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Pentagon to Brief Trump on Military Options for Iran; Camp Mystic Withdraws Application to Reopen this Summer; Prosecutors Reveal Disturbing Details in D4vd Case; Exiled Cuban Dissident Says the Venezuela Playbook Isn't Necessary in Cuba. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 30, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Today's sources say Pentagon officials are expected to brief President Trump on updated military options for Iran. People familiar with the talks say Trump's team is preparing for a possible long-term closure of the Strait of Hormuz to inflict as much economic pain as possible and force Tehran back to the negotiating table.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Now a U.S. State Department cable seen by CNN is calling on foreign governments to join a new coalition aimed at establishing security in the Strait. Though it is worth noting, Trump has repeatedly asserted the U.S. doesn't need any help.

Let's discuss all of this with Javed Ali. He served as the senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration. He's now an associate professor at the University of Michigan.

Also here, former Defense Intelligence Agency official and the associate campaigns director for the advocacy group Win Without War, Major Harrison Mann.

Thank you both for being with us. Major, first to you, what options do you think President Trump is being presented with as far as kinetic action go right now?

MAJ. HARRISON MANN, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes, I don't really know how we could call these updated options because bombing Iran in every form you could do it has been tried, right, for the first 40 days of this war. So I think maybe this is a pretty feeble pressure tactic to try and warn Tehran that they could get bombed again if they don't make concessions. But we already tried that.

They already weathered it. So I don't really understand how they can expect that to achieve a different result. Beyond that, you know, you could threaten more kind of war crimes or infrastructure strikes.

But again, Trump's tried that two or three times now and it didn't really have an impact.

KEILAR: It does feel that they're kind of stuck as they're trying to figure out a way forward here. And the President, Javed, told Axios that he believes the blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. You have Iran's oil minister telling Iranians to cut energy consumption.

Does that speak to what Trump is saying? I mean, is there really a sign that this is a bit of a hurt that might drive Iran to the table?

JAVED ALI, FORMER SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM, NSC UNDER TRUMP: Well, I'm sure it's having an effect inside Iran. But Iran also thinks it has leverage by the blockade that it has imposed or its attempts to interfere with shipping. So at this point, both the U.S. and Iran look like they have just dug in, to this protracted sort of conflict. But it's not necessarily with on the military side now. Now it's on the economic side with these mutual blockades that each country is imposing on the other.

SANCHEZ: There's some new CNN reporting indicating that the economic ramifications for Iranians have been near catastrophic. You also have the new supreme leader, who no one has directly seen or heard from, issuing a new statement saying that Iran would continue moving forward and safeguarding its nuclear capabilities, its missile capabilities as well. Do you think that in the long term, the U.S. is likely to move off its position first, given that this is an existential crisis for Iran, also a religious one?

ALI: So again, this is one of the most important issues. Who is going to blink first in this standoff? Is it going to be the U.S. based on all the economic costs, both here and globally? Or will it be the regime, which by all accounts looks like it is day to day being run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and that next echelon of generals who survived the first wave of strikes on February 28th? And the supreme leader, as you said, Boris, has not been seen. He isn't even in a position to functionally serve at the same level.

So it's the hardliners in the IRGC who are making all these decisions.

KEILAR: There is this view that the ongoing talks are obviously very focused on the nuclear issue. And when it comes to some of the other issues that are outstanding, proxy groups, ballistic missiles, those threats that Tehran wields, maybe those are going to be left to other countries in the Gulf to deal with.

[14:35:00]

How real do you think that is?

MANN: I hope that's real. I mean, that's a smart way to end this war. Iran's missile program and its regional proxies to them, right, that's the most important part of their military.

Those are existential ways that, from their point of view, they protect themselves. And so I think it was always unrealistic from before this war to make those demands, basically asking them to disarm themselves. And so I would hope that the Trump administration can remove those things from the negotiating table, because that would mean they're actually serious about achieving a deal. SANCHEZ: Javed, what is the viability of this international coalition aiming to secure the Strait of Hormuz? Is it a serious step forward? Do you think it'll come together?

