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CNN's Breaking News Coverage on the Events After the U.S. Operation in Venezuela that Captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his Wife. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 05, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

It is 4:00 A.M. in Caracas, Venezuela, 3:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C., and we continue our breaking news coverage as President Donald Trump says the U.S. is, quote, "in charge of Venezuela" in his latest comments following this weekend's capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. At the same time, Venezuela's acting President, Delcy Rodriguez, is extending an invitation to Washington to collaborate on a, quote, "agenda of cooperation."

All this as Maduro is set to make his first court appearance today in a New York court. He faces drug, weapons, and narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. President Trump claims the case is strong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're just going to go through a slog of a trial. The judge is very respected, Judge Hellerstein. He's a highly respected judge, we'll see how we do.

The case is, it's infallible. People are so happy with what we've done. You know, you go down to Miami, you go down to a lot of places, and they're all dancing in the streets of this country.

Now, he was a rough -- he was a rough man. Killed millions of people. He killed millions and millions of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The operation in Venezuela is set to be the focus of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in the hours ahead. A spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary General says he is deeply alarmed by the military action and deeply concerned the rules of international law have not been respected. The call for cooperation from Venezuela's acting President is a

noticeable shift to a softer tone in her comments toward the U.S. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more from West Palm Beach, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This is kind of a striking back and forth between the Trump administration and Delcy Rodriguez, the former Vice President of Venezuela, who President Trump just identified as the likely new leader and as someone who, in his words, would make Venezuela great again.

She, after that, went on to really decry the raid that ousted Maduro, claimed that Maduro was still the leader there, and said that the U.S. was acting unlawfully.

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, VENEZUELAN ACTING PRESIDENT (through translator): What is being done to Venezuela is barbaric. Besieging and blockading the country is an atrocity that violates all mechanisms of the international human rights system.

LIPTAK: So it does set up this dissonance. And what the President said in an interview with "The Atlantic" magazine was issuing a threat. He says if she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.

So really kind of upping the pressure on Rodriguez to essentially accede to what the U.S. wants to do here. And that, at the end of the day, does appear to be what the President means by the U.S. running Venezuela. We are getting a sort of a better picture of what the President's intentions in all of these are, including from Marco Rubio, who was out on the Sunday shows.

KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS": President Trump said we're going to run the country. So is it you? Is it Secretary Hegseth? Who are those people who will be running the country specifically?

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, it's not running the country, it's running policy. The policy with regards to this. We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction because not only do we think it's good for the people of Venezuela, it's in our national interest.

LIPTAK: This is not a U.S. occupation of Venezuela akin to what we saw in Iraq. This is really more of a coercion campaign. The U.S. really relying on the leverage it thinks it has on the remnants of the Maduro regime to essentially do what the United States tells them to do.

And the leverage includes, of course, that massive military buildup which remains in place in the Caribbean Sea, but also the oil blockade that the president has ordered, insisting that oil tankers not be able to go in and out of Venezuela. So that seems to be where all of this is heading to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:05:04] CHURCH: CNN's Nic Robertson is following developments and joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Nic. So how are world leaders reacting to the audacious U.S. military action that resulted in the capture and removal of Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela and what protests have you been seeing across the globe?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think cautious is the way that some of the U.S. allies are responding. If you listen to what Keir Starmer has had to say in interviews and in tweets over the past 24 hours, he said that he always upholds international law, believes in international law, and then followed up those comments that he gave in an interview saying in a post social media posting saying that actually Maduro, U.K. is not going to shed a tear over his removal.

You know, they're clear here that allies of the United States that have vested trade economic security interests with the United States are not trying to fall foul of President Trump. But saying that, allies like Denmark, exceptionally alarmed and concerned about what they're hearing President Trump say about Greenland now, which is one of the three kingdoms of Denmark.

Mette Friedriksen, the Prime Minister there, responding to President Trump saying that again, reiterating this was something that was sort of part of his conversation early in his presidency about the need to take over Greenland for national security reasons because of the threat of Russian and Chinese ships in the area and U.S. national security interests, just pushed back and said, you know, this is not the time to be talking about this or threatening this even.

