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U.S. Seizes Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker; Woman Shot and Killed By ICE Officer in Minneapolis. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 07, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're following breaking news out of Minneapolis, these live images coming in as we're learning of a deadly shooting involving an ICE agent. CNN is live on the scene getting answers.

Plus, we have fast-moving headlines on Venezuela, the U.S. seizing two oil tankers saying it is on the verge of executing a deal to take tens of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil and sell it.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And the White House wants Americans to make over what's on the menu. Officials just revealing ramped-up diet guidelines.

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

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon.

We're following breaking news out of Minneapolis, the city currently at the center of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. DHS now says a woman was killed in an ICE-involved shooting.

KEILAR: Let's go straight to Whitney Wild, who is there on scene.

Whitney, what are you learning? We know this happened just a short time ago.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know now is that the person who was shot has died.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement today saying that" "ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers. One of the violent rioters weaponized for vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them, an act of domestic terrorism."

The statement goes on to SAY: "an ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots."

DHS finally saying in the statement, and there's other content, but wrapping it up by saying that they believe this is a consequence of attacks on federal law enforcement. We're working to learn more about who this person was who was shot, what the circumstances were surrounding this, those kind of more specific details that give us a moment-by-moment lead-up to exactly what happened.

We're continuing to talk to people here on the ground who are, in a word, angry. There is a lot of frustration here. It is quiet now. Earlier today, there was a lot of anger directed at law enforcement here. Let me just -- I will walk you to the scene here.

Again, this is a bit of a smaller crowd than what we saw earlier. But what is notable here is that we are seeing lots of different law enforcement agencies. We're seeing Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. We're seeing Minneapolis Police Department. The federal law enforcement included the U.S. Marshals and the Customs and Border Patrol.

We saw most of that federal law enforcement leave about an hour ago. But what I think is notable here, when around here, is that there is a lot of anger directed toward the local law enforcement, who were not involved in the shooting.

And they feel -- as you hear -- this woman feels that they protected ICE. And so there is a lot of frustration. We will continue to walk over here. Just, I think sometimes it gets so loud here, you can't hear what I'm saying. So we will just walk to a little bit of a quieter spot.

But this is -- the context here is that the riots around George Floyd and reaction to George Floyd are not far in the rearview mirror. We are four blocks from where that happened. That is very much present in the minds of people here. I heard some people saying that, if you thought George Floyd was bad, this city is about to explode.

And that is the line that the Minneapolis police chief and the mayor here are trying to draw, trying to keep this situation calm and under control. And it is not easy when people are this angry.

We saw Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, as well as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, out here earlier. We expect to hear from them later today. But, for now, this is a growing smaller crowd. This is controlled. The scene spans several blocks. We are here at Portland Avenue and East 35th.

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But it goes at least two or three blocks.

(CROSSTALK)

WILD: Thank you. Hold on. I'm sorry.

We're with CNN. It's OK. Thank you. Thank you for your help. I'm sorry. I think people are getting upset.

So that is the latest here on the ground, guys, and I'm going to send it back to you.

SANCHEZ: And, Whitney, if you could, help set the scene for us as to why Minnesota and Minneapolis specifically have become a focus of the Trump administration. You had Secretary Kristi Noem there a few days ago. You had a very public set of accusations about some of the management of federal funds going to that state.

WILD: Right.

SANCHEZ: Just set the scene for why residents there have become so frustrated.

WILD: Right.

Well, this has become the target for the Trump administration. This has been going on for several weeks. We were here when there was this first push of a heightened immigration crackdown here at Minneapolis in December. They say that first operation yielded 400 arrests. Now they are saying that there is substantially more than that.

This latest push of 2,000 agents who are spread throughout the Twin Cities in Minneapolis comes as the Trump administration says that they have major concerns about fraud here in Minneapolis. There is a fraud problem here in Minneapolis. Make no mistake. Federal prosecutors have been working on fraud cases here for many years. Most of them started under the Biden administration.

Many of those who have been indicted are in the Somali-American community. And the Department of Homeland Security is -- seem to use it, using this as a justification for this ramped-up immigration enforcement effort that we are now seeing here, again, 2,000 agents spread throughout the Twin Cities.

And what we're seeing so far is these sort of individual moments where social media users are capturing ICE actions on the ground. But we haven't so far seen some of that big boots on the ground, sort of more visible presence that we saw in, say, Charlotte, Chicago, and New Orleans, although that could change.

We expect that Commander Greg Bovino is coming to Minneapolis. It is possible he's here right now, although I personally have not seen him yet. So we may see that bigger -- we will see that bigger -- that bigger, more visible push here.

