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New Plans for War with Iran; U.S. Soldier Arrested Over Betting on Maduro Raid; Ukraine Develops Robots to Take on Russian Infantry; Seafarers Stranded In The Gulf Because Of Iran War; Trump: U.S. Does Not Know "Who The Leader Is In Iran"; Cubans Living In U.S. Send Aid To Family Amid Energy Crisis. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 24, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Preparations are underway if the ceasefire with Iran fails. We will look at what sources are telling us about the U.S. Military's contingency plan. Plus, thousands of seafarers remain stranded because of the war. Food, water and fuel are running out as their pleas for help grow. And she's being called football goddess. We will speak to the first woman to lead a men's football team in Europe.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber."

BRUNHUBER: We begin in Washington where the U.S. Military is making plans in case the ceasefire with Iran falls apart. Multiple sources tell CNN the Pentagon is working on ways to target Iran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz. They include potential strikes on smaller fast boats, minelaying vessels, and other Iranian assets.

President Trump is talking about the prospects for a peace deal. He says he has all the time in the world to make it happen, and he won't be rushed. He expressed some skepticism over who's actually in charge in Iran. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They're not doing well economically, financially. They're not doing any business because of the blockade. They want to make a deal. We have been speaking to them. But they don't even know who's leading the country. They're in turmoil. I don't want to rush myself, you know, because every story says, oh, Trump is under time pressure. I'm not. No, no. You know who's under time pressure? They are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Iran's president and parliament speaker fired back on social media saying -- quote -- "In Iran, there are no radicals or moderates; we are all 'Iranian' and 'revolutionary,' and with iron unity of the nation and government, with complete obedience to the Supreme Leader, we will make the aggressor criminal regret his actions."

Meanwhile, President Trump has announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Diplomats from both countries met at the White House on Thursday. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. says the deal shows peace between Israel and Lebanon, isn't a pipe dream. Here's President Trump again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They do have Hezbollah to think about. And we're going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country. I really believe we -- it's something we can do pretty easily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The talks at the White House didn't stop the two sides from trading fire. Hezbollah says it launched rockets toward northern Israel and the Israeli military says it retaliated by striking Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

I want to bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos live in Dubai. So, Eleni, first, what more do we know about the U.S. Military's new plans to target Iran's Strait of Hormuz defenses if the ceasefire fails?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kim. And yes -- I mean -- and also listening to President Trump just constantly extending the timeline, saying he has all the time in the world. It really pertains to what is going on in the Strait of Hormuz.

And our sources are telling us that if the ceasefire fails and, of course, there's some kind of breach in the ceasefire, then there are military plans in terms of targeting specific Iranian strategic assets in and around the Strait of Hormuz. And it's really interesting to hear this at a time where the United States has explicitly said that Iran's navy has been eliminated.

There are 150 boats and ships that are under the sea. But, in fact, this does not include the asymmetrical tactics that Iran has been able to utilize to strike against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and also allegedly seize ships in the strait.

And that's exactly what the U.S. Military now is going to be focusing on. It's going to be a lot more concentrated in the Strait of Hormuz, in the southern Arabian Gulf, as well as the Gulf of Oman. What they're going to be targeting is the small speed boats that can carry around half a dozen IRGC commanders, that can also lay mines, for example.

President Trump was very explicit in saying yesterday that he has an order for the U.S. Navy to shoot and kill any of these speed boats that are laying any mines. This is while the United States saying they're doing mine clearing operations in and around the strait. [02:05:02]

But what's also interesting is that Iran and the IRGC still has around 50 percent of its assets before the war. So, we're talking about a lot of sort of asymmetrical assets that are still very much in existence. Now, one of these speedboats on its own can't cause a lot of damage, but if they use a swarm tactic and you see hundreds of them and, potentially, we know, according to sources, there could be still thousands of them in the hands of the IRGC, that is where they can cause quite significant damage.

This is at a time when you're seeing Iran as well as the United States trying to assert control over the strait that clearly has become, you know, at the center of negotiations, and we're seeing this through the narratives not only from the president of the United States but also from Iranian leadership.

BRUNHUBER: Eleni, shifting now to the ceasefire extension in Lebanon. Still lots of uncertainty over that. Walk us through the layers.

