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CNN International: Trump Back Off Tariff Threat after Agreement with Colombia; ICE Reports Nearly 1,000 Immigration Arrests Across the U.S. Sunday; World Leaders Mark 80 Year Since Liberation of Auschwitz; ICE Agents Announce "Enhanced Targeted Operations"; Holocaust Survivor Shares his Story with Next Generation; Rain with Palisades Burn Area Causes Debris Flow. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired January 27, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Everyone and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN "Newsroom". Just ahead a showdown between the U.S. and Colombia. The deportation flights resume after President Trump pauses tariffs. And tens of thousands of Palestinians head home after Israel opens up Northern Gaza.

But could Mr. Trump's latest comments threaten the fragile ceasefire? We'll tell you what he said over the weekend. Plus, we mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and hear from Holocaust survivors on this very important anniversary.

President Donald Trump is claiming victory after Colombia relented in a standoff over flights carrying deported migrants. The dispute began over the weekend when Colombia's President refused to let two U.S. military planes with repatriated migrants on board land in his country.

He accused the U.S. of treating Colombian migrants like criminals. Well, the Trump Administration then threatened steep tariffs on Colombian imports. And Colombia's President pushed back with his own tariff threats, but by Sunday evening, the White House said Colombia had agreed to quote, all of President Trump's terms. Colombia's Foreign Minister had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIS GILBERTO MURILLO, COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The Colombian government reports that we have overcome the impasse with the government of the United States. The government of Colombia, under the direction of President Gustavo Petro, has the presidential plane ready to facilitate the return of the compatriots who were to arrive in the country today in the morning, on deportation flights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Meanwhile, Brazil is slamming the U.S. treatment of repatriated migrants, calling it degrading. It says 88 deportees were handcuffed by their feet and hands and placed on a U.S. flight that was in poor condition. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDGAR DA SILVA MOURA, PASSENGER: They wouldn't give us water. It was difficult to get food. It was very hot with children inside the aircraft. We asked to go to the bathroom, and they wouldn't let us. We got up and said, I need to go to the bathroom, bathroom, please. And they just pushed us, sit, sit down. And we felt very oppressed by that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Well, Brazil's Foreign Ministry says that violates an agreement with the U.S. that calls for dignified, respectful and humane treatment of those being sent back. Our Stefano Pozzebon has more now from Bogota.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: President Petro was trying to send a message. The message was that they would not accept the military flights, or what he calls an inhumane treatment of these migrants. In one of the things that apparently was particularly hard to digest is that many times migrants being deported back from the United States arrive here in Latin America in handcuffs, as if they have committed any crime.

And of course, the position of the Latin American government is that a migrant does not commit a crime just by crossing into the United States, however, undocumented. Now, of course, that is the same that happened -- today with Brazil and Mexico, who have also protested this treatment.

Petro tried to draw a line, and then probably well we have seen on one side, the Twitter diplomacy, or X diplomacy, we should call it with. Petro posting his ideas and his state policies on X in real time. And Donald Trump doing the same on his own social media, through social, as if the two leaders were almost messaging and each other and bickering, frankly, in front of our eyes.

And on the other hand, we have seen the diplomatic back channels that have provided a fruit and provided a success. Colombia has been a staunch ally of North America, of the United States over the last 50 years. These channels have always worked in the last few hours.

Throughout today, we were in touch resources, with experts, with analysts, with diplomats who were telling us that the phones were really busy as the professionals were trying to amend the rift that the two presidents had caused. And in the end, we're still seeing two different versions.

On the one side, the White House saying that Colombia has caved and they have accepted all of President Trump's terrors. And on the other side, the Colombian government saying that they will accept deportation flights or with humane treatment. Maybe it's just a matter of using civilian aircraft rather than military aircraft, because this country has received more than 124 deportation flights over the last 12 months.

[08:05:00]

So, it's not like that these flights are a new thing. What really triggered this reaction was the use of military aircraft and probably the handcuffs towards these migrants.

WALKER: And that was our Stefano Pozzebon reporting. More immigration raids across the U.S. are expected this week, and that will likely spark more backlash from across Latin American countries. Later this hour, Guatemala's Foreign Minister will talk to the press, and Mexico's President will hold her daily briefing next hour.

