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Sources: CIA Carried Out Drone Strike on Port in Venezuela; Sources: CIA Struck Venezuelan Port Used by Gang to Store Drugs; CDC: Flu Activity Is "Elevated" and Spreading Nationwide; Flu Activity Increasing Sharply Across the U.S.; Judge in D.C. Pipe Bomb Case Will Not Decide Suspect's Detention Today. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 30, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And then, the forecast going forward -- and Brianna keep in mind these are high temperatures in New York Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. So, ringing in the New Year, temperatures barely getting above the freezing mark.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: My goodness. We will not freeze your tushy off sitting in the comfort of your living room watching the New Year ring in on CNN.

WARREN: That's true.

KEILAR: We need to remind people of that. Chris, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

Major escalation: The CIA carrying out a previously undisclosed drone strike on a port in Venezuela, ramping up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and marking the first known U.S. attack inside the country.

Plus, the man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., on January 6th, 2021, faces a judge. The new details that we're learning about the suspect as his attorneys try to get him released on bail.

And blame the name change. Why adding President Trump's name to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., is causing more and more performers to cancel their shows.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We do start with a CNN exclusive: Sources revealing new details about the first known U.S. strike inside Venezuela. The CIA targeting a remote dock on the coast earlier this month. Sources tell CNN the U.S. believes the facility was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store and transport drugs. No one was present during the strike, and there were no casualties, according to sources.

The Trump administration has been cracking down on alleged drug smuggling while pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down. CNN's Kevin Liptak is in South Florida, where President Trump is

spending the holidays.

Kevin, what more is the administration saying about the strike?

They're not saying a whole lot. They've been incredibly tight-lipped about this whole thing. And, in fact, I think it's possible that unless President Trump hadn't let it slip in a radio interview last week, sort of offhandedly, we may not know about this at all. But what sources are telling us is that this was a CIA drone strike on a facility on the Venezuelan coast, on a facility they believe the Tren de Aragua gang uses to pack drugs into vessels and ship them out.

The facility was empty at the time, so there were no casualties. And what one official said is that this could be seen as symbolic. There are a number of these facilities that dot the coast there. But certainly, you have to view it as a new, more aggressive phase in this pressure campaign against Nicolas Maduro.

You know, we were over at Mar-a-Lago yesterday, and the President was asked about this, asked about what he said in that radio interview. But it seemed clear that he did not want to reveal too many details. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So, we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It's an implementation area. That's where they implement, and that is no longer around.

LIPTAK (off camera): Was the facility taken out by the U.S. military, or was it another entity like the CIA?

TRUMP: Well, I don't want to say that. I know exactly who it was, but I don't want to say who it was. But, you know, it was along the shore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK (on camera): So, you hear there, when I asked the President point-blank whether this was the military or the CIA, he didn't want to really go any further. Of course, now we know it was the CIA. You know, the President did authorize that agency to begin covert action inside Venezuela earlier this year. But this is really the first glimpse that we've got spilling out into public view of what that agency is actually doing in Venezuela.

Most of the administration's focus in public has been on these strikes on alleged drug boats. We just heard about another one yesterday, the Pentagon saying that this was in the eastern Pacific. It was a boat transiting known narco-trafficking routes, that two narco-traffickers were killed in it. The Pentagon did not provide any evidence to back up those claims, just as they haven't during these previous boat strikes. And it is striking, the difference in sort of the public messaging in all of this. They have been releasing videos of those boat strikes, press releases, but on this CIA action, saying virtually nothing at all, Brianna.

KEILAR: Interesting. All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Let's talk a little bit more about this now with CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier.

I wonder what you think about now the White House, now the administration, being very tight-lipped, but we learned about this having happened earlier this month because the President said it.

[15:05:00]

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, it seems he wanted to get the word out. You know, President Trump has always liked bragging about kinetic actions that he has ordered and taken. And speaking to a former senior administration official who used to advise him, he said, look, Trump doesn't care whether it's covert or done by the Pentagon in an overt way. If he thinks it's important, he's going to get the word out there.

