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Legendary Investor, Warren Buffet Announces Plans To Retire; Trump Shrugs Off Recession Fears, Saying Everything Is Okay; Zelenskyy: Willing To Agree To Ceasefire Of At Least 30 Days; Prince Harry Opens Up To BBC About Rift With Royal Family; Inside The Sinaloa Cartel & The Mexican Military's Battle To Defeat Them; Pakistan Conducts Missile Test As Tensions With India Intensify; Intense Diplomatic Efforts Underway To Cool Pakistan-India Tensions. Aired 6- 7p ET
Aired May 03, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:01:38]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.
We are following breaking news tonight as legendary investor, Warren Buffett surprises a crowd of shareholders, saying he intends to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year. The 94-year- old known as the Oracle of Omaha has been running Berkshire as a holding company with many investments since 1965, but that wasn't the only news Buffett made today. He also gave his most pointed comments yet on Trump's tariff policies, though he never brought up the President directly.
Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: Trade should not be a weapon. I do think that the more, the more, the more prosperous the rest of the world becomes, it won't be at our expense. The more prosperous it will become and will -- and the safer we will feel, and your children will feel someday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Trump this week acknowledged tariffs may cause higher prices and shortages on store shelves, but he appears to dismiss growing concerns any policies of his might lead to a recession.
CNN White House reporter Alayna Treene is live for us tonight in Florida, where the President is spending the weekend.
Alayna, what is he saying?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Jessica, this was an interview that the President actually taped yesterday with "Meet the Press." The full interview will be airing tomorrow, but one clip that they shared is really causing a stir, because the President does seem to downplay concerns of a recession and essentially saying, you know what? Regardless of what will happen in the short term, things will be okay in the long run.
Listen to the exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS: Are you comfortable with the country potentially dipping into a recession for a period of time if you are able to achieve your long term goals?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, you know, you say some people on Wall Street say, well, I have to tell you something else, some people on Wall Street say that we are going to have the greatest economy in history.
WELKER: Is it okay in the short term to have a recession?
TRUMP: Look, yes, everything is okay. What we are -- I said this is a transition period. I think we are going to do fantastically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: He thinks that this is a transition period, something we've now heard from President Donald Trump repeatedly over the last several weeks. But this question is very important because it comes as many analysts on Wall Street are growing increasingly concerned that there could potentially be a recession due to the President's changing tariff policy.
But, Jessica, I think it is really interesting. You mentioned that the President earlier this week talked about prices and how they could potentially go up. It was a really striking moment for me as someone who covers him day in and day out, because it was the first time we actually heard him acknowledge that his tariffs could raise prices.
He was talking about the price of a doll, for example, and he said, sure, maybe some kids might have to have two dolls instead of 30, and those two dolls will be more expensive. And so not exactly reassuring to a lot of Americans who are currently really concerned about the prices of groceries, for example, and inflation and their 401 (k)s.
Now, one thing that's also -- I just think very notable is that behind the scenes, a lot of people at the White House and throughout his administration recognize that they need to deliver good news to the American public. It is why you've heard so many of his top advisers say that really, they need to announce a tariff deal with another country very soon.
We ended this week without one, but that is a top goal for them as the pressure really mounts behind closed doors for them to have some sort of announcement that can make Americans feel more patient as the President is calling for.
[18:05:10] DEAN: And while all of this is going on, Alayna, I do want to ask you
about something that is certainly making the rounds online. It is getting a lot of chatter around it.
Trump posting an A.I. generated image of himself as the Pope. What has the reaction been to this?
TREENE: Yes. Look, earlier this week, actually, when the President was asked, I think it was Tuesday, you know, who he wanted to be Pope? He joked then, I should be the Pope. He said, that's who I think would be my first choice.
But he took that joke further today when he shared that A.I. generated photo of him dressed like the Pope. We also saw the White House share it to their official account on X.