ALI: I actually don't think it will. At least the probability of that seems unlikely, just because of everything we've heard from Europe, from other Gulf countries, that they just don't seem to be willing to put more of their own capabilities into this conflict, because they didn't start it. We've heard that from several leaders now.

Plus, it's a question of operational capacity as well. The rest of these other countries don't really have the ability to form this kind of naval coalition, even if that's what folks in the White House or the Pentagon think.

KEILAR: I'm curious what you both think about what we heard yesterday, this debate between Secretary Hegseth and Democrats about whether or not this is a quagmire, or even, let's say, headed towards a quagmire. The Secretary was saying, we're only two months into this. Don't compare this to forever wars that you would call a quagmire.

But there also doesn't seem to be, at this point, an off-ramp and also a way to maybe cleanly extract when this does wind down from this conflict. How do you see that question of a quagmire, Major?

MANN: So the good news is this will not be a quagmire for a long time, because this is the first country we've picked on in the Middle East that can actually bring the pain back to Americans, right, with economic warfare in this case. So there is a clock ticking. There's a lot of debate over how long, but the status quo with this mutual blockade is not sustainable, right?

When U.S. gas prices go to $5, which I think is pretty much expected now, and beyond, when folks can't fly or take road trips over the summer, there's going to be serious pressure and discontent that Trump and Republicans and Democrats are going to have to deal with. So while there is sort of an impasse right now, it can't go on for that long. And I also think the idea that this pressure will collapse Iran's economy, and even if that happens, they will still be too poor to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, is just really not realistic.

So I don't really think it's going to be much of a staring contest in the long run.

ALI: So I would agree that I don't think we're into a quagmire, but I do think this is going to go on for at least the next few months. But eventually, by either the end of the summer or end of the fall, this is going to have to stop because of the prices here, the price we know already for the cost of the war, the effects on the midterms. And I think that's how the White House is looking at this.

SANCHEZ: Javed Ali, Major Harrison Mann, appreciate you both. Thanks so much.

Still to come this afternoon, gruesome new details, including disturbing online purchases emerging in the murder case against singer D4vd.

We'll be right back.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: New today, Camp Mystic, the girls' summer camp in Texas, where more than two dozen campers and counselors were killed in devastating flooding last July, says it's now withdrawing its application to reopen this summer. Earlier this week, state lawmakers pushed back on the camp's reopening plan during two days of emotional hearings, including questioning why the camp's evacuation plan was to shelter in place.

One lawmaker saying, quote, the fate of those girls was set before any first drop of rain ever fell. CNN's Pam Brown has been following this story for us. So, Pam, what were you learning?

PAM BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Well, I'll tell you, Boris, this is an unexpected term because Camp Mystic was supposed to open its doors in just a few weeks. It was waiting for its license to be issued. But now it is announcing in the wake of these hearings, these last couple of weeks, that it won't be reopening its doors this summer, that it's withdrawing its application to reopen for campers for the 2026 summer season.

It's notable that more than 800 girls had signed up to be part of this camp session. But at the same time, Boris, the camp was under mounting pressure from state leaders, including the lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who had been calling on the state agency not to issue the license to the camp until all investigations were complete and all corrective measures were taken. The mounting pressure also came from families from the Heavens 27.

Those were the families that lost their little girls in the floods last summer around July 4th, as you'll recall. They had been calling on the camp not to reopen, especially because one of the campers, Cile Steward, an eight-year-old little girl, still has not been found.

Now, in the statement today that Mystic released, it says, "No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue, and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July's tragedy. We commend DSHS," which stands for the Department of State Health Services, "for their testimony this week that recognized our legal obligations. But rather than risk defending our rights under Texas law in a manner that may unintentionally affect further harm, we choose rather to withdraw our application for the 2026 camp season."