GIOKOS: Yes. This is really interesting because President Trump announced a three-week extension to the 10-day truce that had already been announced. And this is very consequential for people in Lebanon. We know this is very historic, to see both sides talking like this. And, in fact, ambassadors from both sides meeting at the White House yesterday. We also know that President Trump was part of some of those conversations to sort of work out exactly how this would look.

But look, three weeks is, of course, just adding to the 10 days that was already in place. The question is Hezbollah, which is an Iranian proxy, whether they are going to make good on the ceasefire.

Here's the reality on the ground, Kim, that even while those conversations were taking place, both sides were exchanging fire. You know, Hezbollah was launching rockets into northern Israel, and then Israel released this footage around targeting specific launch strikes within southern Lebanon. So, this is very consequential. The question now becomes, you know, just how, you know, tight is the ceasefire? You know, are both sides going to be agreeing to it?

Well, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, says the ceasefire is not 100%. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: The Lebanese government, they have no control of Hezbollah. And Hezbollah is sending rockets, trying to sabotage the ceasefire. And it's where we have to retaliate. Every time we see a threat, we take an action. And I think the main question is whether the Lebanese government is capable of enforcing a ceasefire or a peace agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: There are a lot of questions around whether the Lebanese government can enforce the ceasefire. There's a question around, you know, how independent is Hezbollah. And then, of course, importantly, what Israel does. And I just want to remind everyone, on Wednesday, there were Israeli strikes in parts of Lebanon that resulted in the death of one journalist and also injured another. And the Lebanese prime minister called this a war crime. This is as, of course, everything is still tentative. There is a hope at least from President Trump's side that he'll get both leaders at some point in Washington, D.C. for in-person conversations. That would be absolutely historic. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Eleni Giokos in Dubai, thanks so much.

A Kuwaiti-American journalist detained in Kuwait for 52 days has been acquitted of all charges. Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was arrested after sharing Iran war videos on social media. His attention has highlighted the restrictions some Gulf countries have imposed on media coverage of the war since it began in late February. Some of the imagery Shihab- Eldin shared include a CNN video of a U.S. fighter jet crash over Kuwait.

The U.S. special forces soldier involved in capturing former Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, is now facing federal charges for allegedly betting on the top-secret mission. The soldier is accused of misusing classified information after allegedly betting on Polymarket that Maduro would be out of power by January. Prosecutors say his long shot bet made him $400,000 in profit.

CNN's Kara Scannell explains how these prediction markets are coming under scrutiny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major arrest tied to a suspicious $32,000 bet that paid out in January by a trader who used the name "Burdensome-Mix." The bet was a long shot, that longtime Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, would be out by the end of January. Shortly after it was placed, a covert U.S. Military operation ensued, extracting Maduro.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: President Trump says the U.S. carried out large-scale strikes on Venezuela overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR AND FIELD CORRESPONDENT: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arriving in New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: This is unprecedented. This is history in the making for Venezuela.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL (voice-over): Law enforcement now alleging that the traitor who made over $400,000 is U.S. special forces soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, and that he was involved in the planning and execution of the Maduro raid. Van Dyke is alleged to have misused classified government information for personal gain.

[02:10:02]

And more bets and trades time suspiciously around major news developments are in question. Fifteen minutes before President Donald Trump posted on Tuesday that he would extend a ceasefire with Iran, traders placed a whopping $430 million bet that oil prices would drop. The trade is one of four massive bets that preceded major announcements in the U.S.-Iran conflict since late March, according to Reuters, raising concerns about potential insider trading.

Last Friday, investors bet $760 million that oil prices would drop. Twenty minutes later, Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. After the post, oil futures fell 11 percent.

