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U.K. And 27 Nations Accuse Israel Of "Drip Feeding" Aid To Gaza Civilians; Ukraine And Russia Set For Fresh Peace Talks; Johnson Shuts Door On House Vote Before September On Releasing Epstein Files; Death Toll In Bangladesh Fighter Jet Crash Rises To 27; Study: Climate Change Episodes Raising Global Food Prices; Venezuela To Investigate Alleged Abuse In El Salvador; Taiwan's Military Exercises Include Combat Scenarios; Five Suspects To Stay In Custody In American Professor's Killing; Sheinbaum Condemns Burning Of Books By Protesters. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 22, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: The slow burn of international outrage heats up over Israel's war in Gaza. Ahead this hour on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Countries say the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached, quote, new deaths.

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VAUSE: More than two dozen countries describe aid distribution in Gaza as a death trap while demanding an immediate end to the conflict.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They are coming from a concentration camp, from a horrible place where they were sequestered by the government of El Salvador.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: From one serial human rights abuser to another, Venezuela says it's investigating El Salvador's president over claims hundreds of Venezuelans were abused while being held in the notorious SECOT prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many came with signs blaming foreign money for driving up rents.

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VAUSE: And yes, the rent is too damn high this time in Mexico City where there's growing anger over gentrification.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.

VAUSE: In Gaza, it seems Palestinians now facing a choice face the very real prospect of death at a food distribution site, face the possibility of starving to death at home. Those distribution points, which are operated by an Israeli private backed organization, are being described as death traps.

Warning, now some of the images you're about to see are disturbing. According to Palestinian authorities, more than a thousand people have been killed while seeking humanitarian relief since May. That's now triggered demands from 25 Western countries, including major allies of Israel, for Israel to end the war in Gaza because they say the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. They go on.

We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.

Meantime, Israeli tanks are now rolling into parts of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the first time during this 21-month long war. That's according to a number of witnesses as well as aid agencies and reports in Israeli media.

Israel issued evacuation orders for that area Sunday. The families of hostages back in Israel, though, are condemning the move, saying this will put their loved ones lives at risk. More now on the aid crisis in Gaza from CNN's Jeremy Diamond reporting in from Tel Aviv.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: It marks the latest instance of Israel's growing isolation on the world stage. I mean, these are not frequent critics of Israel. The countries that have come out here, more than two dozen Western countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the language that they are using is quite stark and it speaks to the undeniable nature of what we are seeing on the ground right now, as these countries say, the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached, quote, new depths.

They call this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a delivery model spearheaded by Israel itself, quote, dangerous. And they say that it fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. They are squarely placing the blame of the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding inside the Gaza Strip at Israel's feet.

And indeed, it Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid, Israel's mode of delivery through this GHF foundation, the restrictions on the amount of aid that the United Nations and the traditional humanitarian aid groups can bring in.

It is all of that is fueling what we are seeing inside of Gaza right now. Not only the fact that just this week we saw the 76th child in Gaza since the beginning of the war die due to malnutrition, but in addition to that, you know, more than a thousand people now who have been killed by violence near these aid sites, largely by Israeli military fire directed at crowds of hungry Palestinians trying to make it to these aid sites.

And at this point, the Israeli military isn't even denying that it's opening fire on these groups altogether. They call them, quote, unquote, warning shots. But they acknowledge that people have been killed as a result of these warning shots. They do dispute the total death toll numbers. They say that it's not as high as what's being claimed on the ground.

But the bottom line is that, you know, whereas eight weeks ago when this violence first began near these Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid sites, the Israeli government, the Israeli military were all denying that it had happened. Now it's become an almost daily occurrence, one that the Israeli military isn't fully denying altogether.

And it simply doesn't seem like there is anything that is going to get it to stop, other than perhaps a ceasefire agreement which would not only stop the shooting, stop the bombardment of Gaza, bring out dozens of hostages.