We will, of course, bring you any developments. Now, these raids are all about President Trump keeping his pledge to round up a large number of undocumented immigrants. Federal agents conducted immigration raids in several U.S. cities over the weekend, including Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

They say they arrested almost 1000 people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally. Now there is at least some PR consideration behind these raids. Sources tell CNN that immigration agents have been told to dress for the cameras during the raids, and the Trump Administration has been releasing photos of agents in action.

Let's dive a bit deeper now into the politics of all of this. I'm joined now by Corey Brettschneider. He is a Political Science Professor at Brown University. Corey, thank you for your time. Let's start with this escalation with the country of Colombia. And then, of course, the concession by the president there.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, he blocked the U.S. military flights with undocumented immigrants from landing. And then you had Trump making these threats of tariffs and sanctions. And then the Colombian President backing down and conceding. Can you talk, first of all, the optics of this, and just obviously, how this portrays President Trump, you know, as the man in charge, this is a big win for him.

COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS SCIENCE AT BROWN UNIVERSITY: Absolutely, this is a president who really wants to restore massive power to the presidency, really to go beyond where even our most powerful presidents have been, and so certainly, from that perspective, from the perspective of raw power, it looks like an important early victory, not just in his attempt to send a message to the world, but a message to the United States.

Now whether or not that could continue this kind of brinksmanship, this aggressive sort of stance, whether it will work with more powerful nations is open to question. And also, whether or not the same theme which domestically has him participating and leading these roundups that you're talking about, this really unprecedented use of power domestically.

He'll take this as an early victory. But will that keep up? It's unclear. I think there will be some serious pushback there too.

WALKER: Think you know, leaders around the world are viewing this how they're preparing to deal with Trump, you know, and I'm including not just U.S. adversaries, like a China or Russia, but also, you know, U.S. allies, you know. Do you think the preparations are for retaliation, or, you know, to perhaps try to appease President Trump?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Well, I think that there's a serious wakeup call being given to our allies, that there has been a long special relationship between the United States and its closest allies, alliances like NATO, I think to some degree, have been taken for granted, and that's no longer the case.

This is a president who is willing to, and you saw this with Colombia, to create either tension, or even more extreme tensions, with historically close allies. He really doesn't care about the norms, in fact, because he wants to be a norm breaking president, you're going to see him dig into relationships that have often been taken for granted.

So, take NATO. I mean, there's a possibility that this president might not only create tensions with NATO, but might pull out.

WALKER: What might you be watching for then, as Secretary of State, Marco Rubio makes this trip, you know, to Panama, to Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, obviously, to push to halt the flows of immigration into the U.S. You know, what might these conversations sound like? Carrots and sticks or more sticks?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Well, I think what you saw, although Trump is going to frame this as a victory, I think the President of Colombia will frame it as a victory too, that he stood up to the President of the United States, that he doesn't work for the president that these are independent sovereign nations.

And in particular, where it comes to Panama, where the President has had some of his most aggressive rhetoric, talking about retaking the Panama Canal for instance. I think you'll see more of that that really this is a message that, even though, in the end, there was a backing down, that it's really important to, at least in terms of rhetoric, to speak back.

WALKER: You know, before we go, I do want to show you a poll that was recently taken by the Associated Press, and it showed that most Americans, this is in early January.

[08:10:00]

You know, that show that, you know, most Americans did favor increasing security at the U.S. border and deporting undocumented immigrants with a violent criminal conviction, 83 percent in favor of that. My question is, you know, as these raids continue, as you know, Americans see more and more images and hear stories of you know, perhaps more families being separated these sensitive areas like churches and schools and hospitals.

You know, seeing ICE agents or what have you coming in and detaining you know, undocumented immigrants or alleged undocumented immigrants. Do you feel that this could turn into a potential political liability and could hurt President Trump and his immigration crackdown?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Absolutely, as you put it, on the campaign trail, Trump talked about violent criminals as if there were so many of them that he could get to the numbers by just deporting violent criminals. That's not what's going on at all. And that's not what's going to go on.

You're going to see ICE trying to reach its quotas. And he's put very high quotas on the numbers that he wants to see of people arrested and deported. That's going to include vulnerable people. It's not going to be just criminals. It'll be families. And I think you're going to see the American people in the same way that Colombia tried to push back.

The American people are going to start, stop -- start, to push back, because that's not what they signed up for. And we haven't seen a massive movement against this mass deportation, but I think it will be coming in the near future.

