Last Monday, December 8, opposition leader María Corina Machado began her journey to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person, which was ultimately awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa. The prestigious American media outlet The Wall Street Journal obtained exclusive details of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's emergence from hiding after several months in the South American country.

Wearing a wig and disguise, Machado had to find a way to escape Nicolás Maduro, and the first thing she did was travel from a suburb in Caracas, where she had been hiding for a year, to a specific fishing port where a boat was waiting for her. María Corina reportedly escaped from a suburb where she had been hiding for a year. | Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to the newspaper, the plan to reach this point took ten hours, during which she experienced intense stress due to the fear of being discovered. She and two companions set off in a wooden fishing boat at 5 a.m., sources told The Wall Street Journal.

The weather was not in their favor, as strong winds and rough seas slowed them down. According to the source consulted by the media outlet, they had been planning their escape from the dictatorship for two months and wanted to arrive in time to receive the award.

The media outlet mentioned that it was a Venezuelan network, which over time has helped other people flee the country, that also helped María Corina to escape the Venezuelan regime.

The next step was crucial to ensuring Machado's safety. The group had to call the U.S. military to inform them, before departing in the boat, about the identities of the occupants of the vessel that would take the Nobel laureate to Curaçao. It should be noted that the United States has bombed more than 20 similar vessels in recent months in order to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the Pacific.

“We coordinated that she would leave through a specific area so that the boat wouldn’t be blown up,” the source told The Wall Street Journal, assuring that the Trump administration was aware of the operation that was taking place.

Machado arrived in Curaçao at approximately 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9. There, she was met by a private contractor specializing in extractions. Exhausted from the long journey, the opposition leader checked into a hotel and spent the night, according to the source.

The media outlet was able to confirm that the following morning an executive plane belonging to a Miami associate took off from the island bound for Oslo, while—before boarding—she sent a message to so many people... [who] “risked their lives” so that she could leave Venezuela safe and sound.