[01:05:08]

But in addition to that would also allow for an enormous surge of humanitarian aid, which as we can see right now is desperately, desperately needed.

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VAUSE: Eyad Amawi is a humanitarian coordinator for several NGOs and representative of the Global Gaza Relief Agency. He joins us now live from Deir al-Balah in Gaza, in central Gaza. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

EYAD AMAWI, HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR FOR VARIOUS NGOS: Thank you very much. Thank you for hosting me.

VAUSE: What is the very latest day of that Israeli ground operation? Because we've had reports that the tanks have been rolling in, they've been seen there. But has that operation actually the defensive operation begun?

AMAWI: Yes, the repeated orders for evacuation is still ongoing here in Gaza. And the newest one is for the Deir al-Balah town. This is evacuation order. They implemented the new incursion to the southeast area of the Deir al-Balah. And this incursion worsened the situation more and more.

Now the movement between south and the north, between Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis is mostly dangerous. And there is no any ability to help our people with the aid distribution, even though it was -- we have a little amount with trucks that let it come in without any organizations that supervise over the distribution for this.

VAUSE: You said that they had -- AMAWI: So with the evacuation order.

VAUSE: Sorry to be interrupt. Oh, have we got (INAUDIBLE)? So we lost it now. I think we have lost our connection to Deir al-Balah. And I -- Eyad, you still hear me there?

AMAWI: Yes.

VAUSE: Oh great. Now well, while we still have you also -- we got you back. So just tell us the evacuation orders which have been issued. Where do people go?

AMAWI: Yes, that's a very great question. There is no green zone like the Israeli mentioned before multiple times. This is the street. This is expulsion process. They order us to flee from our homes and after that our tents without any safety, without any shelters, without any guaranteed shelters also.

So there is no safety place that we can go and take care for our children and our elderly people. So this is the repeated orders they mentioned. It's increasing the suffering, just not more.

VAUSE: One question for you. We look at these images of Deir la-Balah. There are buildings still standing and which is very rare in Gaza. So this is an area which has not been hit by the Israelis in 21 months. How concerned are you now what will happen once this offensive begins? What will be left once the Israelis are done?

AMAWI: Yes, you must take care of something very important. The Israeli hit their Deir al-Balah hundreds and hundreds of times from the beginning of the war by the airplane. So it's not too true that our buildings stance. Most of our buildings is hit by the airplanes but, you know, some of infrastructures and road still stands.

But if they do the full incursion of Deir al-Barah they will do cleansing for everything here. Something what's happened to the Arafah and Khan Younis and the north of the Gaza Strip. So it's yes, it's the last region that can stand and you can see some buildings stands here in Deir al-Barah. So it's horrible time. We cannot expect what the situation will come and the suffering will increase because there's no building stance after Deir al-Balah (INAUDIBLE) we hope didn't happen.

VAUSE: We wish you luck. I mean obviously this ground offensive by the Israelis appears to be imminent. Stay safe and thank you for the update the assessment of what's happening there on the ground. Thank you sir.

AMAWI: Thank you.

VAUSE: Another round of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine set for Wednesday. Ukraine's president confirms the negotiations will again be held in Turkey. The Kremlin is warning both sides remain far apart. And while Moscow says it's in favor of talks, there's been no sign of any let up in Russian attacks on Ukraine. At least 450 missiles and drones fired overnight Sunday into Monday. In the capital Kyiv, a subway station used as a shelter was damaged in

one strike. At least two people were killed and 16 others were wounded. President Zelenskyy is now pleading once again for more international help.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every such wave of Russian strikes reminds us of two air defense. We need more systems, more coverage across our country and also our long range strikes on Russia.

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If Putin is off the deep end with this Shahed obsession and terror, they must be left without logistics.

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VAUSE: And Russia is ramping up production of drones, which it uses to strike targets deep inside Ukraine. Highly secretive Russian drone factory gave state media a rare tour of its operations. And CNN's Matthew Chance has details reporting in from Moscow.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Over Kyiv, the ominous buzz of a Russian drone before it finds its target. Waves of these attack drones pose a nightly threat against Ukrainian towns and cities.