And earlier this month, less than three hours before President Trump announced on Truth Social a U.S. ceasefire with Iran, traders had bet $950 million that oil prices would fall. That bet paid off as well. Oil futures fell 15 percent after the post.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): This is corruption. This is just astounding corruption.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL (voice-over): These are not isolated incidents. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy called out $580 million bet placed 15 minutes before Trump posted on Truth Social he would delay striking Iran's energy infrastructure. It was another winner. Oil futures plummeted 15 percent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURPHY: That kind of scale never happens on a Monday morning at 6:50. But it was happening for a reason because people that were making those bets knew that a few minutes later, Donald Trump was about to post something on social media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL (voice-over): There are no obvious ties between the trades and White House officials. And a White House spokesman told CNN any implication that administration officials are violating the law is -- quote -- "baseless and irresponsible."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The key phrase that makes something insider trading under the law is if somebody is trading based on material non-public information. The question, essentially, is this information that was known to the general public outside the halls of Congress, outside of the White House, outside of government itself?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL (voice-over): Last month, the White House sent a memo to staff reminding them that -- quote -- "The misuse of nonpublic information by government employees for financial benefit is a very serious offense and will not be tolerated."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCANNELL (on camera): President Donald Trump reacting to the arrest, saying it seems unfortunately that the whole world is a casino. He said, I'm not happy with it. Van Dyke is expected to make his first court appearance Friday morning.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

BRUNHUBER: Tech giant Meta says it plans to cut thousands of jobs. We'll explain who's impacted and why this is happening after the break. Plus, Russian foot soldiers face a new enemy in Ukraine, one that isn't human. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Returning to our top story, the U.S. Military is making plans in case the ceasefire with Iran falls apart. Multiple sources tell CNN the Pentagon is working on ways to target Iran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, President Trump has announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Diplomats from both countries met at the White House on Thursday.

I want to bring in Mina Al-Oraibi, who is the editor-in-chief of the English language daily newspaper, "The National." She joins me now from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you again. Thanks so much for coming on with us.

I want to start there with Lebanon. We've now got this three-week extension of the ceasefire, these historic direct talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House. But Hezbollah isn't part of those negotiations. There are still rockets being fired. I mean, how much optimism do you have over this very tenuous ceasefire holding?

MINA AL-ORAIBI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE NATIONAL: It is indeed tenuous. But the extension is welcome. The Lebanese government had gone to Washington hoping for one-month ceasefire. They were able to get three weeks which is a way, again, in negotiation, you put something forward and the other side tries to negotiate now as part of, of course, a bigger power play here of who has the upper hand.

You're right about rockets being fired. Israel continues, of course, some of its military operations inside of Lebanese territory. This week, there was a tragic killing of one journalist and the wounding of another. So, on the ground, it's incredibly fragile, but it's holding, and that's what was important coming out from this meeting.

The fact that you're having face-to-face meetings between the Lebanese and Israeli sides is to look for a longer-term settlement that will end this continuous cycle of war. Of course, there was only, just a few months ago, further strikes again on Beirut and, of course, for Israel's perception of continued attacks from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, as you said, are not part of the talks, and they shouldn't be. Lebanon is a sovereign state that needs to be represented by its diplomats. And that's what this current government has been pushing towards, to make sure not only Hezbollah doesn't negotiate on their part, but also Iran.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So, let's -- let's talk about Iran. The Pentagon is basically saying the gloves are coming off if the ceasefire fails, specifically targeting those -- those fast boats and minelayers in the strait. How close are we to a shooting war in the Gulf? And what's your reaction on how all these -- the standoff, particularly, is playing out?

AL-ORAIBI: So, most of this week, we've been in a holding panel, waiting to see if there will be talks between the U.S. and Iran. Pakistan has continuously said there could be the possibility of talks being restarted in Islamabad.

[02:20:03]

Failing that, we could very quickly see and move towards military escalation. Iran is holding the Strait of Hormuz to hostage. Basically, they're taking a hostage, affecting the entire world's economy. And so, the U.S., as your reporting has highlighted, is saying we're going to stop Iran being able to block the strait.

Now, the strait is a very narrow stretch of water. And also, Iran's navy is completely gone. What they can rely on, small gunboats, mines, tactical asymmetric warfare that can really limit the movement. And so, the U.S. is saying they will go at them. In response, of course, Iran has said that they would also strike. So, we would see a very quick escalation militarily unless, hopefully, there's some diplomatic moves to get the two sides to the table.