Now, this is something we've seen not only the President, but several other people in his administration like Vice President J.D. Vance for example, joke about. But many people online and on Twitter and where else or X, excuse me, have really taken issue with it.
We've seen a lot of people criticize him, saying it is in poor taste, especially given it is only less than two weeks after the Pope died on Easter Monday, as they are preparing for who is going to be the person to replace him, as they go to prepare to go into Conclave.
And so a lot of people are really not, you know, comfortable with this. Now, we actually heard from the Vice President kind of pushing back on one critic. It was Bill Kristol. He served in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration. He is also a conservative writer. He posted online: "Are you fine with this disrespect and mocking of the Holy Father?"
And the Vice President J.D. Vance responded: "As a general rule, I am fine with people telling jokes and not fine with people starting stupid wars that kill thousands of my countrymen." He was referencing Kristol there as someone who has played a very big role in advocating for the 2000 invasion of Iraq.
But look, I know that when I talked to different Trump advisers, you know, they kind of see this as some sort of trolling, as a joke, trying to talk about it in good faith. But again, something that a lot of people, particularly a lot of the President's supporters, many of whom are Christians and Catholics themselves, did not think was really appropriate at this time -- Jessica.
DEAN: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much for that.
And joining us now is Maya MacGuineas. She is the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Maya, thanks so much for being here with us. I want to go back to what we started our broadcast with about these comments from Warren Buffett on tariffs, calling them a big mistake. Do you agree with his assessment? MAYA MACGUINEAS, PRESIDENT, COMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL
BUDGET: Well, I thought it was really interesting that he chose to focus on that, and it sort of reflects that some people see the world right now as a zero sum game. We win, you lose, and he was really re- shifting that into, there are so many win-win scenarios and that trade absolutely can be one of them.
I took his comments to be very much about foreign policy, where he was not speaking just about the pure economics of trade imbalances one way or another, but he was talking about the need for a cooperative approach and attitude that we have with the world around us, and basically emphasizing that shared prosperity is one of the keys to our National Security and our safety at home.
He, in fact, has worried about trade imbalances to some extent in the past when he talked about import certificates and other things, and here, I think he was really saying this is broader than just economics, broader than just fiscal. It is about National Security and the posture that we are engaging with. He clearly doesn't think is the right approach, and I would say that there is a strong argument to what he is saying, that we are alienating many allies in a way that is unclear what the motivation behind that could be.
DEAN: And just yesterday, President Trump released his budget proposal. In that he called for $163 billion to be cut from non- defense and domestic programs. That includes climate research, some education funding, as well as NIH and CDC. What kind of impact -- now, again, just to tell people this is just kind of a starting point, a roadmap, if you will, obviously, Congress is going to be the one that sorts all of this out, but what kind of an impact could a budget proposal like this have?
MACGUINEAS: Well, it is really hard to even know because it is not even a budget proposal, it is a partial proposal. So it doesn't look at the entire budget, it looks at one quarter of the budget and the whole point of a budget, right, is to look at the federal government's finances in whole, comprehensively look at our priorities, look at the fiscal situation, make some decisions.
But, it is merely looking at one quarter of the budget and for one year, and so the message that you get from that portion of $163 billion in cuts, that's very large compared to what we normally see where we would see growth. But there is already a missing piece of this picture which is at the same time the reconciliation bill that they are looking at would actually pump up spending so that it would actually not have those cuts, it would be much more close to flat.
So, it is very difficult if you don't look at a budget all over comprehensively to know what the story line is. I think one of the big takeaways is clearly, he emphasizes, more on National Security, less in other areas.
[18:10:10]
But let's keep in mind, this is not the way the budget is going to end up being passed. It is very difficult to get anything like that, I'd say impossible through Congress, and the sad truth is, we may end up just having a continuing resolution, which is what we do every year, because this country really has become out of the habit of budgeting, which is very dangerous at a time like this.
DEAN: And look, you put with it -- within all of this, in addition to the cuts they want to make, are the tax cuts that they would like to re-up, that they put through in his last term. What kind of impact to the budget do extending those tax cuts, either extending them or making them permanent? What kind of impact might that have?