Now we have a rare glimpse inside one highly secretive Russian drone factory where thousands of the cheap, simple and deadly weapons are actually flying off the assembly lines.

This is now the biggest factory in the world for attack drones, the company CEO sanctioned by the U.S. tells the Russian Ministry of Defense television station. It's secret, he says, but we will show you something.

And what we're shown is a vast and modern production facility employing thousands hundreds of miles from the front lines and recently expanded, we're told, enabling Russia's escalating campaign of drone strikes across Ukraine.

We must give credit to the strategic foresight of those who foresaw that this war would be a war of drones, the CEO says. And it's good. We're ready for it, he adds.

There's also this extraordinary footage of the drones being test launched at speed while their performance is remotely monitored. Russia's drone program, once reliant on imports from Iran, is now self-sufficient. Ukraine is waging its own drone war, of course, striking Kremlin forces deep inside Russia in highly sophisticated operations like this one last month targeting Russian strategic bombers on the front lines. Drones from both sides have transformed the battlefield. But these

unprecedented images from this one Russian factory shows how the Kremlin is dramatically scaling up drone production and its capacity to wage a long and devastating drone war in Ukraine. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Take a short break. When we come back, some House Republicans want to force a vote to release more Jeffrey Epstein filed here. Why? It could be months before anything is released if anything happens at all.

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VAUSE: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is falling in line with the White House shutting down any chance of a House vote on releasing additional files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before September. Lawmakers will soon begin their August recess and Johnson says he doesn't think further action is needed right now on this case. Others disagree.

Bipartisan group of House members led by Republican Thomas Massie are trying to force a vote on their own bill to release more Epstein files. But that too would have to wait until after the recess. Meantime, President Trump just wants all the Epstein talk to go away. CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump and the White House on Monday trying to do anything but talk about Jeffrey Epstein and the Epstein files. President Trump on Truth Social posting about a number of topics, many of them unrelated to current events. Talking about a great new book by Mark Levin at one point. Another point, he wanted to celebrate the six-month anniversary of him being in office. That is very newsworthy.

Again over the weekend, weighing in on the Washington, what he called whatever is essentially trying to get the Washington Commanders to change their name back to the Washington Redskins. And on Monday, he even weighed in on the plea deal struck by the Idaho murderer.

We did catch up with Karoline Leavitt who was doing an interview. We asked her a few questions about the Epstein files. And she punted to the Department of Justice and to the FBI, saying that President Trump has directed them that to release anything that they deem credible, which of course, still really raises the question what exactly is credible and who gets to determine what that looks like.

And answers like this are not appealing. And not appealing. Appeasing President Trump's base and these MAGA loyalists who say they want more information. Even on Monday night, Republican Senator Josh Hawley told our Manu Raju that constituents had been calling him and that he was of the mind. They should just release whatever they could, anything that was unrelated to the case, any kind of evidence or any part of the investigation, because that is what his constituents were calling and telling him they wanted to see. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And we will stay with the story a little longer. Live to Los Angeles and civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin joins us. It is good to see you.

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hey, John.

VAUSE: OK, so amid all the conspiracy theories about Epstein, there's a lot we don't know. But we do know this. There are potentially hundreds of young women and girls, some as young as 11, who were sexually abused by Epstein. And we know he's been accused of this rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, false imprisonment, unlawful sex with minors, solicitation of a prostitute, procuring a minor for prostitution, sex trafficking.

[01:20:00]

And his victims were taken to Epstein's Island, which was also nicknamed apparently by the locals, Pedophile Island, under the false premises of a modelling career, work or educational opportunities.

They're often held there against their will. So right now, who's looking after them? Why are their voices not being heard in all of this?