The problem is that now he -- that he's gotten the word out there, first of all, anyone briefed on the operation had to have said to themselves, well, you just declassified it, so we might as well talk about it. And also, now the Venezuelans know the CIA is coming. They might be looking at -- perhaps they can't roll out counter-drone technology -- but at the very least they can get eyes on these various locations now that they have an idea of what Trump is aiming at.

KEILAR: Why not use the U.S. military for something like this? Why would he choose this choice?

DOZIER: Well, you know, when a president asks for a variety of options, the National Security community lays them out. And so obviously the CIA's option was one of the things he chose. And perhaps the reason we didn't hear anything about it in the Venezuelan press was either it was in such a remote location or it was done in such a deniable way that perhaps the people who were hit thought it was another narco-smuggling group that hit them.

And that's part of what, you know, the quote-unquote, "dirty tricks" that covert operations are supposed to bring up. It's supposed to make people worried about, you know, how did that happen, where did that come from. Instead, by identifying that the strike was done by the U.S., and now we know it was CIA, that feeds into Maduro's rhetoric that the U.S. is trying to take him down using the CIA to do it. And that also brings -- gives more fodder to other leftist political parties and groups across Latin America who say, ah, here's the CIA again trying to bring about a coup and bring someone else down again, like the U.S. has done many decades earlier.

KEILAR: What do you think Congress is going to think about this?

DOZIER: You would think that in terms of what's called a Title 50 operation, something done by the intelligence community that is deniable, that it was briefed to both the intelligence committees, or at least the chairman and co-chairman of the intelligence committees, and what they call the "Gang of Eight." So, a small number of people in Congress should have been briefed on this. And if they weren't, I think they'd be screaming bloody murder right now.

I think the larger picture is Trump wants to bring Maduro down. He tried in the first administration with sanctions. That didn't work. Now he's trying to do everything short of putting actual U.S. boots on the ground to make Maduro's regime feel the pressure, deny it the money that it needs from oil and drugs. But a strike like this, you can't see it doing much overall damage to the drug chain and the money that's going to Maduro's coffers.

KEILAR: What happens if he does bring Maduro down, and what are the potential problems with that?

DOZIER: I mean, in an ideal world, the military -- though it is equally complicit with Maduro right now -- would flip on Maduro and go with someone the U.S. backs, like the Pulitzer -- the Prize winner, Maria Machado.

KEILAR: The Nobel, yes.

DOZIER: The Nobel Prize winner. But you never know what's going to happen in a chaotic situation like that if there might be a grappling for power among various military leaders. And what you will surely have are more refugees fleeing. Colombia next door already has a couple million refugees. So, that's what the neighbors are fearing -- instability, unrest. They don't like Maduro, but they fear his absence.

KEILAR: Yes, the change certainly destabilizes things. Kim, thank you so much. Appreciate your insights, and Happy New Year, by the way.

DOZIER: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still to come, right now: The suspect accused of making and planting pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., is inside a federal courtroom. What we're learning as his defense argues he should be released from jail ahead of trial.

Plus, bolstering Bourbon Street: The National Guard is now in New Orleans following last year's deadly attack on New Year's Eve.

And a pilgrimage for peace: Why a group of Buddhist monks are making a cross-country trek on foot and drawing big crowds along the way. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

[15:09:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:06]

KEILAR: New data from the CDC shows most states are experiencing a very busy flu season, and it's not slowing down. The agency estimates at least 7.5 million cases and 3,100 deaths from the virus so far, and that includes eight kids. The states with the highest levels include Colorado, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and South Carolina. A new flu variant called subclade K seems to be driving most of these cases. Joining us now is CNN Medical Analyst and professor of medicine and

surgery at George Washington University, Dr. Jonathan Reiner.

Talk to us a little bit about why so many people are getting sick with the flu right now in this specific variant.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, every year there -- there's a dominant variant, and this year it's a variant of influenza A.

[15:15:01]

It's an H3N2, as -- and you identified it as a particular -- a serotype called subclade K. And around the United States, it's about 90 percent of the infections. We see a lot of influenza at this time of the year because it's a seasonal virus, and we also see a lot of influenza at this time of the year because a lot of people have not been -- not been vaccinated.