WALKER: All right. Well, we'll watch for it with you. Corey Brettschneider, Political Science Professor, thank you very much for the conversation. Well, Mr. Trump pledged repeatedly on the campaign trail, as you heard there from Corey, to tackle immigration as a priority.

Priscilla Alvarez joining us now from Washington. Hi, Priscilla, you know, the back and forth with Colombia was settled pretty quickly. What can we expect from Trump's dealings with other countries from here on out?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, what was interesting about the public spat between the U.S. and Colombia is that they are close allies. There have been agreements for Colombia to take flights of repatriated nationals. But the Colombian President was seeking issue over the weekend about them being returned on military aircraft, typically, they would be sent in civilian aircraft.

Of course, the Trump Administration has been rolling out this new effort under the National Emergency declaration to deport migrants on C-17s. Now all the same, though, Amara, this is telling of the way that the U.S. plans to handle countries who try to push back on the president's immigration agenda, in this case, even going so far as too feud with an ally publicly and threaten to slap emergency tariffs on that country.

Now, this is an issue that the U.S. has grappled with for years under multiple administrations with other countries, for example, Venezuela. The U.S. has frosty relations with them, which means that we generally can't repatriate Venezuelans to Venezuela. And it is those types of issues that the Trump Administration will have to navigate, just as the Biden Administration before them and the many administrations before that.

And so, this episode gave a signal, at least, that's what Trump Administration officials tell me to the world, that they are going to force these countries to repatriate their citizens. Now time will tell as to how exactly that is going to unfold. But of course, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, will be going to Latin America this week, and you can expect that that's going to be part of the conversation that he is having with these countries.

Of course, the U.S., over the years has seen more people at the U.S.- Mexico border from all parts of the world, not just from the three countries that we have talked about before, like Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. So, this is going to be a challenge, but certainly the weekend gave a preview as to how the Trump Administration might tackle it.

WALKER: And Priscilla then, what is your sense of you know how these immigration crackdowns, these raids, will continue to play out, knowing you know that there are some quotas that ICE agents have been given? And, of course, you know the Trump Administration, you know telling agents to basically dress for the cameras.

ALVAREZ: Well, what was notable about the operations over the weekend was that it included multiple federal agencies. That includes, for example, Justice Department, agencies like ATF, DEA, FBI for a mission that was immigration centric. Now that is notable because last week, the Department of Homeland Security extended immigration authority to those agencies.

So now what they're seeing in the United States is these teams of officers who are carrying out what they call targeted operations, meaning going after public safety and national security threats. Now it is possible that if they run into other undocumented immigrants, that they too can be swept up in these arrests.

But it is telling of the way that they are approaching interior enforcement, which is essentially bringing on many agencies and also trying to also bring on state and local law enforcement to carry out these arrests.

[08:15:00]

Now, those quotas you're referring to. Well, sources tell me that some ICE field offices were told to arrest 75 people, or make 75 arrests a day. If you add that up over time, that would surpass where daily arrests have generally been, which is about 300 a day in the last fiscal year.

Now, I did ask the White House border czar Tom Holman about that. He said that he has not imposed quotas, but he is certainly trying to arrest as many public safety and national security threats as he can.

WALKER: And obviously all of this just adding more fear in these immigrant communities. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much. Well, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to their demolished neighborhoods in Northern Gaza. It is after 03:00 p.m. there.

And you can see just so many people there streaming towards Gaza City, carrying their children and whatever belongings they still have. Their return was pushed back after Israel accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Hamas and Israel later agreed to release more hostages, including Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump's suggestion that Palestinians be moved out of Gaza relocated is raising alarm. Listen to the U.S. President on Air Force One on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And we just clean out that whole thing. You know it's over the centuries it's had many, many conflicts, that site. And I don't know, it's, something has to happen. But it's literally a demolition site right now, almost everything's demolished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Mr. Trump said he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians. Both countries, however, swiftly rejected that idea. Palestinians and human rights groups condemned the plan. Let's bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who is joining us now from Tel Aviv, Israel. Lots to talk about, Jeremy. Let's start with Palestinians trying to return home. What are they returning to?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, enormous, enormous destruction in Northern Gaza. And it's not like the people, the tens of thousands who we have seen lining up on this coastal road are going to Northern Gaza, aren't aware of that.