MACGUINEAS: That's right, and I think that's a much bigger story than what this sort of partial budget is going to be, because they are talking about massive amounts of new borrowing. Merely extending the tax cuts will add about $4 trillion to our borrowing over the coming decade, at a time when we already have near record levels of debt, and our deficits, we are borrowing about $2 trillion a year. So this would add to this, and at the same time, the spending cuts, both the House and the Senate are talking about, they are on very, very different paths, the two of them, would not offset those tax cuts at all.
So really what they are talking about is a plan that would extend tax cuts and add to our debt, in fact, balloon our debt at a time when we should only be passing legislation, I would argue that would make fiscal improvements, not things that would make it worse. The bills they are talking about would make it significantly worse.
DEAN: And that's where some -- that is where the Republicans are going to have to sort this out internally, right? Because we've had on our program some Republicans who say, I am really concerned about debt and what is happening here, and they are worried about, you know, what this might mean for that and there are -- it is not a lot of them, but with those tiny little majority that they have in the House that, you know, they could throw a wrench in all of this.
And I think, the Republicans are trying to kind of balance out, if you do care about the debt, and you continue to say that that's a priority, you know, how does this -- how do you square all of this?
MACGUINEAS: It is so true. Now that they are getting into the nitty- gritty, this is getting really difficult because it is very easy when it comes to talking points to talk about fiscal responsibility, and pretty much everybody will say they worry about these issues and they should. There are a number of reasons: They are dangerous for our economy, for our National Security, for our ability to respond to recessions, but it is turning out that there is only a small handful of members on the Republican side during this tax bill who are really committed to doing it in a fiscally responsible way.
And you have probably a much larger group of people who talk a lot about fiscal responsibility, want to extend all the tax cuts and then some, and at the same time are saying, but we are not really comfortable with these spending cuts, and that's the issue about budgeting. And I worry this country is so out of habit of even budgeting at all that we don't know that. But if you want to cut taxes, you will have to cut spending and that's not easy, just like if you want to raise spending, you need to find ways to raise taxes to cover it; also, not the easiest thing to do.
We are very accustomed to only talking about the easy parts and they grappling with the real budget questions because they have goals of $2 trillion in savings to achieve, which is a lot of savings and it is turning out that that small group of members that cares about this issue, is smaller than one would hope, if you're worried about our national debt, but they could really throw some sand in the gears if they don't come up with a plan to minimize the borrowing that these bills would have.
DEAN: Yes, there are so many things.
MACGUINEAS: It is not going to be easy.
DEAN: Yes, no, it certainly is not.
MACGUINEAS: So many people --
DEAN: Yes, Yes, all right, Maya, thank you very much. We really appreciate it.
MACGUINEAS: Thank you.
DEAN: Still ahead, a reality check from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Russia-Ukraine war. Rubio now saying President Trump may need to reassess brokering a peace deal if there is not a major development soon.
Plus, what the drug fight in Mexico looks like from the viewpoint of one cartel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to the trump administration, you are a terrorist. The cartels have been labeled a foreign terrorist organization. What do you make of that?
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
TRANSLATION: Well, the situation is ugly. But we have to eat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:19:01]
DEAN: A surprise landslide victory in Australia for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The latest left leaning leader to win as President Trump has upended international affairs and world markets.
Australians strongly rejected the message from his conservative rivals, instead choosing stability over change. Albanese made a deliberate effort to cast himself as a kinder leader in his victory speech, a contrast to the Trump style model offered by his conservative rival. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: In this time of global uncertainty, Australians have chosen optimism and determination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The victory makes Albanese the first Prime Minister to win reelection in two decades in Australia.
Ukraine's President says he is willing to agree to a ceasefire with Russia if Moscow is ready to, at least -- ready to accept at least a 30-day halt in fighting.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comment coming hours after he rejected a three- day cease fire proposal from the Kremlin.