A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation a week or two ago showed that of respondents, only about 42 percent of adults have been vaccinated. So, I think to date we've only distributed about 130 million doses of vaccine in this country, so there are a lot of people who are unprotected. And I should -- I should add that even if the virus doesn't -- excuse me, even if the vaccine doesn't prevent you from acquiring the virus -- it is really good at preventing you from getting very sick.

And we're seeing a lot of hospitalizations. In the last few weeks, for instance, New York State has seen about a 60 percent increase in the number of people being hospitalized for influenza. I think last week they saw the greatest number of infections in one week that they've ever recorded. So, there's a lot of virus around, and it's not too late to get vaccinated.

KEILAR: So, this approach -- like -- you say a lot of people are not getting vaccinated.

REINER: Yes.

KEILAR: What would you say to them? As -- I know you're saying, hey, it doesn't mean you're necessarily not going to get the flu, but what it means is that it's not going to be terrible.

REINER: Yes.

KEILAR: But why should people really be thinking about getting the flu shot?

REINER: Well, first of all, if you have certain risk factors, if you're an adult and have certain risk factors like heart disease, lung disease, if you're over the age of 65, if you have asthma, if -- if you -- if you're a resident or your parents are a resident of a long- term facility, you're at risk of dying from -- from influenza. So, all those patients, all those people at high risk, should be vaccinated. And when I see people in clinic every week, I sit and talk to them

about it. And the most common reason why a person doesn't get vaccinated is they say, "Oh, one time I -- I got the shot and I got the flu." They didn't get the flu as a consequence of the vaccine. They might have had a -- maybe a short period of pain in their arm and maybe a very brief fever, which is the immune reaction after getting vaccinated. But the vaccine did not give them the flu. And I try and educate people. The other group that's at really high risk are kids under the age of two.

Last year, there were about 40,000 hospitalizations for kids, about half of that in children under the age of five. So, it's really important to vaccinate your kids. Almost 300 children died last year of influenza. And as you said at the open, already this year that we've recorded eight pediatric deaths.

KEILAR: And when ...

REINER: So, vaccinate your kids, vaccinate yourself. Yes.

KEILAR: When you do vaccinate kids, I mean, when you're talking about those deaths, I'm sure that is ...

REINER: Yes.

KEILAR: ... predominantly among unvaccinated children. But when you do vaccinate your kids, how much protection are you seeing in terms of them not being hospitalized and not dying?

REINER: Yes, so that's a great point. There's about a 75 percent reduction in hospitalization for kids who are vaccinated. And last year, of -- like, almost 300 children who died of influenza, 90 percent were unvaccinated. So ...

KEILAR: Wow.

REINER: ... the vaccine is really, really effective at preventing death from this in kids. So -- and it's something that's simple. And CDC still recommends vaccinating every -- everybody over the age of six months.

KEILAR: Yes.

REINER: And it's not too late. We'll have active flu through February.

KEILAR: Yes, that's a very good point. It's not too late. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you so much. Very good advice as people are going to be gathering together for the New Year. And Happy New Year to you.

REINER: Same to you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Still to come, minutes ago a hearing for the D.C. pipe bomb suspect coming to an end. What we have learned as his lawyers request he'd be released from jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:23:38]

KEILAR: He was the target of a four-year-long manhunt. Now, the D.C. pipe bomb suspect is fighting to stay out of federal detention as he waits for his trial. A hearing for 30-year-old Brian Cole Jr. ended minutes ago. Cole is accused of setting a pipe bomb outside the headquarters of both the Republican and Democratic committees the day before the January 6th attack. Prosecutors believe he thought the 2020 election was stolen.

In court today, defense attorneys said Cole is not a threat to the public and should be released under house arrest, wear an ankle monitor, and be subject to unannounced visits.

CNN's Evan Perez has been following the hearing.

Give us the latest. It's like a really steep climb for him to stay out of jail.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly. And the judge did not make a decision today. There was a hearing -- it lasted a lot longer than I thought it would, almost two hours apparently. And the judge really was focused on, you know, the prosecution's argument that obviously these were pipe bombs. These were viable devices that could have hurt people. And they were found just before the riot began at the U.S. Capitol.

If you remember, these two devices were placed in an alley behind the RNC, just outside of the DNC. These are buildings that are just a couple blocks away from the Capitol. And when they were discovered, they drew police away from the Capitol, which led to a lot of confusion and -- and for a while, belief that the two events were connected.