BRUNHUBER: Complicating those diplomatic moves is that question of who's in charge, which the White House has been openly questioning. I don't know if you heard the clip from President Trump earlier who's saying, you know, basically, I don't know who's in charge here. We still haven't seen the new supreme leader in public. I mean, from what you're hearing, is the Iranian leadership really as shaky and divided as the U.S. claims it is?

AL-ORAIBI: So, our reporting shows that it is shaky and there has been a decimation of the top leadership in Iran and also those who were skilled in negotiating with the U.S. and also making these long- term military plans. The top layer largely has been eliminated. And so, as the new layer comes in, there is this tug of war between the, so to speak, hawks led by the IRGC, which does have the upper hand in Iran today, and then those who want to find a diplomatic solution.

And so, there is this tension, certainly there, and it's shaky, but, at the same time, the Iranians have used this good cop, bad cop narrative for years. That's how they've been able to stall resolving major issues. So, in some way, I think we have to not overemphasize that. Ultimately, this is a state that is largely functioning despite the incredible disruptions there. So, they are responsible. I think there should be an application of responsibility there.

BRUNHUBER: Great context for us there. Mina Al-Oraibi, thank you so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.

Meta says it plans to cut around 10 percent of its workforce and lay off about 8,000 people on May 20th. The tech giant also says it won't fill around 6,000 positions as it invests billions in artificial intelligence. Meta spent $72 billion last year on capital expenditures, including A.I. infrastructure. It expects to spend at least $115 billion this year. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It says it hopes to emerge as a more efficiently-run company.

Ukraine is getting a financial lifeline to help it fight -- keep fighting Russia's aggression. On Thursday, the European Union approved more than $100 billion loan. Hungary and Slovakia had opposed the loan for months because they stopped receiving Russian oil that flows through a pipeline in Ukraine, but they dropped their opposition now that the oil imports have resumed. The loan will help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Today is a good day for Ukraine and for Europe. You might recall, Volodymyr, that when I visited in February this year, I said that we will deliver on the 90 billion Euro loan one way or the other. And today, we deliver on this promise.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Together, we will solve many issues of protecting of lives. And, of course, we will keep working to push Russia to real diplomacy, to end this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: In the war in Ukraine, it seems military robots are replacing humans and heading into battle. CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the future of warfare. A bird's eye view of two robots on their own as they zip through a snowy field in Kharkiv region, evading enemy fire, and making it to their goal, a Russian infantry position under a damaged tank.

(EXPLOSION)

Russia may have more men in this four-year war, but Ukraine believes that its robots can help make a difference, like here.

(EXPLOSION)

One blows up part of a building, allowing a second to destroy a basement in which soldiers were hiding. More losses for Russia and, again, zero for Ukraine, a crucial arithmetic as Kyiv battles Moscow's superior numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): The future is already here, already on the battlefield, and Ukraine is creating it.

BELL (voice-over): That was here, also in region of Kharkiv, when a unit of robots did the work of soldiers with no blood spilt.

UNKNOWN (through translator): That unit took over the dugout's tree line in just 15 minutes.

[02:25:00]

The entire strip was already ours, literally and without any losses. Not a single shot was fired.

BELL (voice-over): The robots even managed to take prisoners that day, a first in Ukraine's war. President Zelenskyy says that 10,000 missions have now been carried out by robots.

ZELENSKYY: We have to stop altogether Putin. And we can stop it with weapon because he doesn't want to speak.

BELL (voice-over): But Ukraine's military technology, which includes its sea and fiber optic drones, is not just its pride. President Zelenskyy says it's also bringing in money now that Kyiv is helping Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar with their air defenses against Iranian drones.

We're witness to a global robotic arms race today. The United States, Europe, Russia, and China are all developing robot systems and tactics. But the pressures on its front lines have given Ukraine an advantage in figuring out what war might look like with more robots and less blood.

Melissa Bell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Thousands of seafarers are stranded as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Still ahead, we'll look at their precarious situation and their chances of going home. Stay with us.

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[02:30:00]

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[02:30:47]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of people are paying a big price for the war in Iran, even though they're just doing their jobs. They're not soldiers and have nothing to do with the conflict itself, but they face constant danger and can't go home. We're talking about seafarers who have been stranded because of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. About 20,000 of them are believed to be on various vessels that can't leave the Persian Gulf. Both the U.S. and Iran have seized or targeted commercial ships in recent days.