They very much know that enormous destruction is what awaits them as they arrive in Northern Gaza. Many of them don't know whether their homes are still standing or have been turned to rubble, like the majority of homes in that part of the Gaza Strip, the overwhelming majority indeed have been.

And yet still, we have heard from one person after the next expressing their enormous joy that they are able to return to their homes in Northern Gaza, showcasing their commitment and their connection to the land where they were born, where they have lived their entire lives.

And we're watching people loading up all of their belongings, breaking down their tents in the southern part of the strip, and then either going by foot, hopping on Donkey carts, getting into busses and other vehicles to try and make it to Northern Gaza. We know, of course, that this was actually supposed to happen 48 hours earlier.

But that was delayed amid a dispute between Israel and Hamas over the release of an Israeli hostage. A female civilian hostage named Arbel Yehud, whom Israel expected would be released this past Saturday when she wasn't Israel said it would not allow Palestinians to return to Northern Gaza as part of the agreement.

That issue has now been resolved with Yehud and two other hostages now expected to be released on Thursday, and that's why we've now seen this enormous movement of Palestinians going back to their homes in the north.

WALKER: And what about Trump's comments you know about relocating Palestinians, you know, out of Gaza? Obviously, those are extraordinary comments that you know would appear to break with decades of U.S. foreign policy, which has always pushed for a two- state solution.

DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right. And you know, when pressed on whether this would be a short-term or a long-term solution, you basically indicated it could be one or the other. And that is obviously enormously triggering for Palestinians, who have faced decades of mass displacement in Israel and in the Palestinian territories over the last 70, 80, years.

And we have heard comments like this before, calling for Palestinians to be moved out of the Gaza Strip to other Arab countries in the region, in particular from right wing voices in Israeli politics here, who have been talking about this notion of incentivizing Palestinians to emigrate to other countries in the region over the course of this entire war.

But now these ideas are being parroted by the President of the United States, and they are already being soundly rejected both Egypt and Jordan.

[08:20:00]

The two countries Trump mentioned, have made clear that they oppose the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza with Ayman Safadi, the Foreign Minister of Jordan, saying that Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians, saying that instead conditions in the Gaza Strip need to be improved.

And the war needs to end there, rather than moving Palestinians to a country that is not their own. But most importantly, perhaps, it was Gazans, who are reporters who we work with in the Gaza Strip, spoke to last night and this morning, reacting to these comments who rejected the notion of leaving, saying, even despite the war, despite the misery that they have experienced, they say that they will not leave the soil they call home.

WALKER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, always appreciate your reporting. Thank you so much, Jeremy. In the meantime, the U.S. says a separate ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would be extended for another three weeks until February 18.

Lebanese officials said at least 22 people were killed and dozens injured by Israeli forces as thousands of people tried to return home to the South, after a Sunday, Israeli withdrawal deadline passed. The IDF had released an order prohibiting residents from returning to their villages.

Israel's government said Friday that the military would not withdraw and blamed Lebanon for failing to uphold the deal. All right, still to come, never again. World leaders and survivors pay tribute on a somber anniversary. It has been 80 years since the largest Nazi concentration camp was liberated. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WALKER: World leaders in Holocaust survivors are gathering today at the scene of one of the darkest chapters in human history. They are in Poland to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp.

Earlier survivors took part in a candle lighting and wreath laying ceremony, and a little later, 90 minutes from now, the main ceremony will be beginning. Britain's King Charles, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are among those attending.

But the focus will be on the remaining survive survivors who are expected to speak, approximately 1.1 million people were murdered at the notorious Nazi camp during the Holocaust from 1940 to 1945. CNN's Melissa Bell joining us now live from Auschwitz- Birkenau. Melissa, tell us more about the commemorations that we expect to take place today.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, what we're hearing from those responsible for organizing it's the 80th anniversary to the day that Soviet troops almost stumbled upon Auschwitz-Birkenau.

[08:25:00]

What they're telling us is this is likely to be the last big anniversary since the numbers of those still alive who survived and can make the journey to speak to what they lived through is growing so small. We're expecting about 50 survivors this year to be present, and what they expect is that in the next five years, many of them, of course, will go as well. That's why they're being placed very much at the center of these commemorations.