MARTIN: Doesn't appear, John, that anybody is looking out for the victims. What now is happening is this complete cover up by the White House after Trump and MAGA loyalists promised that the Epstein files will be released. We remember his Attorney General and top FBI agents accusing the Democrats of covering up the Epstein files and saying that once Trump was elected into office, that he would make these files public.

Now, to have him walk back, it's a roller coaster ride, to be honest with you, for these victims, they are being traumatized all over again. And it doesn't seem to be any end in sight because rather than make good on the promises that Trump and his administration made, they are now basically trying to tell the American people that there's nothing there, that there's no there.

And fortunately, Republicans and Democrats are pushing back, are resisting efforts to detract and to deflect what is obviously a very serious matter for this White House.

VAUSE: And according to a SEAL indictment, this is how I've seen works. He would give the victims hundreds of dollars in cash. Moreover, and in order to maintain and increase his supply of victims, Epstein also paid certain of his victims to recruit additional girls.

You know, how important is it right now to not forget that in large part, Epstein was a child sexual abuser on an industrial scale? He did this for decades. And it raises questions of how do you get away with it? Because he knew a lot of famous people on both sides of politics.

MARTIN: Absolutely, John. And clearly the release of the records that the American people are pressing for will not just implicate Epstein, but as you just indicated, how did he get away with this for so many years? Who are the other people, perhaps high level elected officials that were involved in this cover up that allowed him to engage in this heinous conduct.

And we already know that some of the most outspoken victims, like you know, one of the victims that committed suicide in April. So we need only look at that loss as an example of the kind of trauma that these victims have suffered dating back to the 90s.

So it's really shameful the way the President is handling this, deflecting, like I said, trying to think of any and every other story possible to comment on, rather than making good on the Attorney General's promise and the FBI executive's promises to be transparent with the American people.

VAUSE: So explain the difference here between the contents of a grand jury presentation, which is what the administration has requested be released, and the files of an FBI investigation. And if you really want to be transparent, which one would you release?

MARTIN: Oh, absolutely, that FBI file. Look, when you go and present information to a grand jury, the prosecution is there. There is no defense attorney in those grand jury rooms. So basically the prosecution presents just enough evidence in order to get a determination by a grand jury to move forward with criminal charges.

And you know, you've heard the joke that you can indict a paper bag in a grand jury. So those grand jury records, to the extent they ever get released, are not going to be nearly as comprehensive as the FBI investigation of Epstein and those involved with him. And if there is nothing to hide, then the question begs the question, why not release those FBI files?

Clearly, the Trump administration is engaged in some kind of cover up, clearly to protect the president and perhaps even those in his orbit.

VAUSE: After all those campaign promises. Reality bites sometimes. I always indict a ham sandwich which was probably in that paper bag. Areva, thanks for being.

MARTIN: I think you're right. It's the ham sandwich in the paper bag. But clearly those grand jury records are not going to be as comprehensive --

VAUSE: Yeah.

MARTIN: -- with the FBI file.

VAUSE: Thanks Areva, Great to see you, as always. Appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Well, the allegations of abuse from Venezuelans once detained at one of the world's most infamous prisons. Those details in a moment.

Also, the climate crisis is turbocharging food inflation. We'll look at whether it's the new normal which people can now expect around the world in a changing planet.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vaughn. You're watching CNN Newsroom. An Air Force train jet has crashed into a school in Bangladesh, killing at least 27 people, almost all of them children attending afternoon classes. A day of national mourning has been declared by the country's interim leader.

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MUHAMMAD YUNUS, CHIEF ADVISER OF BANGLADESH (through translator): We extend our deepest sympathies to the parents, families and loved ones.

[01:30:02]

Every child in Bangladesh is your child. Please try to find comfort among yourselves. We are all trying to comfort one another. What a tremendous tragedy this is.

We are with you. The entire nation stands with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The pilot also did not survive the crash. His plane went down in the northern part of the capital, Dhaka as journalist Vedika Sud reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN JOURNALIAST: A devastating tragedy has unfolded in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka. A military training jet crashed into a school in the city's northern suburbs Monday afternoon, local time in what appears to be the country's deadliest air incident in recent memory.