And joining us to talk more about it is former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker.
[18:20:10]
He also served as U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine negotiation during Trump's first term. Thank you so much for being here with us. I appreciate it. I want to go back to the fact that we've heard kind of repeatedly now from both President Trump, but also those around him, that if there isn't a deal soon, it may be worth just walking away, or the U.S. may just have to walk away.
How realistic of a possibility do you think that is? And how would you kind of grade the current state of play here?
KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Well, first off, the administration has not been clear as to exactly what walking away means. If it simply means that we don't believe that Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine, no negotiations are going to produce that, so we have to just give up on the negotiating track, keep supporting Ukraine, keep sanctions on Russia. That's okay. That's one thing, that is I think likely to lead to a decent outcome in the end.
If walking away means ending support for Ukraine, lifting the sanctions on Russia, saying we don't care about this, well then that's a victory for Vladimir Putin, and so that would be the bad way to do this.
They have not been clear, but I think the fact that the United States just signed this minerals deal with Russia on April 30th shows that the U.S. and Ukraine are now fully in alignment. And this, I think, means that walking away from negotiations is really to Putin's detriment.
DEAN: Do you see that signing of the deal as a turning point? Do you think that was significant?
VOLKER: I think it is very significant. I think it does, in fact, align the United States and Ukraine, not only in terms of seeking an immediate ceasefire, but also in terms of the economy and the redevelopment of Ukraine, the U.S. having a stake in that and wanting to ensure that Ukraine survives as a sovereign, independent European democracy.
So that is very positive on the Ukrainian side, and by contrast, that sends a signal to Putin that he is never going to win this war. He is never going to succeed in eliminating Ukraine as a sovereign, independent state, so it is not worth continuing to fight and losing all of the treasure and soldiers that he is losing.
DEAN: What is your assessment of the way Trump has tried to push Putin into a deal? We've seen him have really praise him, we've seen him now express disappointment, calling Putin out by name. He has then gone on to praise Zelenskyy. The meeting at the Vatican.
What do you -- what is your take on how this has played out?
VOLKER: Well, overall, I think Trump has put a lot of pressure on Ukraine and that has helped to get to a point where the U.S. and Ukraine really are in alignment right now. But as far as Putin is concerned, there have only been carrots, only enticements, only inducements, never any real pressure on Putin. And I think because of that, Putin has actually escalated his demands, rejecting Trump's requests for a ceasefire.
So I think the next stage now has got to be tougher pressure on Putin, and there are two things that I think need to be done. I think we need to pursue the secondary sanctions on those who are helping Russia evade the primary sanctions on oil, gas, and financial industry, those should be applied. And secondly, we should be able to give Ukraine loans to borrow as much money as they need to buy American weapons and ammunition, so there will be a steady supply of military support for Ukraine for as long as the eye can see.
And Putin needs to see both of these things, his own economic situation deteriorating and Ukraine's military situation stable, to try to get to a point where he is actually ready to end the war.
DEAN: And you said you believed Ukraine and the U.S. are pretty aligned right now, you do think that?
VOLKER: I do think so. I think it was a difficult way getting there. I think there are some personality conflicts between Trump and Zelenskyy, between J.D. Vance and Zelenskyy, but I think we've kind of worked through those now, and I would particularly give credit to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko.
I think that they actually got together and put the pieces together so that the U.S. and Ukraine are looking at this with the same perspective now.
DEAN: And so would you be afraid if -- I mean, would you be surprised if ultimately the U.S. did walk away from Ukraine at this point?
VOLKER: Well, it depends what you mean again. If it is walking away from the effort to negotiate, that would not surprise me at all, because Putin has shown absolutely zero interest in negotiating an end to the war on any reasonable terms at all.
[18:25:02]
On the other hand, if it is to walk away from support for Ukraine, that would be very beneficial to Putin, detrimental to Ukraine, but now also detrimental to the United States because we just signed this deal with Ukraine, where we now have a stake in their success.
