Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Venezuela's Maduro In New York After Capture By U.S.; Interview With Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); Over 30,000 Troops Positioned Along Border With Venezuela. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 04, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:36]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: This is special breaking news coverage right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Right now, Nicolas Maduro is in U.S. custody and being held along with his wife at a U.S. detention center in New York City. Here is what we know at this hour.

The ousted Venezuelan president is facing federal drug and weapons charges and is expected in court at noon eastern tomorrow. The United States carried out a stunning strike on Caracas early yesterday. Sources say Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were then dragged out of their bed in an overnight raid and flown out of Venezuela.

Last night, The White House posted video of what appears to be Maduro's perp walk in New York City. President Trump says the U.S. will now "run Venezuela" and take over its vast oil reserves.

Meanwhile, in Caracas, Venezuelans are deeply concerned about what comes next as the nation enters this era of uncertainty. We want to go live to journalist Mary Mena, who is in Caracas right now.

Mary, what are you seeing on the ground there right now?

MARY MENA, JOURNALIST: Well, we've been talking to people today and most people are concerned on the coming days because they say for Saturday and Sunday, they have been able to stay-at-home, but tomorrow is a different day. It is Monday and people should resume their daily activities, such as work.

So for now, there are two sentiments and conflicting people with deep concern about the coming days. We witnessed how people are going to the supermarkets, buying some stuff in case there are some new developments, but from the government, there is a different message.

They are saying that activities should continue. They are guaranteeing with police that they go to the stores and they are able to buy the things that they want. We saw a strong presence of police officers across the city, and especially in those points, supermarkets and pharmacies and also -- BLITZER: Unfortunately, it looks like we lost our connection with Mary

Mena, but we will stay in close touch with her and update you as we get more information.

The Trump administration did not, repeat, not notify Congress about this military operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro and as you might imagine, Congress is sharply divided along party lines about that. The Democratic leadership held an emergency phone call about it in the last hour alone, and the House Armed Services Committee plans to hold a special hearing this week about the operation and the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela going forward.

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California sits on the Armed Services Committee. He is joining us right now.

Congressman, thanks so much for spending some time with us.

Let me start by asking you about that phone call with the leadership that you had just a little while ago. What did they say?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, if there was deep concern that the Gang of Eight were not notified, that the President didn't come for congressional authorization, but there is a broader concern, and that is that we have a moral crisis in this country.

Most Americans don't believe in gunboat diplomacy. They don't believe that we can just go in with overwhelming military force into a poor country, into a weaker country, and take their oil, and we need to have a reckoning in this country about our values.

Are we still the moral pillar? The moral beacon to the world?

BLITZER: When you say the Gang of Eight, you're referring to the leaders, the Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and in the Intelligence Committees as well.

Secretary of State Rubio says this was what he calls a trigger-based mission, as he put it, the kind of mission you can't notify Congress about. It is too sensitive and potentially dangerous. If any of the information is leaked from Congress, it could endanger the lives of U.S. military personnel if there is that kind of leak.

What do you say to that?

KHANNA: Well, when do you notify Congress then? We are Article I of the Constitution on war and peace. You're telling me that going in to another country, capturing their leader, having a coup, arresting their leader, having 115 planes fly over that nation, and now talking about running that country, having nation building, having the President threaten the current Vice President, saying we will have more military force -- you're saying none of that needs a notification of Congress or a vote of Congress?

[15:05:28]

That just doesn't pass the laugh test.

BLITZER: So are you saying, Congressman, that the administration violated the law?

KHANNA: The administration clearly violated the law. They should have come to Congress. They still should come to Congress for any additional information. They did not consult any of our allies. They did not do what George Bush, Sr. did in the first Persian Gulf War, building a multilateral coalition. They didn't go to the United Nations, something even George W. Bush did.

And the irony is that the President, who criticized nation building, who criticized regime change wars now is talking about running Venezuela. And the American people are asking, what about running America? What about our health care? What about our jobs? What about our cost of living?

BLITZER: Is it too late now, Congressman, for the administration to notify Congress about further military involvement in Venezuela?

