place amid stormy seas that disrupted GPS and communication equipment. After being brought aboard the rescue vessel, Machado was taken to a larger ship bound for Curacao before flying on to Oslo for the Nobel ceremony.

Machado had spent almost a year in hiding inside Venezuela before leaving the country.

The Venezuelan opposition leader recently presented her coveted prize to US President Donald Trump. Machado met Trump at the White House in a high-stakes encounter that could affect how the United States seeks to shape Venezuela’s political future after capturing its previous leader Nicolas Maduro. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Machado said she handed the medal to Trump but did not say whether he accepted it.

“It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!" Trump had said on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, Norwegian Nobel Committee reiterated that a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked. In a statement outlining long-standing rules, the Nobel Institute on Friday said that the prize and the laureate are inseparable, and that it is always the original recipient who is recorded in history as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

The Nobel Institute underlined that while there are no restrictions on what a laureate may do with the physical items associated with the prize — including keeping, giving away, selling, or donating the medal, diploma, or prize money — such actions do not change who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

News world Video Of Machado’s Daring Escape From Venezuela To Accept Nobel Released | Watch

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