According to their union, some of their vessels are running low on food, water and fuel. It says the seafarers are being used as pawns in the conflict.

For more, we're joined by Christian Bueger, a professor of international relations at the University of Copenhagen. He's also a fellow at the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research, and he is in Geneva.

Thanks so much for joining us here. So just to set the stage, can you walk us through what conditions are actually like on these ships right now?

CHRISTIAN BUEGER, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN: So, we are now in week eight of the conflict. And that means that the seafarers, many of which have not seen their families for a considerable period of time, they live on the ship. And it matters a little bit what kind of shipping company they are employed with, because some of them are very well taken care of, because they work for the big shipping companies. But there's also a lot of black ships in the in the market.

And here, we're looking at more dangerous and threatening situations where food shortages, for instance, can have a very difficult produce very difficult circumstances for the seafarers.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Okay. So, for those ones that, that aren't necessarily with the huge shipping companies and maybe a bit more vulnerable, as you say, they might be running low on supplies. I mean, who is responsible for, for resupplying them? And can that actually happen right now

BUEGER: Yes, to some degree. That's possible. The shipping company and the operator is in charge here. And also the flag states have obligations, but many of these ships are also sailing under flags of convenience, where this is not necessarily being guaranteed.

Fortunately, the secretary general of the International Maritime Organization is putting a lot of effort into helping the seafarers. And just on Monday, we are going to have the next U.N. Security Council debate on maritime security, where the secretary general is also speaking. And let's not forget, we also have the military planning process of the military coalition led by the U.K. and France underway. And there's also a humanitarian working group that is looking into options of how to resolve the situation.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Unfortunately, none of those options have really gone anywhere concrete yet. Certainly, some of those U.N. resolutions have been vetoed by China and other nations. And there's still a lot of time when you're talking about that coalition actually trying to achieve anything in the strait. So, in the meantime, you have the situation that's taking place with mines still in the water, the Pentagon threatening to go after Iranian ships if the cease fire collapses. So how worried are the seafarers that, uh, that they could get caught essentially in the middle of an actual shooting war there in the gulf?

BUEGER: Well, the seafarers will always be asked whether they want to take the risk to go through. We had a couple of ships going through where the crew actually agreed to this high risk operation. But in the majority of cases, the risk level has to be really low. And it continues to be extremely high.

And we will always have some first movers in the shipping industry that are ready to take higher risk levels. But right now, we in an absolute stalemate situation. So, nothing really goes.

But, at least we are not seeing a further escalation at the moment.

[02:35:02]

So that's to some degree also positive news.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, not at the moment at least. In the meantime, we have the International Transport Workers Federation. They've managed apparently to rescue some, you know, 450 seafarers. But obviously, just a tiny fraction of the some 20,000. They're still out there.

So, explain the challenges of getting these people home.

BUEGER: Well, someone has to be on the ship. The ship needs to be needs everyday maintenance. So, you cannot just abandon it, so to say. But you can of course, you can replace crews via air. Again, it depends on the -- on the shipping company, but it's also relatively difficult to replace crews because there's not that many qualified captains that know the vessel inside out. And if you would -- the wrong crew there, that obviously creates a maritime safety risks down the line.

So, for many seafarers, it will imply to, to be stuck there for the foreseeable future until, the navigation through the strait becomes safer and more ships can go through again.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. And they've issued some -- you know, almost 2,000 calls for help from them, from their families. So many scared seafarers and concerned families for their loved ones who are -- who are trapped out there without much prospect of being rescued, as you say right now anyway.

Christian Bueger, thank you so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.

U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration doesn't know who the leader is in Iran. The Iranian president and parliamentary speaker put out identical statements touting the country's unity after President Trump claimed the government split by infighting.

The reality of the situation is complicated.

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: President Donald Trump says there's a new regime in power in Tehran.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people there now are much more reasonable than the lunatics that you had. You can call it what you want, but I call it regime change.

GHARAGOZLOU: On the surface, that might be true. This is the structure of Iran's government, which we mapped out in an earlier video. And powerful positions have been replaced by new names and faces. But look a little closer, a little deeper. And what's clear is a picture of a regime in which one actor has emerged the most powerful, the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And that's not surprising.