KHANNA: No. They should. What we want to know is what is the plan? They should come to Congress. They should be very clear that any further military intervention, they will seek congressional authorization and they should answer how long we plan to stay there, how much this is going to cost the American taxpayers, and what the end game is.

BLITZER: Were you part of that emergency meeting that the House Democrats had today? The congressional leadership? And if so, what else can you tell us about those conversations?

KHANNA: I was. I can tell you that Leader Jeffries and Ranking Members of the Armed Services Committee, Intelligence Committees, Foreign Affairs Committees were all deeply concerned that Congress did not have any say in this and what we expect is for the administration to come before the Congress to explain what the plan is going forward and to seek authorization.

But there is also just a sense that this is not how America conducts itself in the world. You know, we are different than Xi Jinping in China. We are different than Putin. We are different than past empires or colonial powers. We believe in human rights. We respect national sovereignty. We created the post-World War II order.

And now you have a President who says, well, if I want something, I am powerful. I've GOT the most powerful military in the world. Let me go take it. That's not what we teach our kids and that's what I want to emphasize is this is a real moral failing in the United States of America.

BLITZER: What do you believe, Congressman, was the administration's real goal here? Was it drug enforcement? Regime change? Or controlling the vast amount of oil reserves in Venezuela? Or was it all three?

KHANNA: I think it was all three. The top of it, though, is the President has been clear. He wants Maduro out and he has been pushing for a regime change now for months. I believe they obviously want to stop some of the narcotics trafficking, but it is very important even they acknowledge it is not fentanyl coming from there, it is cocaine that is coming from there.

And third, they are saying that they want the oil. But you know, that's Venezuelan oil and the fact that they're going to have Tim Wirth of Chevron try to run the country and to expropriate moneys for oil that is for the Venezuelan people. You know, that's a form of colonialism, maybe that was the case with McKinley. I know President Trump admires McKinley. That was in the 19th Century. We don't operate in that way in the 21st Century.

We respect other nations. We respect human rights. We have plenty of wealth in this country that we need to figure out how every person participates. We don't go just grabbing wealth and land from other nations.

BLITZER: Because the administration is arguing that the Venezuelan government stole a lot of the oil that American oil companies had really built up in Venezuela, and that the U.S. deserves payment for that.

KHANNA: Well, there is a legal process for that. First of all, as Congressman Massie has pointed out, there were contracts that the oil companies entered into that were voided and those were risks that those oil companies took. But if there are legal claims, then there is a process for doing that.

You don't just go invade another country to settle a legal dispute. I mean, China has enormous stealing of intellectual property from American companies, no one is saying we should just go invade China to make American companies whole.

And so we have processes for these, we have a rule of law. This President, he openly says he thinks it is the rule of the jungle, might makes right. You take whatever you can get, and that's just not, Wolf, the America I believe in. That's not what our teachers are teaching our kids and that's not the America that is the shining light to the world.

[15:10:20]

BLITZER: The House Armed Services Committee, and you're a key member of that committee plans to hold a hearing on Venezuela, a special hearing later this week. What do you want to know as this operation moves forward?

KHANNA: First, I want to know how quickly can we get Venezuela deciding the future of Venezuela? Second, when will our troops be out? Third, what is the risk to our troops? Because if they're going to be helping the oil companies, are we putting our troops in harm's way? Fourth, what is the cost of this operation? Fifth, who is going to be in charge of Venezuela? Is it going to be a democratic leader, the Nobel laureate, or is it going to be a continuation of the Maduro regime? And how are we going to ensure that there is stability when that new government emerges? BLITZER: President Trump says the United States will, "run Venezuela."

His word, "run Venezuela," at least for the time being. The Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to clarify that a bit earlier today, saying that the U.S. will run policy in Venezuela, his words "run policy." What's your biggest concern about all of this?

KHANNA: How are we going to do that? Venezuela is a country of 30 million people. And Wolf, you know this, that's twice the size of Iraq. Iraq was about 15 million. We were never able to run Iraq. You know, we were clear in being able to depose Saddam Hussein with our awesome military power. The problem was what came after.