DEAN: All right, Ambassador Kurt Volker, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.
VOLKER: Thank you.
DEAN: Still ahead, a Royal rift between Prince Harry and King Charles. What we are learning about their relationship as Harry sits down for a revealing interview with the BBC. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:21]
DEAN: Prince Harry is speaking out about his relationship with the Royal Family in a revealing interview with the BBC. The Duke of Sussex was visibly emotional at times saying he was devastated by a court ruling Friday not to restore his and his family's security arrangements when they visit the U.K. He also spoke about the possibility of reconciling with his father, King Charles. CNN's Max Foster has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: I would love reconciliation with my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Prince Harry revealing he no longer speaks to his father, King Charles, in an explosive BBC interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: You know, there's no point in continuing to fight anymore. As I said, life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has, you know? He won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER (voiceover): The Duke of Sussex spoke to the BBC after losing a court case over his security arrangements when he and his family visit the United Kingdom. Harry saying Friday's ruling makes it impossible for his family to return to the U.K.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: Obviously pretty gutted about the decision. We thought it was going to go our way. I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER (voiceover): The British government downgraded Prince Harry's security in 2020 after he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California where they're raising their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: When that decision happened, I couldn't believe it. The one thing that I could rely on is my family keeping me safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER (voiceover): A palace spokesperson issued a statement about the court's ruling telling CNN issues raised by Harry in the interview were examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts with the same conclusion reached on each occasion. The Duke of Sussex also talked about the years-long rift with the Royal Family. He said the publication of his book, "Spare," in 2023 ripped open old wounds after he shared scathing and intimate details about his experience as a royal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER (voiceover): But losing this case, Harry said, is a sticking point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: The only thing that I've been asking for throughout this whole process is safety. I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (on camera): At the heart of this case, Jessica, is Prince Harry effectively saying he was treated unfairly by the British establishment and his father sits at the center of that establishment. The establishment from the judiciary and to the monarchy as well make it very clear that they don't feel he's been treated unfairly in this case. Jessica.
DEAN: All right. Max Foster, thank you so much.
And joining us now is journalist and royal watcher, Bidisha Mamata.
Bidisha, thanks so much for being here with us. When I watched this and heard what Harry was saying, I was kind of surprised with just how straight he was being, how much he was willing to talk about not talking to his father. Were you surprised by what he was saying?
BIDISHA MAMATA, BROADCASTER/ROYAL WATCHER: I was extraordinarily surprised that despite his sense of devastation and the fact that this verdict was clearly a shock to him, he still had time to schedule a full sit-down interview and be so candid, and so frank and really so emotional.
I mean his body language is very well controlled but exactly as you say his sense of emotional grievance and injury, the repeated words he uses: I feel unsafe, unprotected, I haven't been forgiven, I won't be forgiven, I'll never be forgiven. These are highly emotive words and that really stuck with me because it tells me this is personal it's not about the legality it's not about details of security arrangements.
DEAN: It really feels - yes, like he feels like he's been abandoned. Yes.
MAMATA: You just hit the nail on the head and many people indeed - I think many psychoanalysts might say that this is his core wound, his permanent state of affairs that really this is about trauma, it's not about this series of legal arguments and fights that he's had even when he has won legal cases in the past and won money from it.
The legal costs involved, not to mention the emotional costs have been much greater than what he gained in triumphing in that particular stage of the conflict. What I'm hearing at this stage is that what he really wants is indeed to be reconciled with his family and that subconsciously at least he knows that in part through his own actions and, of course, in part through theirs, that resolution may not happen.
[18:35:01]
DEAN: And one line that really stood out as well was when he said I don't know how much longer my father has. King Charles, of course, has been battling cancer but we don't know a ton about exactly to what degree and exactly what's going on there. But were you surprised to hear him say that and what is your sense of the chances for a reconciliation between King Charles and his son?