It is a time of concern for allies is where does President Trump go with this next. When you talk about protests, the U.S. embassy in Rome, for example, is warning citizens in Italy today that there is expected protests against the United States outside the embassy in Rome, outside the consulate in Florence, there were demonstrations in Milan yesterday as well against the U.S. actions in in Spain, for example, there were Venezuelan expats there celebrating what had happened in Puerto Rico, people there expressing positive sentiment about how the U.S. had removed Maduro, but in other Latin American countries, Colombia, for example, there's concern, there's a sort of an understanding that this could happen to Maduro, but the concern about how this may affect them next.

And I think that's where the sort of public sentiment is when you see the protests on the streets. But the political sentiment, the diplomatic sentiment is there too. And I think that at the moment is being most strongly expressed by Danish politicians, the Prime Minister in particular, pointing to the fact that Denmark is part of NATO, and NATO has an alliance agreement that one member, if it's attacked, will be supported by other members.

But here, you have a situation where the United States is a member of NATO, yet at the same time, appearing to threaten the interests of another NATO ally. So it raises the stakes and raises concerns more broadly about what next?

CHURCH: Yes, as you say, the big question, what comes next? We'll be watching, of course.

Nic Robertson, I appreciate you joining us. Thanks so much.

Well, sources tell CNN, the Trump administration is set to brief a select group of bipartisan lawmakers on Venezuela in a classified meeting today. Now, this comes as the U.S. Secretary of State says approval from Congress wasn't needed for the operation. But the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee disagrees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): I'm a member of the Gang of Eight, and I have yet to get a phone call from anybody in the administration. Whether you think Congress leaks or not, the law says you must brief the Congress. So this is just yet another example of absolute lawlessness on the part of this administration.

RUBIO: Well, we will seek congressional approval for actions that require congressional approval. But otherwise, they will get congressional notification. And this is not an operation that require congressional approval.

In fact, this is an operation akin to what virtually every single president for the last 40 years has conducted. The difference is that when it's Donald Trump, you know, all these Democrats go bonkers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A CBS YouGov poll from November shows the majority of Americans are largely opposed to military action in Venezuela. Notably, three in four Americans polled also said the president should have congressional approval before taking military action there.

[03:09:59]

Venezuela's exiled opposition leader is calling on the country's military to bring him to power after Nicolas Maduro's ouster. The U.S. and most Western governments recognized Edmundo Gonzalez as the rightful winner of Venezuela's presidential election in 2024. Maduro remained in power after the election board stacked with his allies claimed he won the vote, Gonzalez fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running in that election, says the time has come for Gonzalez to take his rightful place as the country's elected leader. Gonzalez is calling for Venezuela to exercise democratic principles now that Maduro is gone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDMUNDO GONZALEZ, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): As President of the Venezuelan people, I issue a calm and clear call to the national armed forces and the state security forces. Your duty is to uphold and enforce the sovereign mandate expressed on July 28, 2024. As commander-in-chief, I remind you that your loyalty is to the

constitution, to the people and to the republic. This is a historic moment and we are approaching it with serenity, clarity and democratic commitment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But the U.S. is suggesting that it will have the final say in who will lead Venezuela. President Trump says Venezuelan opposition leader and this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado lacks the respect to lead the post-Maduro government.

Our Jim Sciutto spoke with Venezuelan opposition politician and adviser to Machado, David Smolansky, on President Trump's assessment. And here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SMOLANSKY, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN, AND ADVISER TO OPPOSITION LEADER MARIA CORINA MACHADO: On that regard, with due respect to President Trump, Maria Corina Machado is the most trusted leader in Venezuela. She's got all the legitimacy when she won a primary with 93 percent of the vote. Then when she endorsed President- elect Edmundo Gonzalez after she was illegally banned from running President-elect won with 70 percent of the outcome.

And she's very capable, she's brave, she's courageous, she was in hiding for over a year and I don't have any doubt that she's going to be with President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez, the leaders of the rebuilding of Venezuela, where obviously the U.S. is going to be our main allies and we will have plenty of other allies in Latin America and Europe and beyond.

But Maria Corina Machado is a leader out of this world and she's got support from almost every Venezuelan.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: But if she doesn't have support of the U.S. President, how does she have a viable path to power?

SMOLANSKY: Well, she has a viable path to power because she's got the support of the people. She's got the legitimacy not once, but twice, as I said, winning the primary in 2023 and then the July 28th election in 2024. And then she has led a resistance chapter that contributed, I have to say, contributed for where we are right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Critics say the Trump administration is providing confusing and inconsistent legal justifications for the Venezuela operation and really hasn't provided a full explanation at all. As recently as early November, the White House Chief of Staff acknowledged that land strikes in Venezuela would need congressional approval, which the administration did not seek or receive.