We deposed Gaddafi in Libya, but the problem was what came after and it is just hubris to think that the United States is going to know how to govern a country like Venezuela or know what the policies are that are going to be able to govern Venezuela, and this is what Donald Trump ran against. He said, look, I am not going to get into these regime change wars. I am going to focus on Pennsylvania, on Michigan, on communities here at home and that that's why I think we need to get out of Venezuela as quickly as possible and have Venezuela in charge of its own future.

BLITZER: Congressman Ro Khanna, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up, a U.S. Marine veteran accused of spying on oil refineries spent 732 days in custody in Venezuela. He is standing by to join us to discuss what it was like as at least five Americans remain detained in custody in Venezuela right now.

But first, a former NATO commander says putting boots on the ground in Venezuela to secure oil would be "difficult." He joins us next to tell us why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[135:17:07]

BLITZER: There are live pictures coming in from Caracas, Venezuela. Right now, we are learning more details this afternoon on how the U.S. operation to capture the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, all came together.

The operation, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve began back in August, we are told when a covert CIA team infiltrated Caracas to track Maduro's every move and it ended yesterday with a massive tactical buildup of specially trained troops sent in to capture the now ousted leader and his wife.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is here with me to discuss how this operation actually played out. You're doing a lot of reporting on this.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: So this all began 10:46 P.M. Friday night. That is when Trump gave the order to the U.S. military to carry out this operation that they said General Dan Caine, Secretary Hegseth, President Trump had been in the works for months.

As you mentioned, the CIA had been on the ground since August, so this was long in the works. And according to General Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who gave a really detailed walkthrough yesterday of just how this all played out. At that point, aircraft launched from 20 different bases on land and at sea, over 150 aircraft, and they made their way towards Venezuela.

And those helicopters that contained that extraction force, that Delta Force that also contained FBI agents, we are told, it began flying into Venezuela and over Caracas at about a hundred feet above land and above water. So it was flying extremely low.

And in order to provide protection for those helicopters, the U.S. military also had air power over top of them, watching over them and those were from the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, the Air National Guard, including F-22s, F-35s, B-1 bombers, really just a massive package there to protect those helicopters which contained that very important extraction force for Maduro.

At that point, the joint force began dismantling Venezuela's Air Defense systems. Very important, obviously, to clear that pathway for the helicopters to actually make their way to Caracas and to that target, which was the compound that Maduro was hiding in, heavily fortified compound at that point.

Then the helicopters arrived at that compound around 1:00 A.M. Eastern Time. They encountered heavy fire according to General Caine and they responded with overwhelming force. One of those helicopters was in fact hit, but it remained flyable for the rest of the mission.

So you have the Delta Force soldiers dropping down into the compound. The whole thing took about five minutes for them to locate Maduro, arrest him with very little resistance, and bring him back to the helicopter and the whole thing was over by around 3:00 A.M.

BLITZER: Do we know which part of the military actually went into that bedroom and captured Maduro and his wife out of their bed?

BERTRAND: We are told it was highly elite Delta Force operators, Special Operations Forces and FBI hostage negotiator was also with them in case Maduro was going to perhaps barricade himself behind a steel door.

[15:20:12]

He actually made his way towards a heavily fortified steel door, but he couldn't actually close it before the U.S. forces were able to get him. And so, these were highly trained, highly specialized forces that did this and the whole thing, again, was over in about five minutes.

BLITZER: I assume they were Spanish speakers as well.

BERTRAND: That we don't know. BLITZER: Yes. I don't know how good Maduro's English or his wife's

English was. So I assume we had some Spanish speakers.

All right, Natasha, as usual, thank you very, very much.

Joining us now to talk a little bit more about all of this military operation where the U.S. goes from here is retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark. He is the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

General, thanks so much for joining us.