Sorry. I think -- are you hearing how angry people are? I mean, I think this is a really interesting moment, because what happened earlier in the broadcast, if anybody was watching in the 12:00 hour, just hearing what DHS said happened with this shooting, people began screaming at me, because they are just so angry. People are angry.

They are looking for a target. Sometimes, that is me. But they are so offended by even the narrative that DHS is putting out. That is where we are right now -- back to you guys. SANCHEZ: Yes, Whitney Wild live for us in Minneapolis, as we're

following the story, DHS reporting that a woman was killed in an ICE- involved shooting. They are describing it as an act of terror. We are anticipating a press conference in the next 10 minutes or so.

We will, of course, bring you the latest details as we get them.

Whitney, please stand by.

Let's go to Brianna now with more news.

KEILAR: Let's check out this breaking news that we have been keeping our eye on. This has to do with the U.S. military seizing two oil tankers earlier today, one that Russia claims to own,the other captured in the Caribbean near Venezuela.

The video that you see behind me showing the movement -- or the moment, I should say, that U.S. forces overtook this second vessel during a predawn operation. As for the tanker that Russia claims to own, the U.S. Coast Guard has been chasing it for weeks. It was seized off the coast of Iceland after American forces were unable to board it in the Caribbean.

During the pursuit, CNN learning the crew on board changed the vessel's name and painted a Russian flag on the hull. A U.S. official saying the Russian military moved assets to the area, hoping to protect it before U.S. forces moved in. According to Russian state media, Moscow is now demanding the U.S. return Russians who were aboard the tanker.

And this is happening as Secretary of State Marco Rubio is outlining what he says is a three-phased plan for Venezuela, stabilization, recovery and transition. Rubio earlier suggesting a deal for oil has been struck, as the White House continues to make clear they're in control over when and how Venezuela sells oil and the money that's made from it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: As you have seen today, two more ships were seized. We are in the midst right now, and, in fact, about to execute on a deal to take all the oil. They have oil that is stuck in Venezuela.

They can't move it because of our quarantine and because it's sanctioned. We are going to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. We're going to sell it in the marketplace at market rates, not at the discounts Venezuela was getting. That money will then be handled in such a way that we will control how it is disbursed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime.

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So we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilization front.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: We're joined now by CNN military analyst retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

So, what is the significance of the Bella 1, AKA the Marinera, that is the renamed name here, being seized today?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Right, so this has several areas of significance.

First of all, as the Bella 1, it was a Guyanese-flagged tanker. So, as Bella 1, it's right here off of Iran, off the coast of Iran, makes this journey through the Mediterranean Sea, into the Atlantic Ocean. And, by December -- so we start in August, and by December we get to the coast off of Venezuela.

It starts to evade the U.S. blockade that is right here along the coastline of Venezuela. So by January 1, it starts moving away from here. We don't have the exact coordinates of where it was during this period.

KEILAR: Because it stops transmitting?

LEIGHTON: It stops -- that's exactly what happened. They stopped transmitting, and this was the process where they were starting to reflag the tanker, painting the flag on there.

And, by January 1, all of a sudden, it's got a Russian flag and is now known as the Marinera. And then we move up to today, where the U.S. has seized this tanker, and that, of course, is something really significant because that happened off the coast of Iceland. So, basically, we're talking a global effort here.

This shadow fleet that this tanker is a part of, as the Marinera and before that as the Bella 1, that is a fleet that is really a worldwide effort that supports Russia, supports Iran, supports Venezuela, Cuba, and a few other countries as well.

KEILAR: This is quite the game of chicken that the U.S. and Moscow are playing here. What does this escalation mean?

LEIGHTON: So when you look at exactly what has happened here, Brianna, you see the U.S. Coast Guard. This is them watching the vessel exactly as it's about to be seized.

And we basically had a whole bunch of assets in the area that were stationed, many of them in the U.K., including AC-130 gunships, Ospreys, V-22 Ospreys, the surveillance aircraft, the P-8 surveillance aircraft by the Navy, and, of course, transport aircraft, the U.S. C- 17s.

All of these were used in order to go after this ship. And what this means from a global perspective is that the Russians are actually using this to control a lot of the way that they can evade sanctions. So between the Russians, between the Iranians, between the Venezuelans and the Cubans, you have got a whole effort to evade sanctions, and this vessel is part of that fleet to do that. KEILAR: A very interesting look at this journey and what's happening

now.

