Brian Stern

Brian Stern runs Gray Bull Rescue with fellow U.S.

military vets.

They couldn't get Machado out by land, too many checkpoints, by sea it was.

has struck nearly two dozen boats, killing at least 87 people, they allege are drug traffickers.

Stern says U.S.

officials knew when they were crossing and he says Machado toughed it out,

better than his fellow military vets.

She didn't complain once.

He thought she was dubbed the Iron Lady because of her solid convictions, but he says she's awesome.

Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

There was a land component.

She was in a house.

She was in hiding.

She had to get moved from there to a BLS, a pickup spot for a boat.

And a boat took her from Venezuela right off the coast to a bigger boat.

That's the boat that I was on in very rough seas, five to 10 foot waves, which is very, very rough seas, especially for these kinds of small boats in pitch black darkness, rendezvoused at sea.

And we transferred Maria from one boat to the next and then drove her very far.

If our boat sunk, we were much closer to Venezuela than any other country from perspective.

We were right off the coast.

The journey was not fun.