We are getting some new information, but what is your military perspective, first of all, on how this operation actually played out?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Oh, it was a great operation, really brilliant. But it reflects all of the learning, all of the training we have really done since 1980. And you may remember Desert One, when we tried to rescue the Iranian -- the hostages held by the Iranians, and it failed. And from that time on, we've trained, we've reorganized, we've built the equipment we need, and then going through the Balkans, learning how to capture indicted war criminals into Afghanistan, Iraq -- all of the special operations and joint operations bringing in national assets, and we are really, really good at this.

And this was probably the crowning, most difficult of all operations. We had learned that it was done brilliantly.

BLITZER: The president, President Trump says the U.S. will now run, his word, "run Venezuela," but he has been rather vague on the details of how that will actually work. I want you to listen to what Republican Senator Tom Cotton says he wants from a Venezuelan government. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): What we want is a future Venezuelan government that will be pro-American, that will contribute to stability, order and prosperity, not only in Venezuela but in our own backyard. That probably -- that probably needs to include new elections that are legitimate, that are fair and free.

I think that Delcy Rodriguez and the other ministers of Venezuela understand now what the U.S. military is capable of and as President Trump and Secretary Rubio indicated yesterday, if they don't want to follow in Maduro's footsteps, they need to start meeting our demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Delcy Rodriguez, the Vice President of Venezuela and now, presumably, the Acting President. Do you think, General, that the threat of more U.S. military action will force Venezuela's current government to be more pro-American and go along with whatever the Trump administration wants?

CLARK: I don't think the threat alone is going to do that, but I imagine there are dozens of phone calls at different levels going back and forth right now, trying to work this problem. There are people talking to the Venezuelan military. I am sure, we are going through whatever allies can help us in the region. I am sure that, we are, at the political level talking to people.

Look, there is nothing wrong with Senator Cotton's vision. That's a great vision, if we could get it. But what is more likely to happen is if the Vice President doesn't go along with what President Trump and Secretary Rubio want, they will find someone else who will. Probably, there won't be new elections anytime soon.

We can't get in there and straighten out the court systems, all of the local politics, disarm people and so forth. That's not in the remit that we've gotten so far, at least. And so, it is going to be more of the same. It is chopping the head off of the regime without changing the regime is what it looks like it is going to move to, to me.

BLITZER: And as you know, President Trump talked a lot at yesterday's one hour news conference that he held about Venezuela's oil and getting U.S. oil companies back into Venezuela and making a lot of money.

Do you think that will require U.S. military boots on the ground to actually make that happen?

CLARK: It really depends on the politics of it. We certainly don't want to put U.S. military troops in there. Look, this is 21,000 square miles of an oil field in the Orinoco Basin. And, and you can't just outpost people around 21,000 square miles. Then you've got to deal with the threat. And what's the threat? Is the threat of the Venezuela military? Is it irregular action? What is it?

And then how do you take care of the troops and provision them and secure the troops and blah, blah, blah? That's not the way to do it.

The way to do it is to work with the Venezuelan government, but to do that, Wolf, I think you have to have more than simply a thirst for oil. After all, we are the greatest oil producing country in the world right now. We've got plenty of it.

[15:25:09]

I think you have to go in with a different mindset, with a moral purpose. I think you have to really work for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. And if that can be done and they are treated with respect, then I think there is a chance that this could work out.

There are people who are glad Maduro is gone, and we know that the majority of the people probably don't support the regime that is in power. But, you know, you have got to keep your head down when you don't have the power.

And so this is something that should have been planned, should have been worked out, should have been locked in before the military operation. This is a great lesson we've learned for time and time again. We did this in Haiti in 1994. We did it in Kosovo in 1999. We didn't

do it in Afghanistan. We didn't do it in Iraq -- and you can see the consequences. And apparently, we haven't done it here. So this is -- it is too early to say the missions a failure in terms of the outcome. Way too early.

But if it is not handled right at the outset, it will be very difficult to salvage it. It starts with respect for the people of Venezuela, and it is their oil resource, not ours.

And finally, I just have to say to my brothers and sisters in uniform, we fight for the United States of America. We don't fight for oil. We don't fight to make some oil company wealthy. We have -- there is some geopolitical overtones of this. It is good to get rid of the Russians and the Chinese if that happens. But we don't want to go in there and just suck out the oil. That's not who America is. That's not why our men and women are in uniform.