You mentioned some of those world leaders who will be here, President Zelenskyy as well. None of them, though, will be speaking. We will just be hearing from those who survived. Among them, Jona Laks now, she was a young girl when she arrived here as a child with her twins spared only because they were twins and placed in the hands of the infamous Nazi doctor Mengele.

Now she's going to be one of those who speaking later on today about what she remembers, but we caught up with her, Amara, yesterday, and this is what she had to say, and what she's been saying over the course of the last 80 years, when asked about what solace there was and the fact that she was able to stay united with her twin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONA LAKS, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: But there was nothing she could do for me, and there was nothing I could do for her, and there was no interaction and no questions, and even if it was painful, because I knew that I'm not allowed to cry, or I'm not allowed -- I'm not allowed to point where it is painful.

I would not do it because I was sort of taught that I need to accept everything what is being done. BELL: How important is it that the world marks this and understands what happened?

LAKS: At my advanced age, it's really courageous to come back. I must say it. I didn't want to. My family was against it. It's true, it's unpleasant. It doesn't do any good for your heart, for your mind, for anything, but it's necessary, it's necessary for the world to know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: It's difficult to imagine, of course, what will be on the minds and in the hearts of those 50 or so survivors who will be gathered here at that main ceremony that's surely to get underway, but very much the message from today's commemorations, Amara, is going to be about the need to remember, even when those living voices have gone.

And at this time of rising anti-Semitism, not just here in Europe, but in other parts of the world as well. That will very much be at the heart of some of the remarks you're going to hear later on today, on this, the day, the very day, 80 years ago that those Soviet troops arrived here, stumbling upon this the barracks of Birkenau and further away, those of Auschwitz, many of them emptied, of course.

There were only a few 1000 left here because tens of thousands, including Jona Laks that you just heard from there, had been taken on these death marches, as they became known to other concentration camps, to avoid the incoming forces from discovering the real horror of what had been going on here at Auschwitz-Birkenau, but in other camps as well, Amara.

WALKER: Just incredibly moving and so powerful to hear from Jona Laks and just to see her courage to come back, because it's just so important to send a message, never again. Melissa Bell, appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

WALKER: A tense dispute between the U.S. and Colombia appears to be over for now. Now it all started after Colombia refused to let two U.S. military planes land in the country, on board were deported Colombian migrants. In response, President Trump threatened a tariff on Colombian goods as high as 50 percent.

Colombia's President responded in kind, but by Sunday night, he appeared to back down and Trump dropped his tariff threat. Brazil, meanwhile, is calling out the U.S. for what it says are degrading conditions on flights bringing deported Brazilians back. Brazilian authorities reported immigrants being handcuffed by their hands and feet on planes that were set to be in poor condition.

The Trump Administration, border czar is in Chicago to oversee the rates happening there, and that is where CNN's Rosa Flores is tracking the story for us. Rosa, walk us through what's been happening, what you've been saying? ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, there's a lot of panic in this community right now. I was based in Chicago for CNN during Trump's first administration, and I covered it from here. I can tell you that I interviewed multiple people, DACA recipients, their families, and there was a sense of fear, definitely.

But what is happening right now is at a whole other level. I've talked to contacts and organization leaders who describe what is being felt in this community as panic, as heightened awareness, because these enforcement actions are starting right here in Chicago.

Now, we're also learning some of the stories of the individuals who are being arrested, and this is from their families, the individuals who saw them being taken away. This first story is from CNN affiliate WLS, a reporter there went to the northern Chicago suburb and interviewed this woman who is at a church.

There was a prayer circle for this woman because of how emotional it is for her during this time. She says that her father was 44 years old, was arrested by ICE yesterday. Somebody knocked on his door and he opened the door. And here's what his daughter had to say, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YELITZA MARQUINA, RESIDENT: They would open the door because they thought maybe one of us were in trouble or something happened to us. Never did he think they were ICE. I'm already heartbroken, myself, and I can't really imagine little kids whose families are breaking apart because of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now ICE says that they are focusing on individuals with criminal backgrounds, individuals who are public safety threats or national security threats. We don't know anything about this man, but we have asked ICE for more information about why he was arrested, if he has a criminal background?

When he entered the country? That those sorts of details so that we can do a better job at reporting about what this arrest was about and the background of this arrest. These ICE operations are nationwide, not just here in Chicago. There were operations in multiple states.