Other officials also admitted they lacked the legal justification to support land strikes. But the Trump administration carried them out anyway. Now President Trump says the U.S. is running Venezuela and will take over its vast oil reserves, all of which raises more legal questions.

Ben Saul is the U.N. Special Rapporteur for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. He joins me now from Sydney, Australia. Good to have you with us.

BEN SAUL, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: Good to be with you.

CHURCH: So how would you assess the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump's actions when he ordered land strikes on Venezuela as part of this audacious operation to capture and remove the country's head of state?

SAUL: This is a deeply shocking violation of one of the most fundamental rules of international law, that is the ban on the use of aggressive military force against foreign governments.

You can only use force under international law in self-defense if you've been attacked. And here, clearly, Venezuela was not attacking the United States. Or if the United Nations Security Council has authorized it, which again is not the case here.

[03:15:04]

So this is an armed attack by the United States on Venezuela. It gives Venezuela the right of self-defense against the United States. And it's also what we call the international crime of aggression by President Trump, the Secretary of War and the U.S. military commanders who bear individual criminal responsibility for the crime of aggressively attacking another country.

CHURCH: So what should be the response to this then?

SAUL: Well, certainly countries, other governments should protest loudly against this lawlessness by the world's superpower. The U.N. General Assembly should vote to condemn it unreservedly.

Problematically, the Security Council is deadlocked because of the U.S. veto. So it can essentially give impunity to itself from enforcement action by the rest of the international community. But it's really important that other governments, not only in the global South and in Latin America, but also in Europe and countries like Canada or Australia, denounce this action very forcibly and really think seriously about the kind of alliances they have with the United States when it's such an unreliable and lawless partner.

CHURCH: Nicolas Maduro is now in the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City and will appear in court for the first time in the coming hours at 12:00 p.m. Eastern, to be specific, to face drug, weapons and narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. President Trump says the case against Maduro is infallible. Do you agree with that assessment? SAUL: Well, heads of government have immunity before foreign criminal

courts under international law, so there is no right of the United States to prosecute him in its domestic courts.

His abduction and the abduction of his wife were also, of course, illegal. I know the United States has said that this was a kind of policing or law enforcement operation, but of course that's completely untrue. There's no right to arrest anybody in a foreign country without the consent of that country's government.

This is also not law enforcement because of the intense military nature of the attack on Venezuela. It killed more than 80 people, including civilians, and remember this comes on top of a systematic campaign by the United States in recent months to essentially murder drug traffickers, alleged drug traffickers on the high seas coming from Venezuela and the Caribbean and in the Pacific, 35 military strikes by the U.S. on civilian boats on the high seas, which is really just mass murder. It's no different than if you were murdering drug traffickers on the streets of New York or Washington D.C.

So this is a whole lot of lawlessness by the United States, an illegal blockade as well, coercion about the ongoing future of the Venezuelan government and trying to essentially illegally seize control of its oil resources. This is a return to gunboat diplomacy of the worst kind during the colonial era.

CHURCH: And it's worth noting, of course, that the U.S. operation in Venezuela will now be the focus of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in the hours ahead, with the U.N. Secretary-General apparently alarmed and concerned that this U.S. military action in Venezuela did not respect the rules of international law. So what do you say to that and what do you think the Security Council will do?

SAUL: Well, it's of course certain that the United States would veto any resolution condemning the United States action in Venezuela. So I do hope that other countries will speak up forcefully to condemn what the United States has done. This is one of the most fundamental rules of the international legal order of the last century, since 1928, when the use of force was first banned in international relations between governments.

And when a country like the United States, which has previously often shown leadership on international law and ensuring respect for international law, when a country like the United States does this, it sends signals to authoritarian governments everywhere that if they have the power, they can violate international law by invading other countries, seizing their resources, deposing their governments, abducting their leaders, murdering civilians and military personnel in the process.

And this is not the kind of world that any of us really want to live in. It's a very unsafe and dangerous and lawless world of the kind that we had hoped we'd left behind in 1945, after the Second World War, when we learnt the lesson of where that kind of colonial opportunism leads the whole world into death and destruction.

[03:20:08]

CHURCH: Ben Saul, I want to thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate your analysis.