And if that becomes the standard, it is going to be a much different Armed Forces.

BLITZER: Venezuela, as we have noted many times, Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world. And clearly for Trump, that's a huge factor in all of this based on everything he said at that news conference yesterday.

General Wesley Clark, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

CLARK: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And straight ahead, questions mounting right now over whether the U.S. strike and the capture of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro is illegal. How a 1989 memo from a former Attorney General, we are talking about Bill Barr is key. We will have that and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:02 ]

BLITZER: The ousted Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro is scheduled to make his first court appearance tomorrow in New York City at noon Eastern, but there is a huge question hovering over the Trump administration's very controversial operation to remove Maduro. Was it even legal?

Let's bring in Oona Hathaway right now. She is a Yale Law Professor -- Yale Law School Professor, and the Director of its Center for Global Legal Challenges. She is also president-elect of the American Society of International Law.

Oona, thank you so much for joining us. So is there a legal basis for what has now happened in Venezuela?

OONA HATHAWAY, YALE LAW SCHOOL PROFESSOR, DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR GLOBAL LEGAL CHALLENGES: Unfortunately, there is not. This is a military operation. And there are two bodies of law that apply. There is international law and there, the U.N. charter prohibits states from using force on their own except in self-defense. There is not a good self-defense argument here.

And under domestic law, the president is required to go to Congress first before he launches a war and he didn't do that. So this is really in difficult legal territory.

BLITZER: There is a 1989 memo by Bill Barr, who was serving in the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel at the time that could be key in this case against Maduro.

Listen to what Barr said on Fox earlier today. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: In all the legal arguments that have been raised, really were raised during the prosecution of Noriega, which was a very parallel situation --

FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Which you also oversaw.

BARR: Right. And I think they will be rejected and I think he will be convicted and I think he is looking at sentences similar to, if not bigger than Noriega's sentence. He has committed far more crimes in my mind than Noriega did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He is talking about the arrest and prosecution of Panama's former military dictator, Manuel Noriega. Explain to us what Barr's decades' old memo says, and why it is critical to the Maduro case right now.

HATHAWAY: Yes, So that decision from the Office of Legal Counsel in 1989, which Bill Barr wrote when he was the head of the Office of Legal Counsel, basically says that the President can go into a country and seize someone who is under criminal indictment and bring them back to the United States, even if it violates international law. That decision was highly controversial. It is an opinion that was written for the Office of Legal Counsel, which it is important to note it is just the President's lawyers. There is no court that's issued a decision.

And essentially what it says is the President can go in and grab someone if they want, bring them back to the United States. Now, I think that that is wrong. I think most lawyers think that that decision is wrong. But I think probably, Bill Barr is right that what the courts will do is take Noriega precedent and likely they will agree with the Executive Branch that Maduro doesn't get head of state immunity because the Executive Branch will recommend against head of state immunity and therefore allow the criminal case to go forward.

[15:35:12]

But that doesn't mean that any of this was legal. So I think we have to separate the criminal prosecution, which I think

he is right, is going to go ahead from the legality of the military operation in the first place, and the decision to go and grab him in violation of international law and constitutional law, which is clearly illegal.

BLITZER: Interesting. President Trump says his administration is now reasserting American power and superseding the principles laid out in what was called, of course, the Monroe Doctrine.

What exactly does the Doctrine entail? And is it concerning that Trump is using it now to justify his actions in Venezuela?

HATHAWAY: It is very concerning because the Monroe Doctrine, among other things that was used as a justification for the U.S. to use military force throughout Latin America. And it is seen, I think, in Latin America as a sign the U.S. intends to take a much more forceful position to use military force unilaterally, in violation of the United Nations Charter.

It was Franklin Roosevelt who revoked the Monroe Doctrine, who said the United States was going to adopt a Good Neighbor Policy and no longer use force under the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America. That was a really important part of the transition towards a world in which war was no longer legal and couldn't be used unilaterally by states.