MAMATA: I too really noticed that sentence because it's so jarring, it's so shocking to hear because we think of King Charles and we know him in fact as Prince Charles because this has been a very long story. He's a very human figure, very humane and my understanding was that he was receiving treatment and that we should give him the absolute privacy and discretion that one would expect. It's not very British at all to air linen in that way even if you're
talking about how much you care about and love your father. And it struck me as not the most tactful thing to say to someone or about someone if they're undergoing treatment or recovery for anything. Looking at things in the long run, this has gone on for so long the positions are so entrenched. I can't see any solution. And if there is one, it's not going to be public and it's not going to be in the form of lovely lavish sit-down interviews with anyone, it will be private, and discreet, and family-orientated.
DEAN: Yes. And families can be tricky. They can be - especially tricky when it's a Royal Family. Bidisha Mamata thank you so much we really appreciate it.
MAMATA: Thank you.
DEAN: Still ahead, CNN goes inside the Mexican government's fight against drug cartels.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:41:23]
DEAN: President Trump has put pressure on Mexico's president to go after the cartels on her own turf. CNN's Isobel Yeung is in Mexico with an up-close look at how that effort is going. But first, a warning that some of this video is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We're with the Mexican military in the state of Sinaloa, the heartland of the infamous Sinaloa cartel. Soldiers find and burn acres of marijuana and poppies that would otherwise be turned into heroin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): They're just looking for a place to land now, which isn't easy given that it's just hills and trees everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): But it's synthetic drugs like fentanyl and meth that are produced by the cartels in enormous quantities, generate huge profits and are responsible for most overdose deaths in the U.S. They're often made in remote rural areas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Okay, look over here. This is an area with the chemical products. Everything here will be destroyed.
YEUNG (on camera): This is pretty tough work. I mean, they're wearing full on hazmat suits. They have to wear masks because these drugs obviously and the chemicals are very, very potent. But they're just trying to make sure that the cartels don't come back and finish making the drugs here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): Over a six-month period, thousands of suspected cartel members have been arrested across Mexico, and more than 140 tons of drugs have been seized. But the reality is more than 1,200 people have also been killed in Sinaloa in the past year. Hundreds more have disappeared, fueled by a vengeful war between two rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel.
In downtown Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, the military's narrative that they are fully in control begins to unravel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): Very stark reminders here of people who are missing, who have been disappeared as part of this cartel war between the two factions that's playing out right now. All very recent cases. This was last week. Twenty-three-year-old went missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those, you cannot say if they are real.
YEUNG: What do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those flyers are old.
YEUNG: No, this is the - post the date here. This is the 22nd of March they went missing, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Yes, but this is a copy. They're copies. Who put this? We don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): As we're talking, a soldier blocks our camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): You mean it's not verified? Yes. Presumably people aren't just putting up posters for the fun of it. They're looking - putting them up because they're missing family members, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know.
YEUNG: What's up? You don't want us filming it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): The military steer us off and invite us to film something else. But we call the number on the poster of the missing woman. Her name is Vivian Aispuro. Her family tell us she disappeared 17 days ago. We promised to follow up on her story.
But who are the men running this criminal network, wreaking havoc on people living here? We part ways with the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): So, we've just entered an area of the city that is still very dangerous. After weeks of trying, our contact here on the ground has just managed to secure a meeting with a member of the cartel who's involved apparently in the production of drugs. And so, we're meeting him now in somewhere around here in an undisclosed location.
YEUNG (through translation): How are you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): This man is talking to us on the condition we hide his identity and location.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (off camera): Can I pull up a chair?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): He says he produces fentanyl for the Sinaloa cartel.
[18:45:06)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): How safe or dangerous is this area to be in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Right now, all areas are dangerous.
YEUNG: And the Mexican military are making a big effort to crack down on the drug production here. How are you responding to that and how does that impact your work?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): They're doing a good job. There are more of them now, so we have to find a way to keep doing this, to keep working. Of course, on a smaller scale, not the same as before. But it continues.