SAUL: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Still to come, how Venezuelans are feeling about the future of their country after the capture of their leader, Nicolas Maduro.

Plus how other countries in Latin America are viewing the United States' actions in Venezuela. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Massive crowds turned out in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, Sunday to show their support for captured leader Nicolas Maduro. They were carrying Venezuelan flags and chanting Venezuela with Nicolas, but others are worried about what comes next as President Trump says the U.S. is now running Venezuela.

Journalist Mary Triny Mena is on the ground in Caracas with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY TRINY MENA, JOURNALIST: We are moving around the city of Caracas to get the sense of what is in the mind of Venezuelans after events when U.S. security forces enter Venezuelan soil. We've been talking to some of them, they say they are concerned about what could happen in the coming days. Some of them are getting ready, bracing for new developments.

So that is why they are approaching to stores like this one to buy some food, to buy some medicine. And this is a constant across the city. But we need to say that there is no scarcity.

There are products, but we need to remember it's Sunday and not all establishments are open today. So that is why there's people in line waiting for food.

[03:25:03]

As I said, there is no scarcity right now, but we have witnessed police in the streets trying to guarantee that everybody that wants to buy is able to go in.

Also, we have reports from gas stations that are open. The borders in Venezuela remain open. And the main airport in Venezuela announced that domestic flights are still working in the country.

So it is a country that despite the shocking events of yesterday is trying to continue its daily routine.

For CNN, this is Mary Triny Mena, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Venezuelans who had fled Nicolas Maduro's regime are reacting to his capture.

In Puerto Rico, many could be seen waving Venezuelan flags, embracing each other and feeling hopeful about the future of Venezuela.

In Peru, some Venezuelans praised U.S. President Donald Trump for removing Maduro, while others feared that keeping Maduro loyalist in power may prevent change in the country.

Meanwhile, in South Korea's capital of Seoul, anti-Trump protesters rallied against what one attendee called, quote, "clear violations of international law." Many of the rally goers were seen chanting slogans condemning the U.S. for its operation in Venezuela.

CNN's Ivan Perez Sarmenti is in Buenos Aires where people are reacting to the situation in Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN PEREZ SARMENTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Venezuela's crisis is resonating across Latin America. Here in Buenos Aires, we spoke with people from across the region about the capture of Nicolas Maduro, but also about the role of the United States.

UNKNOWN (translated): It was a necessary thing and we must see what is next.

UNKNOWN (translated): Well, I'm super happy because Venezuela is free.

UNKNOWN (translated): I don't know what Trump's real intentions are to intervene. I don't know if it's oil.

UNKNOWN (translated): I think he wants to win his Nobel Peace Prize.

UNKNOWN (translated): It gives you a certain fight that the United States can invade any country it wants so that kind of generates a mixed feeling.

UNKNOWN (translated): But I do think is as if the United States has taken over a country and somehow kidnapped the President of a country that, well, is not good. But I think that in the long run, it will be something positive for the people of Venezuela, if not something legal in international terms, something that is well regarded as much.

UNKNOWN (translated): It gives credibility that goes for oil, because it's a lot.

UNKNOWN (translated): You can be in favor of Maduro, you can be against him, but never allow to come and kidnap your President. That's the country's sovereignty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Denmark's Prime Minister is pushing back after President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. needs Greenland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We need Greenland from a national security situation. It's so strategic.

Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you.

The European Union needs us to have it and they know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says the U.S. has, quote, "no right to take over Greenland" and added, "I will therefore strongly urge that the USA stops the threats against an historically close ally and against another country and another people who have made it very clear that they're not for sale."

After the U.S. operation in Venezuela, the wife of Trump official Stephen Miller posted to social media an image of Greenland with an American flag overlaid and the word "soon". Talk of the U.S. annexing Greenland has existed throughout Trump's second presidency.

More on the aftermath of the capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. Next, I will speak with a foreign policy expert about its potential impact on America's relationships with the rest of the world.

Plus, President Trump has a warning for Colombia's president as the country reinforces its border with Venezuela. Our breaking news coverage continues after a short break.

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[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to make his first court appearance in the coming hours, Maduro is expected to appear before a federal judge in New York at noon. He faces drug, weapons and narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. President Trump says he believes the case against Maduro is, quote, "infallible".