Now, if you're wondering if all of a sudden, ICE and immigration authorities are doing these enforcement actions in the United States because Trump is in office and they haven't done it before. That's not the case. I cover immigration for CNN. I follow a lot of these operations.

And even just a quick check of ICE's website will show you that there were even operations in the days leading up to Trump's inauguration and you can see that they were happening all over the country.

[08:35:00] What's different about the operations that are going on right now is, Amara, this is a surge of operations. It also includes agents from the FBI, the DEA, the ATF. And so, agents from other agencies are being reassigned to this immigration duty, and that involves -- in essence, more boots on the ground, a multiplier of resources to try to go for what ICE says are individuals who have criminal backgrounds and pose a public safety threat to this country, Amara.

WALKER: That is a difference the surge and of course, the priority that this administration is placing on these raids. Rosa Flores, I know it's a difficult story. Thank you so much for covering that for us. Well, European officials are trying to combat a rash of what appears to be sabotage on undersea fiber optic cables.

On Sunday, a cable between Sweden and Latvia was damaged and Latvian officials say some external force likely caused the damage. Swedish authorities confirmed today that they have seized a bulk carrier that was passing over the cable around the time it was damaged. It comes as NATO and Baltic countries have stepped up patrols in the Baltic Sea.

CNN's Nic Robertson went along on one of these missions aimed at protecting an underwater target.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Sunrise around 100 miles from Russia. On the near freezing Baltic Sea, tension mounts. NATO is retooling for a new war, a hybrid war. Ultra- modern sophisticated tech is being prepped for underwater action. Specialized subsidy drones designed to dive deep below the surface.

ROBERTSON: This is the sharp end of the mission, protecting our internet. It's not up there in the sky; it's under the sea.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): NATO's mission, Baltic Sentry is a rapid response to an escalating new threat, multiple cables cut in recent months.

ROBERTSON: And this is what the undersea internet cables look like. This size. They're tiny. They're vulnerable. They're easily cut.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In these waters between Estonia and Finland and beyond, an unseen enemy is believed to have been targeting internet and power cables. The subsidy drones and the battleships getting eyes on the threat.

ARJEN WARNAAR, COMMANDER IN NATO MARITIME GROUP 1: A lot of the ships that we found are acting strangely, originating a Russian port or going to a Russian port.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): This ship anchor suspected of being dragged on the sea bed, intentionally damaging cables. Christmas Day.

ROBERTSON: How far have these anchors been driving?

WARNAAR: I understand a couple of 100 miles. ROBERTSON: Is that normal?

WARNAAR: No, that' not normal.

ROBERTSON: How does that happen? Can a captain not notice?

WARNAAR: -- Very good question. And my guess is, no, a captain does know that, and that's probably intentional.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Repairs can be complicated, costly and take months. Worst case, an entire nation can be cut off from the internet.

ROBERTSON: Under the sea here, there are multiple cables linking Estonia with Finland. In the Baltic Sea, dozens more, the numbers keep growing across the globe, there are hundreds of cables.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): According to NATO, more than 800,000 miles of cable carrying 10 trillion of international trade. The mission critical enough to have expensive fighter jets on tap. Conditions at sea level, though, the biggest challenge, as we saw on a relatively calm day.

Each NATO warship bringing its own specialty. This one sonar less than two weeks into the mission, commanders at sea increasingly confident who is responsible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who is the threat here, Russia, that's for -- that's quite clear.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Russia denies any role. But by this day's end, more NATO nations committing forces to Baltic Sentry, the flotilla growing. NATO HQ Commanders facing tough choices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The proof, the smoking gun, it's very, very difficult. We have to balance between this moving into something that can become very ugly, and what I mean by that is warfare.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nic Robertson, CNN, in the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:40:00]

WALKER: All right, still to come as the world observes the end of one of its darkest chapters in history. One of the few remaining Auschwitz survivors is working to share his story of the Holocaust with the next generation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: A little over an hour from now, world leaders and Holocaust survivors will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of one of Nazi Germany's most notorious concentration camps. They are gathered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where earlier, the Polish President spoke about the unimaginable pain inflicted on Holocaust victims. And one of the few remaining survivors, meanwhile, is working to share this terrible story of the Holocaust with the next generation. Our Isa Soares has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACKIE YOUNG, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR: What I'm about to tell you now, I had absolutely no knowledge of myself.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the last 13 years, Jackie Young has been taking teenagers beyond the history books.