The impact sparked a massive fire, with thick black smoke billowing over the area, as seen in dramatic footage emerging from the crash site.

Authorities say the pilot was among those killed. The aircraft reportedly slammed into a two-story building housing the school that caters to children between the ages of 4 and 18.

Emergency crews were rushed to the scene within minutes, battling the blaze and attempting to rescue those trapped in the wreckage. According to eyewitnesses, a loud explosion was followed by huge

plumes of ash and smoke rising from the site.

The country's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, has issued a couple of statements. In one of them, he says the bodies identified so far will be handed over to their families promptly, while DNA testing will be carried out on those that are yet to be identified.

It's unclear at this point what caused the crash, but a detailed investigation is underway.

Vedika Sud, for CNN -- in New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Another sign of the times with our extreme weather caused by climate change now directly linked to spikes in food prices worldwide. Climate analysts found the costs are surging dramatically amid intense heat, drought or heavy rain, impacting everything from regional produce to basic cooking ingredients.

A heat wave in August made cabbages in South Korea 70 percent more expensive this September when compared to 2023. A prolonged drought across Italy and Spain in 2022 and 2023 caused the price of olive oil in Europe to rise by 50 percent last year. And cocoa prices went up 280 percent globally in April last year after a heat wave in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

David Wallace-Wells is a writer for "The New York Times" opinion, a columnist for "The New York Times" magazine, and author of "The Uninhabitable Earth".

Thank you for being with us.

DAVID WALLACE-WELLS, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" OPINION: Good to be here.

VAUSE: Ok, so this study looked at 16 examples across 18 countries around the world where prices spiked in the short term as a result of either extreme heat, drought or heavy rain between 2022 and 2024. So extreme that they exceeded all historical precedent prior to 2020.

We'll get into some of the specifics in a moment, but given this report directly links these price spikes to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, is this now another new normal that these prices will continue to spike and they'll go even more extreme as the amount of carbon in the atmosphere grows?

WALLACE-WELLS: Well, I think, as with a lot of climate impacts, there's a lot of stuff going on at once. It's not just climate change happening. There's also agricultural innovation, there's also market forces. There's the financialization of the food system.

And we don't know exactly how that will play out over 10 years, over 20 years. But we know that the carbon and climate effects are going to grow. We know that the impact on yield is going to get bigger. We know that the extreme weather is going to get more erratic, making growing seasons less reliable, and that's going to put more stresses rather than less on the global food supply system.

And over the last couple of decades, even though we've been innovating and making yields at a global level grow, we've also built a system that's a little bit less redundant, a little bit less -- a little bit more inflexible, and a little bit more vulnerable to sudden changes in supply.

I think all of the prophecies for climate change tell us we're heading into a future where there's going to be more disruptions. And the way that that shakes through the system is, to some degree, up to us and how we adapt.

But given where we are now, I think it's a pretty safe bet to expect that things are going to get bumpier going forward rather than smoother.

VAUSE: Yes, well, the report also found that, you know, rice prices soared by 48 percent in Japan in September 2024, in the wake of a heat wave that was the hottest since regional records began in 1946 by the equally hot summer of 2023.

And what's interesting is that the high price of rice was one of the reasons for Japan's ruling coalition losing its majority in weekend elections.

[01:34:49]

VAUSE: So moving forward, how big of an issue will this become for governments around the world? And is there any one country out there preparing for this in any meaningful way?

WALLACE-WELLS: I think the short answer is that as, you know, one of the many lessons of climate change has been for years, you know, the things that we told ourselves were left behind as relics of earlier history, earlier political history, earlier social history, earlier technological history, earlier environmental history we haven't actually left them behind.

We are still dealing with the consequences of, you know, extreme weather hits. There's political disorder. And when you have, you know, food price shocks, that can be really problematic as it has been in all of human history, right?