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is now officially the country's acting president. Venezuela's Supreme Court had ordered Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of the president after Maduro's ouster. There was no swearing-in ceremony, but she formally assumed the role ahead of her first Council of Ministers meeting on Sunday. The U.N. Security Council is also expected to meet in the hours ahead

to discuss the U.S. operation in Venezuela. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is deeply alarmed by the military action and that it constitutes a dangerous precedent in the region.

For more analysis on the U.S. strike on Venezuela and its aftermath, let's bring in Brian Fonseca. He is director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University. I appreciate you being with us.

BRIAN FONSECA, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY-JACK D. GORDON INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY: Thanks so much for having me.

CHURCH: So, after U.S. forces struck various targets in Venezuela, then captured and removed Nicolas Maduro from power, President Trump declared Saturday that, quote, "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again." But this U.S. action has shocked and concerned many around the world, including Greenland and Colombia, after President Trump suggested they might be next.

What are the geopolitical ramifications of this U.S. military action, and how might it impact America's relationship with the rest of the world going forward?

FONSECA: It's a great question. First and foremost, I'm not sure that the administration is concerned strategically about the long-term impact of what it did in Venezuela. Although, to your point, it does set a precedent, and I think that's the interpretation of countries around the world.

We've seen that in a few international fora that have met to discuss U.S. actions. They've suggested that it sets a really interesting and concerning precedent of a nation infringing upon another country's sovereignty to remove a head of state.

[03:35:07]

And that said, though, I still don't think that the United States, this administration particularly, is really concerned about the multilateral implications. I think it has already sort of suggested that it's willing to do things on its own.

I mean, just the initiation of tariffs globally earlier in the Trump administration suggests, sort of, a willingness to do things in a very pointed and almost sort of hawkish way in terms of how it's going to advance its foreign policy interests.

CHURCH: There is global concern, too, for the announcement made by President Trump that the U.S. will run Venezuela and take over the country's oil reserves. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did appear to be walking back some of this by talking about leverage over Venezuela's policy, not occupation. But how would that work, and where do you see this going next?

FONSECA: Yes, another great question. I think that the president used the term run, I think, very intentionally. He didn't say govern, he said run.

And I think what he's implying through that is he's going to unlock the American private sector in Venezuela to acquire incredible leverage on the ground by dominating Venezuela's largest economic asset, which is its oil, and, of course, moving into areas like Rare Earth, and use that leverage to force political outcomes, to force the country to move back towards democracy, to begin to recalibrate institutions for democratic rule.

I think that's what the President was referring to when Secretary Rubio doubled down on, sort of, the concept of running. It was all about leveraging our U.S. dominance in the economic sector to drive political change among the sort of political landscape within domestic Venezuelan politics.

CHURCH: And it's worth noting that Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, initially denounced the actions of the U.S., but is now extending an invitation to the U.S. government to collaborate on an agenda of cooperation after President Trump threatened her by saying she had to cooperate or pay a very big price. What do you think Rodriguez will do in the end, and how long might she last in this position, do you think?

FONSECA: Yes, I mean, it's tough. She's in an incredibly difficult, nearly no-win situation. I think, again, the administration sort of leaving remnants of the regime in place to manage sort of a longer- term transition may be the right play here.

I mean, the challenge is that the opposition is deeply distrusted by most of the institutions, particularly institutions that matter the most, the military and security institutions. Those institutions deeply distrust the opposition. And I think if there was a full swing back to the opposition, there would be a lot of tension, and the country could sort of evolve or devolve into greater civil conflict.

So I think the purpose of having Delcy in place is she's responsible for managing a longer-term transition. She's responsible for neutralizing or removing hardliners of the regime over time. And she's responsible for building bridges with the opposition and recalibrating institutions in preparation for a restoration of democracy.

I suspect she's going to be in place for a few months, if not up to a year. At some point, she's going to have to call for elections. Those elections could be 12, 18 months down the road.

But I think the purpose of leaving her in is to, again, reduce the prospects of deeper civil conflict and have someone who has influence in the regime sort of manage the more hardline elements of the regime to ensure that there's at least a more peaceful transition to democracy over the next 12 to 18 months.

CHURCH: And, Brian, what do you think President Trump means when he says the U.S. will run Venezuela until a safe transition is made? And what do you make of his suggestion that Greenland and Colombia could be next? FONSECA: Yes, I think, again, the idea of running Venezuela is

building economic influence on the ground. I mean, over the last 25 years, the United States has had a pretty persistent withdrawal from Venezuela.