YOUNG: The war had been on already 202 years.

SOARES (voice-over): Educating them about the Holocaust by retelling his harrowing story as a baby sent to a Nazi concentration camp.

YOUNG: How and why, I survived two years eight months as a nine-month- old baby, I so do not know.

SOARES (voice-over): It was 1945 when Jackie arrived in the U.K. on a British Royal Air Force plane. His adoptive parents never told Jackie was a Holocaust survivor, keeping his early life secret for years.

YOUNG: Any little piece of the puzzle of my past would be more than welcome.

SOARES (voice-over): It's a puzzle that he's yet to complete, but with each piece, a moment of clarity for 83-year-old Jackie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is something you haven't found out yet, but you would like to?

SOARES (voice-over): And an awakening of the minds for this younger generation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How the whole process changes your identity and the way you see the world today?

YOUNG: It's what I call cathartic.

SOARES (voice-over): With each passing year, some fear this generation could be the last to hear from Holocaust survivors. Their testimonies consigned to footnotes in history books.

SOARES: Given what we heard from Jackie and the lessons from history and what is playing out in the world right now. How does this story shape all of you who are the future?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel that it really highlights the importance and the need to stand up to prejudice and stand up for those who are vulnerable. And I feel that it's -- it reminds us of the importance of teaching and educating younger generations to really combat prejudice and promote peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree. And that kind of story kind of leaves you wondering, what about the other children that had their same story?

[08:45:00]

What happened -- And do they know what happened? Do they not know?

SOARES (voice-over): Jackie says he has found peace that the puzzle of his life may never be complete.

YOUNG: I resign myself to the fact that the pieces are smaller by the day.

SOARES: The reception you get from the teenagers, many of them have studied it, but as I heard today, it's quite another story, hearing it directly from someone who lived it and breathed it. What do you think they take away from it?

YOUNG: I'd like to think that they have opened their eyes a bit to what can happen with humanity. We've got no other gaming on this world.

SOARES (voice-over): Life lessons from a Holocaust survivor whose story of trauma and resilience will hopefully reverberate beyond the school walls. Isa Soares, CNN, North London, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Isa, thank you. And joining me now is Michael Berkowitz. He's a Professor of Modern Jewish History at the University of College London, and also the Author of "The Crime of My Very Existence: Nazism and the Myth of Jewish Criminality". Thank you, Michael, so much for your time on this very somber an important day.

You know, just listening and hearing from the remaining survivors, Isa Soares report. And also from my colleague, Melissa Bell. Just moments ago, she shared with us an interview that she did with an Auschwitz survivor who is 94 years old. Jona Laks is her name. And what struck out to me?

What stuck out to me, I should say, listening to her. She said, you know, as time passes over, things are being forgotten. Quote, the world hasn't learned its lessons from what happened, from what was done. Michael, do you think the world has learned lessons? Do you agree with her sentiment?

MICHAEL BERKOWITZ, PROFESSOR OF MODERN JEWISH HISTORY AT UCL: Well, it's very complicated. I think in some ways, you know, some lessons have been learned, and there are great books being written and excellent courses being taught. But then, on the other hand, it seems that the general level of information and discourse on the Holocaust in general is can be very poor or very misleading. So, what we have is a very mixed bag.

WALKER: Do we know how many Holocaust survivors remain? And a simple question off the back of that is, you know, why is it so important to first of all, hear from these survivors who lived and breathed it, and also to have such commemorations? BERKOWITZ: Well, I don't know the exact number, but just the fact that the number is so small that's been able to appear at Auschwitz, it is around 50.

WALKER: Yeah.

BERKOWITZ: And from my own experience, I'm sad to say that all of the survivors of Auschwitz I knew are gone. I don't know any who are -- I don't know any who are still around, and it's definitely a dwindling population. Some of the people one meets now were child survivors, which is very important, but a very different kind of experience.

So, what this means is we're going to be faced quite soon without having any kind of immediate witnesses. And I myself, I am 65 that is I grew up with Holocaust survivors around. But this isn't going to be true of succeeding generations.

WALKER: And without witnesses to tell the first-hand accounts. I mean, how does that change perhaps the impact or the urgency of what happened eight years ago, without them being there to tell their stories?