[14:45:00]

Now, investigators from that agency had told lawmakers that the Easton family, who owns and runs the camp, that they had failed to build a flash flood evacuation plan, hold drills, or give the counselors any serious training and preparation for a major weather event like what we saw last July 4th with that deadly flooding. And I should also note this past week was the first time the Eastlands directly apologized to the families who lost their girls.

I've been in touch with many of the families from Heavens 27 since the flooding, and I'm told that this is welcome news to them. They have been fighting for this. And Matthew Childress, whose daughter Chloe was one of the two counselors who died, shared this statement with me after this news, saying, quote, "We never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that. As Camp Mystic steps back, we step forward with an unshakable commitment to remembrance, to accountability, and to ensuring our daughters' lives leave a lasting impact that protects others."

Boris.

SANCHEZ: Pam Brown, thank you so much for that reporting -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Grisly and disturbing details are emerging in the murder case against singer D4vd. D4vd is accused of sexually abusing, killing, and dismembering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. And in new court documents, prosecutors reveal not only a motive but an unsettling timeline.

They allege the murder and attempted cover-up happened at the same time that David was doing radio interviews and attending a release party for his first album.

CNN's Kyung Lah has been following this case. Kyung, walk us through these details here.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are very disturbing, Brianna. We do want to warn you. The detailed timeline that prosecutors have laid out in this court document really explains everything up until her death as they see it, as what the evidence they say shows. In addition to the relationship, that Celeste was just 11 when she met the future pop star, that they had a sexual relationship that began when she was 13 and continued for more than a year. And then when it fell apart, prosecutors were able to track that because of text messages.

This first text message details this sort of fight, this argument that they had, where on March 2025, a month before her death, she texted him, "All we do is have sex and just hang out, man. I want more than that for myself." And in looking at the extended timeline around the time of this girl's death, on April 22nd, a text message between Celeste and D4vd, she threatened to expose D4vd for having a relationship with a child, that child being her.

The next day, D4vd sent an Uber, according to the complaint, to bring Celeste to his house. She lived with her parents more than an hour away, about 70 miles away, and she traveled via that Uber to his Hollywood Hills home. On that same day, all of her cell phone activity stopped.

The next day, D4vd went to an album release party. And then on the 25th, his first studio album was set to be released. The complaint also goes through some of the purchases that they say could be linked to D4vd.

They say that he purchased a shovel at Home Depot, and that purchase is tracked on Postmates. There were, via Amazon, purchased two chainsaws, a body bag, heavy-duty laundry bags, an inflatable pool. Bits of that exact pool would later be retrieved from Celeste's remains, including a burn cage that was not used.

It is important to note that it was purchased, all of this, under a fake name, according to the complaint. We did reach out to D4vd's attorney, Brianna, who said that this was, quote, replete with hearsay. They feel it is one-sided and potentially could taint a future jury pool -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you for taking us through that -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now, some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Maine Governor Janet Mills suspending her Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Senate, releasing a statement saying she doesn't have the financial resources to continue. This clears the way for Graham Platner, an oyster farmer, to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins, who's running for her sixth term, but is considered among the most vulnerable lawmakers heading into the midterms.

Also, an incredible rescue to show you near Fort Worth, Texas. Police using jumper cables to save a mom from raging floodwaters after her three young kids were able to escape safely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need something to get wrapped around her so we can pull her. Hey, why is this coming? Give it, come on.

I'm going to give you some cables. I'm going to wrap around you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A frightening scene there. They were able to loop the cables under the mom's arms, helped keeping her secure until crews were able to hook a chain to the car and drag it out of the water, getting everyone to safety.

And in Madison, Wisconsin, a two-year-old kid got stuck in one of those claw machines.

[14:50:00]

The boy squeezed through an opening in the machine and climbed up and then realized he was trapped in a glass case of emotion. One of the employees called 911. And of course, the dad posted video of the rescue online. So far, it's reached more than a million views. Poor kid. Glad to say he's home now and safe, hopefully with one of those plush toys.