We saw even in the U.S. election, the price of food was an enormous driver of Donald Trump's victory. I mean, certainly not the only driver, but one of the one of the bundle of things that pulled him back into the White House.

And we saw, you know, in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, price spikes for foodstuffs all across Europe similarly, having, you know, significant political consequences in almost every country that they hit.

Most people expect that these are going to continue. They're probably going to add some couple percentage points of inflation every year to overall inflation rates. And so even if that doesn't mean that there are price shortages in the

capitals of Europe in 2035, that doesn't mean that those countries are going to be, you know, are going to be invulnerable to the political consequences of climate change and its effect on food. In fact, I think we're probably going to see that getting worse.

Now, as to the question of who's preparing for this, if anybody basically, I would say nobody's doing it all that well. There's a lot of agricultural innovation focused on whether we can grow crops better in a warming world to have them produce more yield even with the erratic weather that we're expecting.

But at the level of government policy and, you know, national planning, I don't think there's nearly enough being done.

VAUSE: There's also the knock-on societal risks, this report mentions, with weather-impacted prices potentially contributing to health complications like malnutrition, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

And that's because, you know, the old you know, it's the old problem. Healthy food costs more than unhealthy and often processed alternatives.

So, you know, and these price hikes are coming at the same time when the value, the nutritional value of crops is starting to decline.

Are we in a position of being able to innovate our way out of this, or is this essentially, you know, a system where the supply will be under stress and our values and our health are going to suffer because of it?

WALLACE-WELLS: You know, I think in certain parts of the world, the food supply will be secured through, you know, more capital resources. I think in places like the United States and, you know, the wealthy global north, we may see considerable food inflation and that may cause some political disruption, but we're not going to be, for the most part, unable to feed our people at any point over the next couple of decades.

I think innovation will be sufficient to take care of that problem. It won't solve the problem of price shocks, but it will mean that we're not dealing with true famines in those kinds of places.

But in poorer parts of the world, the consequences are, you know -- the stakes are much higher. These are places that, you know, hundreds of millions of people in, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, but all across the global south who are on the brink of, you know, of real hunger to begin with. They are unable to pay money to really import lots of good food. They depend, to some significant degree on food aid.

When those are disrupted for any number of reasons, including political instability and war, they're really -- they really do suffer.

And it's an astonishing fact over the last couple of decades that we've seen very steady year on year improvement in global agricultural yields, meaning we're getting better at producing food just about every single year.

And yet, especially over the last decade, we've seen quite significant increases in global hunger and starvation, despite the fact that we are, in theory, getting better at producing food.

And that tells you the problem isn't just the innovation, and it's not just the climate change, it's the system that we have for distributing the food that we do grow to the people who need it most.

And as with many other features of our global system, it's not working for the -- for the world's poorest.

VAUSE: Yes. Where you are it determines how big of an impact this all will have.

David, thanks so much for being with us and explaining what's going on. Really appreciate it.

WALLACE-WELLS: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: From one serial human rights abuser to another, officials in Venezuela say they're investigating El Salvador's president after Venezuelan migrants recently released from El Salvador's mega prison say they were the victims of sexual assault, torture and beatings.

More details now from CNN's contributor Stefano Pozzebon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The Venezuelan government is claiming a major propaganda victory after allowing more than 200 migrants to return to their families after a prisoner swap with the United States last week.

On Monday, some of these migrants were allowed to speak for the first time on government media and shared allegations of torture, mistreatment and, in some cases, even sexual abuse at the hands of the Salvadoran authorities.

[01:39:51]

POZZEBON: Now, CNN has not been able to independently verify these claims, which were aired by the media under the strict control of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

But still, there are questions that remain on why some of these migrants were apprehended and criminalized in the very first place in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seeing myself in an orange jumpsuit was a real shock for me. ICE officials, prison guards, managers -- they all have tattoos with crowns, roses, clocks on their arms and legs on their neck.