Cedric, thank you very much for that.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Brianna.

KEILAR: Boris.

SANCHEZ: We are going to go back to that breaking news out of Minneapolis.

ICE -- DHS, I should say, confirming that one woman is dead after an ICE-involved shooting. We are awaiting a press conference from officials starting in just about two or three minutes.

We have CNN senior law enforcement analyst Chief Charles Ramsey with us now to break this down.

Chief Ramsey, I'm wondering, as this press conference is set to begin, what questions you might have about exactly what happened.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, they will present whatever facts they have at this point in time.

This isn't a very old case. It's only just been a few hours, and I have been to a lot of these scenes, whether it's an officer-involved shooting or otherwise. It takes time to really gather facts, to really have a clear picture, but they will have enough to be able to shed some light on what took place.

But don't be surprised if there's still a lot of gaps in terms of information, simply because it's early in the investigation.

SANCHEZ: And given those gaps in information, Chief, what do you make of the way that DHS has put out this statement pretty quickly after this happened, saying that an ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots, using his training to save his own life and fellow officers, describing the woman's actions as an alleged act of terrorism?

Is it clear that they have enough information gathered at this point to make those assessments?

RAMSEY: I doubt if they have that much information. A statement like, that is pretty concrete, but it's also premature.

I don't know what they have, but normally you don't have that much at the beginning of an investigation like that to make that kind of definitive statement. And there's no doubt there's video that's available. There was a protest taking place. People are videotaping the protest. Someone probably videotaped this incident.

Maybe it came from a Ring doorbell. It could be anything, but there's a lot of evidence that has to be gone through. You have to interview witnesses. There's a lot that has to happen. To come out with a statement like that at this point in time, I think it's premature. I don't know what they have, but I think that's a little too soon to make that kind of statement.

And you lose credibility. I mean, if things turn out that's not the case, then, I mean, you lose credibility immediately when something like this occurs. So they're better off just simply saying, we're aware of the situation, it's under investigation, and we will be sharing information in the near future as soon as we have more facts. That's what they should be saying, but...

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KEILAR: And it's very interesting to note there.

Chief, stay with us, as we note we are awaiting this press conference with the mayor of Minneapolis and the police chief, as well as other city leaders, about this shooting in Minneapolis involving ICE agents. That should be coming up here any minute. And you see the podium there. We were just showing it.

Priscilla Alvarez is with us now.

Put this moment into context and tell us what you're learning.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, one of the questions that's likely to come up during this press conference that we don't have an answer to is the status of this woman. Is she a U.S. citizen?

That is something that the Department of Homeland Security did not say, calling, saying alleged perpetrator in their statement. I have asked the department and they have not provided that detail. So I think that's a big question going into this presser.

I will say I have been texting with sources who are shocked by what they are seeing and by this statement, because, generally, the policy for Immigration and Customs Enforcement is that the subject has to pose an imminent threat of serious injury and/or death for it to justify a shooting.

Flight or escape does not constitute that deadly force that they get trained on so often. So there are already so many questions here as to, what does defensive shots mean? Did they meet that threshold of threat of serious injury and/or death? Now, again, that is general ICE policy.

It is these types of questions that are asked during an internal investigation. And that is what these shootings tend to prompt internally within the Department of Homeland Security.

But, again, to set the scene here, this is a remarkable moment in Minneapolis because of the sheer volume of agents that are there, the Department of Homeland Security deploying 2,000 federal agents to the state of Minnesota to conduct these immigration enforcement operations. In this case, they say they were conducting a targeted operation. And it was ICE-involved. That's important there because there are multiple agencies that have been involved in these operations, U.S. Border Patrol being another. But in this case, it appears to have been ICE. From the video we have seen on the ground after the fact, U.S. Border Patrol was there. We don't know what they were doing, aside from perhaps crowd control.

But this has been a big operation, in fact, according to the acting ICE director, the larger immigration operation to date. And for that immigration operation to now be marked too with the death of an individual, we will see what that means moving forward. But there are still so many questions here, regardless of this statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

And it is the actions of this ICE officer that are likely to be scrutinized in that investigation. But I can tell you, from what I'm hearing from my sources, ICE has been doing targeted operations for years. And for something like this to happen, it is a rare circumstance.

Yes, it is a different moment, a political climate, and we do see more riders and protesters at these operations, but really folks are aghast by this.

SANCHEZ: And, Priscilla, correct me if I'm wrong, but last year there were several incidents similar to this one, vehicles allegedly used in a defensive way...

ALVAREZ: Right.