Still ahead, the future of U.S. relations with Cuba. We speak with a pro-democracy activist to get her perspective after President Trump has spoken about taking the island. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:00]

KEILAR: For the first time in nearly seven years, a commercial flight has traveled from the U.S. to Venezuela. American Airlines is the first U.S. carrier to relaunch a daily service to Caracas. The two countries are gradually normalizing relations after the ouster of Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro.

CNN's David Culver filed this report just before he boarded the inaugural flight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're walking towards the massive crowd around gate D55 here at Miami International Airport. And the reason there is so much fanfare and press and U.S. and Venezuelan officials is because this is, as they portray it, to be a very historic moment. The first time in nearly seven years that direct flights are resuming between the U.S. and Venezuela.

Now, all of this follows what played out earlier this year, January 3rd, the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. That has led to a lot of changes, at least between the relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela. Some question whether it's substantive changes on the ground in Venezuela.

And it's one of the reasons we're actually with our luggage and about to board this flight because we want to see for ourselves what it's like for the folks on the ground. We want to hear from them directly. Meantime, you have what is the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S. here in Miami-Dade County, which is why this spot in particular, this location is so crucial for the start of those direct flights and the resumption of, as they say, connectivity between the two countries.

I mean, they've got a whole setup here. Even before we came through security, they had massive balloons with the Venezuelan flag. They had a dedicated check-in place.

And then out here, you can see they've got a full buffet, cafecitos being served. And they have just had a press conference where you had U.S. officials, you had American Airlines officials and executives, and you had officials from Venezuela speaking about the historic aspect of this moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to David Culver for that report. As relations between the U.S. and the government in Caracas are restored, the Trump administration's approach to Cuba remains in question. President Trump has repeatedly talked about taking Cuba and has not ruled out using force, as the White House did to remove Nicolas Maduro, installing Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Venezuela's new interim leader. I recently sat down with Rosa Maria Paya, an exiled Cuban dissident who says the Venezuela playbook isn't necessary in Cuba, though she does back the Trump administration's pressure campaign on the island. Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA MARIA PAYA, PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST (through translator): Delcy Rodriguez is not needed in Cuba. We Cubans are perfectly prepared. A democratic alternative already exists for Cuba.

We have a plan.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Cuban opposition leader Rosa Maria Paya says the island doesn't just need a new economy, it needs a new republic. Unlike Venezuela, where Washington is working through existing authoritarian leadership, she says Cuba already has an alternative plan toward democracy, a four-step proposal signed by opposition groups earlier this year called the Freedom Accord.

PAYA (through translator): No, nothing changes in Cuba unless there is political change. There is not a single reason why we Cubans cannot have our own political parties, our own newspapers, hold private property, be able to enter and leave the country freely, and be able to say whatever we want within our own country. None of that costs money.

Why must we Cubans settle for less?

SANCHEZ (voice-over): That question is one her father died trying to answer. Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba's most celebrated dissidents, died in a 2012 car crash. International human rights investigators concluded that Cuban authorities were responsible. A finding the government in Havana rejects, claiming his death was accidental.

While Oswaldo Paya explicitly opposed any military intervention in Cuba, his daughter says she backs all forms of pressure from the Trump administration. Though she is demanding a peaceful transition, she argues the Cuban government should be held responsible for any violence.

PAYA (through translator): This conflict is between a group of military officers who have hijacked our state, plunged our people into misery and divided our nation, and an entire people who are tired of this fraud and wish to move forward into the future in freedom. Our people deserve the solidarity of the United States.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): I also asked Paya whether she believed Trump's policy was making life worse for ordinary Cubans. As critics, including lawmakers and influencers who recently met with President Diaz-Canel in Havana, argue that Cuba's crisis has been driven by U.S. sanctions and the embargo.

PAYA (through translator): The propaganda of the Cuban dictatorship is what has been predominantly known about the reality of our country over the last 60 years. So to all those who are ... END