Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady of Venezuela,’ is this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She was selected for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her years of pro-democracy struggle against the dictatorship of Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, who has been in power for more than a decade. The problem is that Machado is on a wanted list over various charges brought by the Venezuelan government, including conspiring to commit crimes and inciting hatred, and the Venezuelan Supreme Court imposed a 10-year travel ban on her, meaning she could not attend the ceremony in Norway.

But then came word that Machado, who was expected to miss the ceremony, had escaped Venezuela. On the 11th (local time), media captured her waving to supporters from a hotel balcony in Oslo, Norway. How did Machado evade the Maduro regime’s attempts to arrest her and set foot in Norway? Today’s Point-Line-Plane brings you the backstory of ‘Machado’s life-or-death landing operation in Norway.’

Machado’s escape from Venezuela was like something out of a spy film. First, she left the outskirts of Caracas, where she had been in hiding for 11 months, and traveled to a fishing village. Along the way, she passed more than 10 military checkpoints but avoided detection by wearing a wig and disguising herself.

Upon reaching the fishing village, she spent 10 hours aboard a small wooden fishing boat to the Caribbean island of Curaao, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During this time, two U.S. Navy F-18 fighter jets circled for 40 minutes to provide cover. When her boat arrived in Curaao at around 3 p.m. on the 9th, a civilian rescue group dispatched by the U.S. administration greeted Machado. The next day, she boarded a private jet sent by an acquaintance and headed to Oslo via a stop in the U.S. state of Maine.

You may be wondering who the civilian rescue group was that covertly directed Machado’s landing in Norway. According to U.S. outlets including the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CBS News, it was “Gray Bull,” a civilian extraction and rescue organization led by former U.S. special operations veteran Bryan Stern. Based in Tampa, Florida, Gray Bull is composed of former special operations and intelligence officers. Since 2021, it has reportedly carried out civilian extraction operations in war zones from Afghanistan to the Gaza Strip.

Gray Bull joined the operation on the night of the 5th. Stern received a call from a former intelligence colleague saying, “We need to get an important ‘package’ out of Venezuela.” Hearing only that the rescue subject was a ‘woman,’ Stern immediately sensed it was Machado and believed it would be the most dangerous mission he had ever undertaken. “Among hundreds of rescue operations, the Machado mission was the most challenging yet also the most rewarding,” Stern said, adding, “This operation saved the life of a woman who is fighting for freedom.”

The operation’s codename was ‘Operation Golden Dynamite,’ inspired by Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and founder of the Nobel Prizes. The most tense moment, Stern recalled, was when Machado boarded the rescue team’s boat at sea in the middle of the night. There was almost no moonlight, vessels were moving with their lights off, and visibility was extremely limited. “Our team, and Machado as well, were soaked from head to toe. She was extremely cold but at the same time very happy and excited,” he said.

Gray Bull says it reviewed at least nine scenarios for Machado’s escape, from aircraft and helicopter extractions to routes via Guyana and Colombia. To divert attention, it deliberately floated multiple false rumors such as “Machado is already in Europe,” “She got into a car bound for Colombia,” and “She stowed away on a U.S. military flight.”

Unfortunately, worsening weather delayed her arrival in Oslo, and she ultimately missed the ceremony; Machado’s daughter accepted the prize on her behalf. Machado made a public appearance the next day, the 11th, wearing jeans and a jumper, waving to supporters from the balcony of the Grand Hotel in Oslo. At a press conference in Oslo, she said, “I came to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Venezuelan people, and I will take this award to Venezuela at the appropriate moment,” while adding, “I will not say when or how I will return.” She continued, “I want to end the dictatorship as soon as possible and build a free Venezuela.”

Did you know Machado has drawn criticism for courting Trump? When er Nobel Peace Prize was announced in October, she posted on X (formerly Twitter) that she dedicated the award “to the suffering Venezuelan people and to U.S. President Donald Trump, who supported our cause,” stirring controversy. She reportedly phoned Trump immediately after the announcement. Trump later revealed that Machado told him, “I am receiving this award for you, because you truly deserve it.”

The United States has increased military pressure on Venezuela, deploying the Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and its strike group to the Caribbean near Venezuela under the banner of a ‘war on drugs.’ Why would Machado take a friendly stance toward Trump? Because she has argued that changing the regime in Venezuela requires the use of force and foreign military intervention. After a 2019 military coup attempt to topple the Maduro government failed, she argued it was “time to move to a higher phase,” saying that “real and credible” robust intervention by foreign military power and “active action and support from Western democracies” were necessary.

Machado’s pro-Israel moves have also stirred controversy. In a past interview with Israel’s Channel 12, she said, “Someday I will ensure Venezuela and Israel have close relations. We will move the embassy to Jerusalem,” adding that “this is part of our pro-Israel advocacy.” She was criticizing the Venezuelan government of the Hugo Chvez era, which cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 2009 and closed its embassy in Tel Aviv in protest of the war in Gaza. Because of this, some at home call Machado a “far-right fascist” and a “pro-Israel Zionist.”

Some in the international community question whether someone who supports the use of force deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. They argue her award runs counter to the prize’s core values of nonviolence, protection of human rights and minorities, and impartial promotion of peace. On the day of the ceremony, protesters held signs reading, “Do not give a peace prize to a warmonger.”

The question of whether a ‘warmonger’ should receive the Nobel Peace Prize recalls the controversy over Henry Kissinger’s award. As National Security Advisor in the Nixon administration, Kissinger received the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Vietnam cease-fire agreement. The problem is that he had been a chief architect of the bombing of Vietnam and led secret bombing campaigns in Cambodia and Laos that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians. Two members of the Nobel Committee resigned in protest over Kissinger’s award, and Le Duc Tho, North Vietnam’s co-laureate, declined the prize.

The Nobel Committee has given the Peace Prize to a politician who openly defends a U.S. invasion of Venezuela and Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. One is left to ask whether, for them, ‘peace’ means ‘peace that does not conflict with U.S. strategy.’

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