It's contradictory. We Venezuelans are gangsters but them, the Americans are not?

POZZEBON: On Monday, the Venezuelan government opened an investigation into the actions of President Nayib Bukele, accusing him of human rights violations.

At the same time, it is the same Venezuelan government that stands accused of perpetrating similar abuse against some of its own prison population.

And it's worth noting that CNN has reached out to the Salvadoran government and is awaiting for comment.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And the detainee testimony you heard was collected by a Venezuelan government official. We should note CNN cannot independently verify the speaker's condition since his release and repatriation.

In a moment, a dress rehearsal for war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just got this presidential alert says, "Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Taiwan's largest ever military drill sending a clear message to Mainland China and also possibly Donald Trump.

[01:41:29]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: For the first time, Taiwan has held what's called "whole of society" drills, preparation by every sector of the country for what to do if that day ever arrives. That day being a mass invasion from Mainland China.

The military drills are unprecedented in size and scope and are meant to send a message to Beijing and also possibly the White House.

Here's CNN's Will Ripley reporting from Taipei.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Welcome to Taiwan in 2025, where military police hold midnight drills on the subway as folks watch from the soybean milk shop next door.

Armed convoys get a friendly welcome from kids leaving the pool. U.S.- supplied military hardware showing up in places civilians never expected. JASON LIAO, TAIPEI RESIDENT: And I just bump into the missile.

RIPLEY: The patriot missile battery.

LIAO: Yes. And at first, it's quite shocking. It's also a really great reminder that war is really close.

RIPLEY: Ten days of war games all over this island democracy imagining how a Chinese invasion might unfold.

Taiwan holds military drills every year. But this year, they're twice as long, largely unscripted, and for the first time in a long time, happening in crowded, everyday spaces.

Not just remote areas like 10 years ago when Lin Jingda (ph) was a full-time soldier. He says military drills then were out of sight and heavily scripted.

Do you think the government by putting the drills so close to everyday people is trying to prepare Taiwanese for the possibility of a war with China soon?

"We need to let the citizens know about the possibility of war and prepare them for it," he says.

Because China is getting ready too.

These are believed to be PLA landing barges designed to rapidly offload tanks, soldiers and equipment onto a hostile beach. Analysts say they're built for one job -- taking Taiwan.

Top U.S. officials now say Chinese leader Xi Jinping told PLA leaders be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.

This is the island's dress rehearsal for war.

We just got this presidential alert that says, "Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter."

When the sirens go off, everyone takes cover.

This busy street in the middle of a workday totally empty except for the police making sure that people are not out on the sidewalks.

Even the local supermarket joins in, guiding shoppers to a basement bomb shelter.

"I think people would feel nervous when they're down there," she says.

Taiwanese leaders say that's the point.

LIN FEI-FAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL, TAIWAN NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think we need to be more prepared In any kind of situation.

RIPLEY: Taiwan is proudly displaying its U.S.-made arsenal HIMARs, Avengers, HESCO (ph) barriers, billions of dollars spent on full display, a message aimed far beyond Taipei.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Taiwan took our chip business way.

RIPLEY: But not everyone believes the U.S. will come to Taiwan's aid.

What do you think President Trump would do if Taiwan were attacked?

LIAO: Me personally, I think that Trump will only do things that will benefit himself. Once he got a deal with China that is more appealing then he might just abandon us.

RIPLEY: You think he could abandon Taiwan?

LIAO: Yes.

[01:49:43]

RIPLEY: Taiwan's leaders say they cannot afford to wait for help. They're making war feel real because it could be. And they want the world and their own people to be ready.

Will Ripley, CNN -- Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, a court appearance for five suspects accused of murdering an American professor in Greece, as well as a possible motive for the killing.

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VAUSE: Five suspects charged in the murder of an American university professor in Athens, Greece will remain in custody while they await trial. Przemyslaw Jeziorski was shot and killed at close range outside his ex-wife's home earlier this month. His ex-wife's new partner says the motive of the killing was to try and prevent Jeziorski from taking away her children.