YEUNG: I mean, according to the Trump administration, you are a terrorist. I mean, the cartels have been labeled a foreign terrorist organization. What do you make of that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Well, the situation is ugly. But we have to eat.
YEUNG: What's your message to Donald Trump if he's watching this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): My respect. According to him, he's looking out for his people, but the problem is the consumers are in the United States. If there weren't any consumers, we would stop.
YEUNG: There is a lot of violence playing out on these streets here at the moment every day, right? I mean, people are dying on a daily basis. Children are afraid to go to school. Do you have any sense of remorse over your role and your involvement in this group?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Of course. Of course. Of course. Things are sad, but - well, things are sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): His phone is pinging. Someone is nearby. He tells us we need to leave for our own safety.
But it's because of the action of cartel members like these that civilians too are caught up in the violence. Vivian Aispuro, the missing woman from the poster we saw two days ago was one of them. Her body has just been found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): I'm so sorry for your loss, I really am. Are you able to tell me a little bit about your sister?
ALMA AISPURO, SISTER OF VICTIM (through translation): She was very loved. She really likes cats, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga. We wanted to go to her concert together. Not anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): Vivian's sister believes she wasn't directly involved with the cartels. But the conflict here has broken all norms, she says, and violence has come for everyone, including women and children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (on camera): I mean, the authorities are saying that they're going after the bad guys, they're making a lot of arrests, they're going after the drugs, they're going after the weapons. Do you feel like they're not doing enough?
AISPURO (through translation): No, they're not doing enough. Culiacan has become a place where it's impossible to live.
YEUNG: Thank you for talking with us. I mean, you're being so strong, she'd be so proud of you.
AISPURO (through translation): Thank you very much. Really.
YEUNG: Thank you.
AISPURO (through translation): Thank you for telling my sister's story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YEUNG (voice over): For Vivian's family, the authorities' efforts amount to nothing more than anguish. Isobel Yeung, CNN, Sinaloa, Mexico.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
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[18:53:08]
DEAN: Pakistan's military successfully tested a surface-to-surface missile today. Now, the missile test comes as tension grows between Pakistan and India. Fears of another military escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals intensified after the killing of 26 tourists last week in the disputed region of Kashmir. CNN's Nic Robertson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There's been this intense diplomacy over the last few days, Saudi, UAE, Kuwaiti diplomats all talking to Pakistani officials, a foreign minister talking about de-escalation, cooperation, not inflaming the situation. The United States, in a huge way, has played a big public role in diplomacy here, not just Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking with the Pakistan prime minister's opposite number in India, Pete Hegseth on the phone with his Indian counterpart, J.D. Vance, also speaking to both sides publicly by saying, do not or try to find a way to avoid escalating this regionally.
The diplomacy may be going on in the background, but in the foreground, it looks and feels very different. The tensions remain. Pakistani officials still believe that India is poised to make a strike. That test firing of the abdal (ph) missile today, 450- kilometer range, that's about 280 miles surface-to-air missile. They say it's got advanced functionality and maneuverability.
So, I spoke with a senior security official today about this, and I said, is this test firing of the missile a message to India. And he said, look, just look at the title of this military exercise, Exercise Indus, which refers to the Indus water treaty that India has decided to withhold from, which feeds water from three major rivers into Pakistan, which is likely needed for power and agriculture. Absolute fundamental to the relationship and tensions in the region.
[18:55:06]
The message this security source says to India, don't touch it. These countries are still poised in a position that they are ready to respond to whatever the other does. And the perception in Pakistan is that the Indian military will do more. What India has done today, they've announced a ban on the import of all goods from Pakistan, trade across the border. They've banned all Pakistani ships from entering Indian ports, and have also cut the postal service from Pakistan as well. It points to the tensions still at a very, very high level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: All right. Nic Robertson with the latest on that. Thank you so much.
Still ahead, what does Australia's election result say about how the world views President Trump? We're going to run the numbers with CNN's Harry Enten, that's next.
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