[15:25:04]

Because right about then, the crowds started breaking through the police cordons to get to the Capitol Building.

Prosecutors say that these two devices were viable and that in his confession, after many hours of questioning from the FBI, he said that he was not only frustrated about the 2020 election, the claims that the election was stolen, which was what Donald Trump was making, the claims he was making, but he was also frustrated with both political parties, essentially saying that he was -- he had a beef with Republicans and Democrats.

As you pointed out, the defense is arguing that, you know, he, with an ankle monitor, with visits from pretrial services, that he does not pose a threat. And also, he suffers from a form of autism. So, they believe that he should be released to the care of his parents.

KEILAR: What more did we learn about the alleged plot?

PEREZ: Well, the plot -- the prosecutors lay out exactly what they say, you know, he went about to put together these bombs. He learned some of the recipe, essentially, for these devices from playing video games, from researching it on the internet. He's apparently a student of history and so looked at how bombs were made during the IRA unrest in Northern Ireland. And they cataloged all of his purchases for the pieces of these devices over the period of months as he finally put together these devices and put them right outside there -- these two buildings, on the day before January 6th.

KEILAR: And the prosecution making the point, as they're saying he should remain ...

PEREZ: Yes.

KEILAR: ... detained, that he was making purchases after ...

PEREZ: He was making -- yes, he was making purchases even afterwards because it appeared he could have made additional devices.

KEILAR: Interesting. All right, Evan, thank you so much.

Let's turn now to former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori. He is now a senior writer for Politico magazine.

All right, Ankush, based on what we're learning in this hearing, do you have any expectation that the suspect could be released to be essentially watched by his parents as he's awaiting trial?

ANKUSH KHARDORI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You know, I think you put it well. It looks like it's going to be an uphill battle, and it looks like the judge is doing the right thing and taking some time with it. You know, these are fairly standard positions, I would say, actually, for both the government and the defense to take, even in a high- profile case, right?

The government is going to want this person detained. They said, as they said today, that they're concerned about him. And the defense wants to argue that there are a host of conditions that can be applied to make this a person suitable for being out on bond.

And the reason -- a big reason -- the defendant and defense counsel want that arrangement is because it makes it easier for them to prepare for trial. It is very hard to work with a client who is detained. It is much harder to work with someone who's detained than someone who's out. So, there are very real stakes here for both sides.

KEILAR: So, it's not good, obviously, for his argument in trying to get pretrial release that prosecutors are saying, look, it wasn't just these bombs. He was buying bomb-making materials after January 2021. But I wonder how you think that is going to actually affect him at the actual trial, not just for this pretrial detention issue, but actually if this does go to trial.

KHARDORI: Yes. You know, it's not clear to me that that would have much relevance to the charged offenses. Now, it's important to remember, like, given where we are right now, you know, the defense indictment was apparently just returned from a lower court today. The defense still has to get discovery, right, at any moment. And frequently, after defendants get discovery, they decide to plead out because they get to see the weight of the government's evidence.

Often, as you know, they may decide to take this case to trial and exercise his right to mount a defense and require the government to put its evidence through the ordinary burden, establishing his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. So, you know, a lot of what happens in a bail hearing like this tends not to be relevant to the actual trial and more relevant to like a sentencing hearing, actually, if there's an ultimate conviction, where we talk about, well, what makes sense for this defendant? How onerous should it be? How severe should the punishment be? But we're not at that stage yet.

But that's how I, you know, sort of tend to think about what we hear at a bail hearing. It tends not to concern the offense so much as the specific characteristics of the offender.

KEILAR: So, what else are you looking for in this case besides this moving towards discovery and seeing whether this actually goes to trial?

KHARDORI: You know, I'm very eager to see a complete copy, in whatever form the government has it, of their interview with the defendant, right? They've summarized that interview, characterized it as a confession. And there are, like, you know, a bunch of sort of clipped quotes in the government's detention memo. But, you know, I think at some point, certainly the defense will get access to the full statement, you know, exactly what was said, whether it was recorded or summarized in an FBI memo.

[15:30:09]