Roosevelt was, of course, a champion of the United Nations charter and the prohibition on war, which is what we fought World War II for. So really what we are talking about is going back to a world before the U.N. Charter, going back to a world before war was rendered illegal, and it is not just the United States that is going to play by these new rules.

China can play by these new rules, too. Russia can play by these new rules, too. So we have to be really careful about breaking a system that we played a critical role in creating. And once we unwind it, it is going to be very, very difficult to put it back together again.

BLITZER: Oona Hathaway, Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, thanks so much for joining us.

HATHAWAY: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BLITZER: And straight ahead, we will talk to a highly decorated U.S. Marine veteran once detained for two years in Venezuela. His insight on what it was like as at least five Americans right now remain detained in Venezuela.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:55]

BLITZER: A U.S. official says at least five Americans are currently being detained in Venezuela as the nation's ousted leader, Nicolas Maduro faces federal charges in New York.

Matthew Heath is a U.S. Marine veteran who spent two years in Venezuela, in that same Venezuela prison those Americans are likely being held right now.

Matthew is joining us from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Matthew, what were you doing in Venezuela at the time they detained you?

MATTHEW HEATH, U.S. MARINE VETERAN WHO SPENT TWO YEARS IN A VENEZUELAN PRISON: Wolf, thank you for having me on.

Like many Americans, I was simply traveling through Venezuela and being a U.S. citizen is -- that's all that's required to be detained wrongfully in Venezuela, and those five Americans down there, we don't know the details of all their stories, but most likely they were just innocently traveling through the country.

BLITZER: Just because they were Americans, they were detained like you and thanks for your service, by the way, in the Marine Corps.

Give us a sense of what it was like, Matthew, to be held in that prison for, what -- two years, so long, what were prison conditions like?

HEATH: Yes. Well, they are terrible. It is a South American prison. You know, the first thing that those people would have went through would have been shock, disbelief. They've most likely been framed for terrorism, treason against the country.

Venezuela, they have something called the six-pack. They just give everybody the same six charges -- terrorism, treason, that kind of thing. So those people, you know, they are in an information blackout. They are not able to communicate with their families. They're probably scared. I am sure they heard the bombs dropping in in Caracas a couple of nights ago. So our thoughts and prayers go out to those guys.

BLITZER: As well. I know you spent, what -- two years in that awful prison.

HEATH: Yes.

BLITZER: Were you ever able to communicate with your family or anyone for that matter, in the outside world during those two years?

HEATH: After 11 months, I went on a food strike until I received a phone call and was able to call my family. I will say that after about a year that I was there, conditions improved and we were able to make occasionally to make short phone calls, just a few minutes occasionally and call our family.

So our hope is that those people are being able to contact their family. I actually only have information on a couple of them specifically.

BLITZER: Were you ever able to speak to others? English-speaking prisoners for that matter?

HEATH: Well, the Maduro regime was pretty rough on me in the beginning. When I was first in the prison, I wasn't allowed to speak English, which was pretty difficult because I didn't speak Spanish. I am fluent now, so that's the silver lining to my detention is I was able to learn Spanish.

Anybody that tried to speak to me, there were some very educated military officers that were detained for political reasons. If anybody spoke English, they were moved to another part of the prison so that I wasn't able to communicate, and the first six months were very difficult.

BLITZER: How do you think Maduro's ouster is going to affect those five, at least five detained Americans who are in that prison right now?

[15:45:10]

HEATH: Well, I think right now is a really critical time. I'd like to call on Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to immediately release the Americans that are being held in Venezuela as a gesture of goodwill towards the United States. That being said, these kinds of governments don't usually release hostages for nothing.

After maduro has been captured, the value of those Americans just went up. So I imagine that we need to -- we can hope that they can be traded for something and we can also hope that the United States government has a path right now to negotiate their release.

BLITZER: Based on your personal experience, Matthew, what sort of difficulties will those five Americans face? Hopefully, we are hoping and praying that they return home safely.