Elinda Labropoulou has details.

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ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: It's been a remarkable day in the courthouse behind me in Athens today where all five of those charged in connection with the murder of an American professor in Greece have been remanded in custody.

This includes his ex-wife and her current partner, who has also confessed to actually being the shooter, the murderer of the professor.

The crime took place in Greece earlier this month, and it was a complete shock to the Greek public. It took place in broad daylight in just a quiet neighborhood of Athens while he was on. His way to pick up his children during visitation rights, as he was in the middle of a custody battle with his wife.

The previous day, he had won a court hearing enabling him to take the children for a month -- a year.

And we understand that this was very much what led the shooter to this decision. He said that he had to do this for his partner, that he could not bear the idea of the children being taken away from her.

The U.S. professor and the children all had dual citizenship, both U.S. and Polish. The ex-wife was a Greek citizen.

What remains to be decided now is what actually happens with the custody of the children. Until now, the mother had sole custody. But now that she has been remanded in custody, the Polish side of the victim's family is asking for full custody as well.

We will follow this case closely. A trial date has not yet been set. But it is likely, the lawyers are here telling us, that the Polish family may be getting custody after all.

Elinda Labropoulou, CNN -- Athens, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Mexico's president has condemned protesters who set fire to books at a university over the weekend, many angry over gentrification of Mexico City, which they say is driving up housing prices.

But Claudia Sheinbaum compared those burning books to fascists, saying acts of violence will not be tolerated.

CNN's Valeria Leon has details.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Mexico City, anger over housing costs spilled into the streets again Sunday. It was the second protest in less than a month, part of a growing movement against gentrification that's been building in the past year.

Many came with signs blaming foreign money for driving up rents and pushing locals out of their own neighborhoods.

"They suddenly can't afford to live in the area anymore," this man tells me. "They have to move farther away to places that are even more vulnerable."

With housing out of reach for many Mexico City residents and a visible influx of tourists and digital nomads in some of the capital's most desirable neighborhoods, foreigners have found themselves in the eye of the storm.

[01:54:55]

LEON: "We demand a law to defend our roots, a law that defends housing as a common good." Protesters insisted the march was peaceful.

"We just want to express how we feel. We're not here to do anything wrong. We're here to prevent that."

But the contemporary art museum inside Mexico's most prestigious public university was vandalized.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the violence.

"For some actions we don't agree with and we will never agree with," Sheinbaum said. "A small group just a tiny part of one of the demonstrations entered University City, broke the windows of a bookstore and burned books."

But this protest reflects more than a single march, the city's housing tensions have been escalating for years.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of foreign remote workers or digital nomads have relocated to Mexico City, pushing up demand for housing in some of the city's most attractive areas. And where demand is high, prices soar.

EDY NAVA, MEXICO CITY RESIDENT: The price of rentals has gone really, really high in the last couple of years since the pandemic started. We have seen that a lot of our green areas or parks or natural reserves have been started to be destroyed because people are willing to build these big condominiums with a lot of apartments.

LEON: And as Mexico City prepares to cohost the 2026 World Cup, officials promise an inclusive event for all. But for many locals, the worry is that the event's global attention and investment could speed up the very changes they're protesting.

Valeria Leon, CNN -- Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Where did those 12 years go? Prince George, 12 years old today. There he is -- he's the one right at the end over there. He's got big.

He's now second in line to the British throne. Bad luck, Harry.

His parents are considering scrapping a decades' old rule which was meant to protect the line of succession. Now that he's 12, apparently, he can no longer fly with his family because that's, you know, something could happen.

Anyway, they want to get rid of that so they can all travel together happily in the future.

Thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.

CNN NEWSROOM continues -- I don't know what these rules are -- with Rosemary Church after a very short break.

See you back here tomorrow.

[01:57:06]

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