You know, up until now, the U.S. has had no real access to Venezuela on the ground. It has no civil society organizations, private sector organizations, no diplomatic engagement. All of that is going to begin to be restored going forward.

You're going to see a diplomatic presence at some point. Private sector organizations are going to be on the ground. And there will be sort of more American influence on the ground to shape policy outcomes.

I think when the president references other countries that might be next, I certainly don't think it's Colombia or Greenland. I don't think those -- with Colombia, the U.S. has incredibly deep relationships. I don't see that happening.

I think the message is really for Cuba and Nicaragua. Cuba and Nicaragua are the remaining sort of autocracies in the Western Hemisphere. When you think about the national security strategy prioritizing the Western Hemisphere, the administration probably has its sights on those two countries, Cuba being personal for Secretary Rubio.

[03:40:06]

But I think those are the countries that the administration is really referencing, that it's going to work on effecting some form of change during this particular administration's term.

CHURCH: Brian Fonseca, I appreciate you joining us. Many thanks.

FONSECA: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well President Trump is now taking aim at Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Speaking with reporters, he accused the leader of heading up the country's drug dealings. He also hinted at a potential U.S. operation involving the country.

Meantime, Colombia has reinforced its border with Venezuela following U.S. operations there. CNN's David Culver has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A heavy reinforced military presence on the Colombian side of the Colombia-Venezuela border. And you can see three armored vehicles here, a fourth over there. But it's not just military that has set up here on this side of the border, but also we're told humanitarian aid in case anything happens with regards to a rush of individuals coming here into Colombia.

Now let me set the stage a bit for you. This is the border crossing where we are, Cucuta, Colombia. On the other side, you enter Venezuela.

And you can see on a Sunday morning, traffic is moving rather calmly back and forth. This is pretty typical if you talk to locals. The only difference is the military presence and the press.

And you've got many individuals from media across Latin America who have set up here to get a sense of what could happen next. Now, Cucuta is really an interesting town in that this is a pressure valve, if you will. A real indicator of what could come next.

This is a place that really saw a lot of the surge of outward migration from Venezuela in the past decade plus. Here in Colombia, you have the largest diaspora of Venezuelans, some three million according to some estimates. And of course, you had Venezuelans who passed through here to then continue up into Central America, through Mexico and into the U.S.

Many of them we've met along the way in recent years. And a lot of them reference the instability, the uncertainty, the insecurity of living in Venezuela.

So, the folks here who have made their lives in Cucuta, for example, they were out in the streets late into the night. In fact, we touched down just before midnight. And folks were still out celebrating.

You had families draping themselves in flags. There were a lot of emotions. People seemingly very happy.

What's interesting is when you speak to those individuals, those who have been, say, 10-plus years out of Venezuela, say they have their lives here in Colombia. No matter what changes in Venezuela, they have no real desire to move back.

But those who have been here less than that, and it seems to be a rough average of 10 years or so, say they do want to go home. They want to try to reestablish their lives.

So, this could be a place where we see a few things. You could see folks who are fearing the chaos, fearing more instability, fearing more fracturing coming from Venezuela into Colombia.

You could also see those who are fearing retaliation because perhaps they're aligned with Maduro. Then on this side, you could see a reverse migration, folks who want to go home, want to go back to Venezuela. And this is where many of them would return on that crossing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: President Trump wants the U.S. to rebuild Venezuela's oil industry. Still to come, we will take a look at the impact the U.S. operation is having on global oil prices. Back with that in just a moment.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: The U.S. operation in Venezuela has not had a big impact on global oil prices. The benchmark Brent crude is actually lower at the moment. That reflects how traders think there will not be a significant impact on supply.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, but it only produces a million barrels a day and it exports just over half that. That's less than 1 percent of the world's overall production.

Why hasn't Venezuela's massive oil reserve translated into a big supply of oil production? CNN's Rafael Romo explains.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How much oil does Venezuela have? According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the South American country is sitting on a massive 303 billion barrels worth of crude oil. In fact, Venezuela leads all countries, even outnumbering Saudi Arabia and representing almost 20 percent of global reserves in 2023.

In announcing the capture of Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said that American oil companies are going to invest billions of dollars in Venezuela and fix the badly broken infrastructure.

Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserve on Earth, but its potential far outweighs its actual output. Venezuela produces only about 1 million barrels of oil per day, which is about 0.8 percent of global crude production. That's less than half of what it produced when Maduro took control of the country in 2013, and less than a third of the 3.5 million barrels it was pumping in 1998, just before Hugo Chavez and the socialist regime took over.

Most of Venezuela's oil, about 68 percent, is bought by China, followed by the United States with 23 percent and Spain and Cuba at 4 percent each. While Venezuelan oil could be particularly beneficial to the United States, it could take years at an incredible expense, as the kind of oil Venezuela is sitting on requires special equipment and a high level of technical prowess to produce.

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CHURCH: Authorities in Ukraine are reporting a new barrage of drone and missile strikes overnight. They say a medical clinic in the capital was among the targets hit, with one person killed and three others wounded in that attack. More than a dozen patients had to be transported to other hospitals.

The governor of the Kyiv region says another man was killed when a drone struck his house south of the capital. Overall, Ukraine's air force says it shot down more than 130 drones launched in the north, center and east of the country. Still to come, images from the Venezuela attack and the Maduro arrest

have flooded social media. But what is fact and what is A.I.? That is ahead.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

U.S. airlines are scrambling to add flights to the Caribbean after Saturday's military operation in Venezuela disrupted travel. The FAA temporarily closed airspace in the region, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations from popular tourist spots like Aruba and Puerto Rico.

Those restrictions have been lifted, but airlines are now playing catch-up during one of the busiest travel times of the year. Delta, United, Southwest, American Airlines and JetBlue all say they're working to add more flights to get travelers where they need to go.

Roughly 48 hours now since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, CNN's Brian Stelter takes a look at how the now viral moment played out on both social and traditional media.

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BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: You know, with a monumental story like this one, you can think about social media as a supply of raw material. Photos, videos, claims and counterclaims, some true and some false. All of it for traditional media outlets to sift through, surfacing what's reliable and then shedding the rest.

We saw that happening all weekend long as the world's media focused on the aftermath of the U.S. attack in Venezuela. You know, it was eyewitnesses in Caracas and elsewhere in the country who captured the first videos of the strikes. But there were plenty of mislabeled videos on social media as well, and some examples of straight-up disinformation on those platforms.

I noticed, for example, several A.I.-generated images imagining Nicolas Maduro in U.S. government custody before verified real images were shared by the government. But sometimes that raw material can be useful.

Even members of President Trump's own inner circle were logged in to Elon Musk's social network X early Saturday morning as the attack was secretly underway. Photos released by the White House showed the social network up on a projector screen, and it appears senior officials were monitoring X to see if word of the operation had leaked or if any local residents had posted about the explosions.

It was on Trump's own rival social network, Truth Social, that he officially announced the mission, and that is symbolic of the administration's broader approach to information right now.

[03:55:07]

The Trump administration is trying to control the message by funneling information through the White House, and in many cases, directly through the President himself. Pentagon beat reporters who cover the U.S. military for a living tell me that they are not getting answers from military spokespeople, even to basic questions. Instead, those questions are being referred back to the White House.

Although in some cases, the White House is then directing those inquiries right back to the Pentagon, and no answers are forthcoming.

And Trump seems to want to be his own spokesman. He fielded questions from the press both on Saturday and again on Sunday, although many of his answers about the future of Venezuela were vague, and CNN fact checker Daniel Dale pointed out falsehoods in his comments.

Trump also hopped on the phone with several American news outlets, including a couple that he has threatened not long ago. I'm thinking, for example, about "The New York Times," where an outlet he is actively suing.

In the meantime, Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly thanked media outlets that learned about the U.S. strike plans ahead of time and held off on reporting the information, given the potential danger to American service members. Rubio said on ABC, quote, "we thank them for doing that, or lives would have been lost."

Brian Stelter, CNN.

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CHURCH: U.S. clothing company Origin USA is trying to cash in after Maduro was seen in one of their hoodies when he got off the plane in New York. The image went viral, so the company posted on social media, "Welcome to America. Unfortunately, our Patriot Blue RTX shirt won't be shipping till spring, but they're available for pre-order."

The main base company sells the cooling hoodie online for $79. The founder says he started the company to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour, I'm Rosemary Church. Enjoy the rest of your day. Stay tuned now for "Early Start" with Rahel Solomon coming up next.

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