SANCHEZ: ... or in an aggressive way toward federal agents.

And at times, in at least one case that I recall, the administration had made allegations toward an individual that turned out not to be true, suggesting that they were using their vehicle to ram officers. And later they had to wind up dropping charges against someone. Is that correct?

ALVAREZ: I think you're talking about an incident that happened in the Chicago area...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

ALVAREZ: ... where they were trying to get a target, and in doing so that target continued to move forward with the vehicle, and they said that vehicle dragged the officer, prompting those shots.

That was another incident where we did see shots fired. And, again, that was similarly dissected to see what the facts of the case were there. And we are in that moment now, where each of these incidents do have to be dissected and investigated. They always have been, but now we have been seeing multiple videos on social media.

And it is trying to piece it all together. You heard there from Charles Ramsey that this statement from the Department of Homeland Security appeared to be premature, because, while it states some of the facts they say happened on the ground, we just don't know that to be true.

This is still so fresh for the agents who are there. And there are so many of them who came from all over the country to deploy to this area. So there have been more aggressive tactics by federal agents as they conduct these immigration operations. They say it has also been more dangerous for them as they conduct the operations.

But this certainly, again, leaves so many questions unanswered in terms of the situation and in terms to who this perpetrator was and what is the justification for the statement that this is act of domestic terrorism? That, in particular -- and I think that's what Charles Ramsey was hinting at -- seems to be particularly premature.

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KEILAR: How long ago did this occur?

ALVAREZ: Only hours ago.

KEILAR: And so how long does it normally take when you're looking at some kind of definitive statement like this?

ALVAREZ: Look, this is a different administration. I have covered many Departments of Homeland Security, and it can take a long time. Typically, you will get the evolving situation statement and investigation into this. Even just internally with the Department of Homeland Security, would take months, if not years.

So the final answers on what exactly happened here could take a long time. But even so, just getting this statement out of the gate was surprising, because, typically, we only get the, we're still gathering information as to what happened and the officers are typically also brought in to be interviewed to understand the set of events.

KEILAR: Which there's a lot of questions about whether that would have happened at this point in time. There were multiple officers present, multiple witnesses, and a lot of people to be interviewed who would have perspectives on this.

(CROSSTALK)

ALVAREZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Let's go back to Chief Ramsey as we await the start of this press briefing.

Chief, as we were just discussing the extent of what an investigation like this would look like, talk to us about the details there, the kind of evidence that's gathered and how long it usually takes for a conclusion to be brought.

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, it's going to depend on the complexity of the case, the circumstances.

But you're gathering evidence. And a lot of it has to do with interviewing witnesses, if there's any video that's available at the time. You have to do, at the scene, forensics at the scene. Does what actually -- does it match the statements made by the officer? Does the evidence at the scene really match that or not?

So there's a lot that goes into it. And it's far too early for them to be making the kind of statements they're making. It may turn out to be absolutely true, but the bottom line is this. And it's just -- to me, the one thing that's, the most important thing, was the officer justified in using deadly force at the time they fired that firearm?

And that's the bottom line. They may have been justified, they may not have been justified, but that's really the heart of this whole thing, not whether or not you want ICE in Minneapolis or you don't want ICE in Minneapolis. Was that officer justified in the use of deadly force?

What took place that led them to that particular point in time when they had to actually use deadly force against that individual?

KEILAR: All right, let's listen to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem who just addressed this ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: You asked about a shooting that we just had in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was an act of domestic terrorism. What happened was, our ICE officers were out in enforcement action.

They got stuck in the snow because of the adverse weather that is in Minneapolis. They were attempting to push out their vehicle. And a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him.

And my understanding is, is that she was hit and is deceased. We're continuing to gather more information, but this goes to show the assaults that our ICE officers and our law enforcement are under every single day. These vehicle rammings are domestic acts of terrorism. We're working with the Department of Justice to prosecute them as such.

We will continue to protect our ICE officers and in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That was Secretary Noem responding to this incident in Minneapolis, as we're still awaiting word from officials on what their conclusions are regarding what happened there or at least their initial assessments of what happened there.

And, Priscilla, you were just detailing for us that there are very specific guidelines on the use of force involving a vehicle that these officers have to comply with.

ALVAREZ: Yes. Yes, all federal agents have this use of force training and policy.

Look, generally, what the policy is in this type of situation is that you can't shoot at the vehicle. You only shoot at the driver or the occupant if they are posing that serious threat toward another officer.