BERKOWITZ: Well, I've got to say, thankfully, we do have video testimony.

WALKER: Yeah.

BERKOWITZ: The kind of thing that was collected by Steven Spielberg. And then also here in London, the Wiener Holocaust Library has an excellent collection. They've just reduced. They've just released a brand new one of all kinds of visual material and audio material. I mean, things that are really quite significant.

So, it's not as if these kinds of things don't exist, but I think it is very sad once a human connection is lost, and once the connection is lost, not only to survivors, but also to victims. I mean, I often find that students or public audiences are interested to hear that my own great grandparents were murdered in Lithuania, actually in 1941.

And although obviously I never knew them, this is something that is really, quite you know, significant for me and family members and also just historically speaking, a very important part of the story.

[08:50:00]

WALKER: Absolutely, you know, so we commemorate, to remember, to make sure never again that history repeats itself. But I'm curious, Michael, you know, as we're seeing, and we have been seeing, antisemitism rise, really, around the world, particularly in Europe. What message do you want these commemorations, the stories from these remaining survivors, to drive home?

BERKOWITZ: Well, I think for survivors themselves, it was simply second nature that the Holocaust and their own lives were connected to the history of the Second World War. And I'm sad to say, I think a lot of this is being lost. I think it's really was incredibly important that Britain and America were on the right side in the Second World War.

And even if the full dimensions of Hitler's thinking about Jews and what would become the Holocaust wouldn't really materialize until later on. The sense was in the beginning, that there was something wrong with Hitler about this, and something that made him very -- something that made him very disturbing, and it meant that you couldn't really treat him in quite the same way.

So, I'm just hoping that this doesn't get lost again in terms of the overall history of the war itself, which is absolutely crucial, and also in terms of simply appreciating veterans, as well as others who were connected to it. But it's part of a larger story. It's part of the story of Britain, America, the world, and unfortunately, though, it's very unevenly received and understood.

WALKER: Sure as. Well, Michael Berkowitz, really appreciate you telling your story and giving us your perspective. Thank you.

BERKOWITZ: All right. Thank you very much.

WALKER: Thank you. All right. Still to come, Southern California is facing a new threat. A flood watch is in effect, which means heavy rains can bring mudslides to areas ravaged by those recent wildfires.

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WALKER: The major wildfires that devastated parts of the Los Angeles area are close to containment, but the charred ground left behind is facing a new threat, flash flooding, which could trigger mudslides. Rainfall in the Palisades fire area caused a small debris flow on Sunday, closing some roads.

Let's go now to CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam. So, enough rain to better contain the wildfires, but not too much rain to trigger mudslides or debris flows.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Well, that's the thing. So, this ground is extremely volatile, even as it was extremely dry before the rains came, we were seeing these shifts in the landscape because of the ground being scorched away by the fires. Now you add and complicate things by putting precipitation or rainfall on it, and you get mud flows and debris flows and that, of course, can impact travel.

This is coming out of the Topanga Canyon region over western LA County. This is the radar just scouring social media this morning Los Angeles breathing this sigh of relief that the rain is finally falling from the sky. But the other side of the coin here is that too much rain and that impacted area can cause those mudslides and other certain risks too in and around the recently burned region.

[08:55:00]

So, there were flash flood warnings this morning, or flood warnings, I should say that were valid for portions of LA County, those have since expired, and we have got still a flood watch just to the north and west, that's Northwestern portions of LA County, near the Hughes fire. And you'll see why this is the radar. You can see Palisades and Eaton fires, the burn scars there indicated with the shading of gray.

The precipitation really widely coming to an end, but you shift a little further to the north, and you can see just how more prevalent the precipitation is across this mountain range near the Hughes fire. So, the ongoing threat for mudslides still focused in and around that area. But largely the storm system is wrapping itself up.

The moisture is kind of drying out, and we'll call this system done by this time tomorrow. But the other insidious risk that's associated with this rainfall on top of the burn scars is that there's chemicals from the various items that were burned, from homes to cars, that could seep into the groundwater and, of course, impact the beaches as well. So, there's actually advisories to stay away from the water in LA County right now.

WALKER: Just so many challenges officials and residents there are facing right now in California.

DAM: Right.

WALKER: Meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much. And thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" is up next.

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