HEATH: Well, first of all, the U.S. State Department has a partnership with the U.S. Army, and there is an isolated personnel, medical facility that they will be brought back to. Their immediate medical needs will be assessed and treated. Long term there are psychological services that are available from the U.S. State Department that are available to people who have been wrongfully detained.

And then more broadly, there are NGOs like Hostage U.S., which provide services to the family members and to the returnees. There are so many problems. It is like starting your life over. These people have taken a massive economic hit.

And I might add, their health is probably much deteriorated. They've lost their jobs, all their paperwork. It is a real challenge when they come back.

BLITZER: It has now been a few years since your release from that prison in Venezuela. How are you doing?

HEATH: Well, I don't want to brag, but I think with the grace of God and the love of my family and so many people in my life that have supported me, I've really made a big recovery. I feel very healthy, I feel happy, I feel blessed, and part of that

blessings that I've received is I want to come on shows like yours, thank you and raise awareness for American businessmen and people that are traveling for tourism around the world that, you know, just please be aware of where you're traveling and have a plan in case.

You know, we buy fire insurance on our house, we don't expect it to catch on fire. Please make a plan while you're traveling just in case something happens.

BLITZER: That's such good advice. Be careful where you go, because Americans are targets right now in a whole bunch of places. Matthew Heath, we are grateful to you for your service. Thank you very much for joining us.

HEATH: Thank you for the time, Wolf. Have a great day.

BLITZER: And the capture and arrest of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro drawing mixed reactions. We've seen large protests inside of Caracas throughout the afternoon. We've also seen hundreds of people participate in the demonstration after U.S. Special Forces captured Maduro and his wife inside of Venezuela this weekend.

They are now in a detention facility in New York City and are scheduled to face a number of criminal charges tomorrow at noon Eastern in front of a judge.

Straight ahead, Colombia positions tens of thousands of troops and armored vehicles at a key crossing to reinforce its border with Venezuela. Right now, we will have more on how the country is preparing for a possible surge of people, coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:51]

BLITZER: The U.S. strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro sparking uncertainty in neighboring Colombia. The two countries share a border that's more than 1,300 miles long. In the past, Venezuelans fleeing Maduro's regime have often left the country through Colombia.

To prepare for what may come next, 30,000 Colombian troops are now stationed along the border. This is live pictures coming in right now of a security checkpoint right along the border.

CNN's David Culver is there and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see behind me the reinforcement from the Colombian side headed towards Venezuela of Colombian military personnel establishing themselves here so as to have a show of force and perhaps try to convey some sense of stability, at least at this crossing. This is the Simon Bolivar Bridge.

So here we are in Cucuta, Colombia, headed this way is Venezuela. And you can see, cars are coming over from Venezuela. I've even seen a few folks walking over and you've got motorbikes and bicycles and the same for from the Colombian side going into Venezuela. So it is moving at a rather normal pace for a Sunday morning.

But this is a very interesting town in that it is a big indicator of what could come. It is essentially a pressure valve, if you will, of the migration that has been happening in recent years.

I mean, Colombia is home to some three million Venezuelans who have fled in the past decade or so. And when you think about the total number since 2014, its seven-and-a-half, eight million Venezuelans who have left, many of them coming through this border so as to then continue on, and we've met them along the way through South America and into Central America and into the U.S.

But now, it is a point of uncertainty, skepticism and what happens next. This could be one of those places that we get a real indication of next steps. For example, if folks feel like things have stabilized and now that Maduro is gone, they can return to their home and reestablish their lives. This is one of those crossings in which that could happen.

However, if they feel like there is more uncertainty, more instability, more fracturing in Venezuela, you could see more Venezuelans coming over and trying to flee whatever instability and uncertainty that is taking place in Venezuela.

[15:55:15]

So this is a place that we are watching closely for that reason, and you can see the Colombian military is also on standby, trying to get an idea as to what next steps might be and how they might need to respond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: David Culver reporting for us. Thank you very much, David.

I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Thanks so much for joining us this afternoon. I will see you back here tomorrow morning, every weekday morning for two hours, 10:00 A.M. Eastern in the "Situation Room."

Our breaking news coverage continues with Boris Sanchez right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:00]