And I think that's the question here, because, for example, if someone -- if an officer were to shoot at the driver and they were trying to ram another officer, the vehicle is still in motion, so it does not stop that motion. So this is all -- this is what all of the officers are constantly thinking through and what they're trained on when they are out on the field.

So I think the question here is, was there anything about this woman that was posing a threat aside from the vehicle? And if it is the vehicle that was the basis for this, where was the vehicle headed? What exactly would have prompted what the Department of Homeland Security is calling those defensive shots?

I also want to note, because we played that sound bite from the homeland security secretary, she is currently along the U.S. southern border. This was previously planned. She has been there surveying some of the technology that has been put up along the U.S. southern border.

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So that is why she's there. and there was a press conference to follow where she was asked about the shooting. But I just wanted to set the scene as to where we were seeing the homeland security secretary. And she is, by the way -- or was, rather -- she was in Minneapolis yesterday.

SANCHEZ: Right.

ALVAREZ: She actually was along the ride for a targeted operation where they did arrest an individual. So, just 24 hours or so ago, she was actually in Minneapolis. Now she's on the U.S. southern border, where she was asked and provided that answer about the shooting.

KEILAR: And there are, at this point, videos that are circulating online. CNN obviously is aware of this. And we have folks who are looking through them to make sure what is verifiable, obviously.

And, obviously, this is a very alarming incident that has happened. So we do have a process that we are going through as we are looking through those.

But, Priscilla, I mean, you're looking at this situation in Minneapolis, if we kind of zoom out, just the broader situation when it comes to this immigration operation.

ALVAREZ: Yes.

KEILAR: And we were just talking to Whitney Wild, who's there on the ground, and just the palpable anger of the people around her in the aftermath of what has happened there, there are going to be -- we know this.

Even as we may see video evidence, there are going to be competing narratives. We can guarantee it.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: But there is a lot of anger there. And I wonder, as you're looking at that, what is the expectation about how this is sort of affecting that interaction with this immigration -- this broader immigration action there?

ALVAREZ: Well, I think people forget that ICE has been in these cities for years. They conduct operations often.

But in this political climate, and as they have surged these operations, it certainly agitates the local community, not to mention the rhetoric around these operations. So I think two things can be true here. One, yes, we are seeing more protesters and rioters as they conduct these operations.

But the other part is also true of the Department of Homeland Security, that the officers themselves are facing increasing threats. So all of this adds to what can often be chaotic scenes, in this case, Minneapolis, but before that in Chicago, in Charlotte, in New Orleans.

And these are the types of scenarios that are also contested in federal court, where there have been -- because you said competing narratives -- where those narratives come to bear and where federal -- a federal judge, at least in Illinois, found that some of those narratives provided by the Department of Homeland Security were false.

And so that is -- and we will see here, by the way, if there is any litigation to follow. But, certainly, to your point, Brianna, there is this heightened sense of threat across the board in the immigrant community, in the law enforcement community, but they're supposed to be trained to know how to handle these situations and briefed on what to do in the event that happens.

SANCHEZ: I just want to point to an update posted on social media moments ago by Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota. And we are working to confirm all the information that we're getting, but this is certainly a significant detail.

She says -- quote -- "A U.S. citizen has apparently been shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis." She says she's gathering information, but the situation on the ground is volatile. She adds that: "ICE leave now for everyone's safety."

I want to go back to Whitney Wild, who is a reporter on the ground there who has been watching all of this.

And it is indeed a volatile situation. As we have been looking at these aerial shots, Whitney, we see that there's a very large crowd focused on this scene.

WILD: That's right, Boris. Let me give you a look here at what you're seeing on the ground,

because you're seeing a lot of people chanting, a lot of people directing their frustration at the Minneapolis Police Department. I have spoken with several people on the ground here who have really different perspectives on what the role of Minneapolis police is in this moment.

Just to set this in context, and everyone I have spoken to has brought this up, we are four blocks from where George Floyd was killed. This city erupted after that happened. And what I have heard people say in the crowd here is, if you thought that was bad, this is going to be worse.

People are very, very angry, a lot -- again, a lot of that anger directed at the Minneapolis Police Department. Some people I spoke with said that they feel like, in this moment, Minneapolis police is protecting ICE, the agency that shot that civilian.

We are working to learn more about this woman. We have spoken with someone who says that she knows her. So we're trying to gather more information on who she was. But I think what people here are stressing is that these are our people. This is something that they didn't ask for.

This ramped-up immigration effort, as we have been talking about for two days now, is the result of the Trump administration really fixating on the state of Minnesota, 2,000 agents spread throughout the Twin Cities.