HAMIDREZA AZIZI, VISITING FELLOW, GERMAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AND SECURITY AFFAIRS: This was a process that that didn't happen overnight.

GHARAGOZLOU: Here's why this isn't really a regime change and why, in many ways, the IRGC is actually not less radical than their predecessors.

Unlike militaries in the U.S. or Europe, the IRGC is a paramilitary organization, what some call Iran's deep state. It was formed in parallel to the existing army and technically answers directly to the supreme leader. Like a regular military, it has a navy, air force, ground force, but it also includes the Quds Force and the Basij, two additional branches that focus on politics that you don't see in most armed forces.

The Quds Force is a shadowy elite arm of the IRGC that has long been used throughout the region to arm, train and operate alongside Iran's allies. The so-called axis of resistance. Think Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, Shia militia groups in Iraq and Syria's Bashar al-Assad. All of these have connections with the Quds Force, which has provided funding, aid, weaponry, training and even political support to help build up these proxy groups, spending millions of dollars a year.

So that's the Quds Force. The Basij operates domestically, but we'll get back to that. The thing to understand here is that the IRGC has built up ties throughout the region and is very well-funded.

A lot of its economic power stems from the period right after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, when they were allowed to play a larger role in Iran's economic reconstruction.

NARGES BAJOGHLI, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Businesses tied to the Revolutionary Guard, whether former commanders who had retired or officers of the guards who were loyal to the guard still and had created businesses, they began to get preferential treatment in the bidding processes, in the rebuilding of the country.

GHARAGOZLOU: Later, when Iran's society protested against the government, the supreme leader began to pour even more of the state's finances into the IRGC.

AZIZI: Because of the support that they received from the office of the supreme leader, they started also increasingly getting involved into economy and increasingly into politics. And that's how they somehow started infiltrating into almost all circles of power.

GHARAGOZLOU: And over the last 30 plus years, the IRGC made itself indispensable, eventually gaining control of key sectors of Iran's economy, like energy, construction, telecommunications , media, mining, electronics, automobile banking, and even nuclear.

[02:40:10]

One way it did this was by learning how to work around sanctions with tactics like creating shell companies and disabling trackers on tankers. Tactics that smaller businesses often didn't have access to.

BAJOGHLI; In order to keep trade flowing in and out of the country. Small businesses start to get iced out because they can't afford to bust through sanctions. Busting through sanctions is extremely capital intensive, and it's also obviously illegal, right? So, the only businesses that could actually afford to bust through where business is tied to the political and military leadership in Iran. And that is the moment in which the IRGC really begins to monopolize over the economy.

GHARAGOZLOU: Nargis says that in some ways, Iran's decades long running conflict with the U.S. and Israel helped set the stage for the IRGC to flourish.

BAJOGHLI: Iran, in essence, has been engaged in and has been sort of subjected to war for 47 years. Sanctions is also a type of warfare. And the way in which maximum pressure, especially sanctions, were implemented on Iran means that for a very long time, there was a huge shadow war happening between Iran, the United States and Israel. And in a shadow war, it is the intel agencies and the military that comes to the forefront of political decision making.

GHARAGOZLOU: And that decision making is where the Basij comes in.

The Basij is Iran's domestic enforcement arm formed during the Iran- Iraq war by volunteers working to preserve the Islamic Republic's ideology. They were foot soldiers during the war, eventually becoming a primary force behind protest crackdowns and hijab enforcement.

BAJOGHLI: They were really at the forefront of creating a lot of these cultural and social restrictions, especially for women and young people.

GHARAGOZLOU: So, to review, the IRGC isn't really a new regime. It's a piece of the old regime that's becoming more powerful, and it's still radical in some ways, though. What that means is changing.

BAJOGHLI: The IRGC, especially ever since it's become more involved in the economic fields in Iran. Um, is in some ways has forced to become a little bit more pragmatic because they also understand that if they lose power, they don't just lose their position in society, but they also lose all of this wealth that they've amassed. In many ways, the IRGC and those forces around it are having to make very pragmatic decisions at this stage, which is, do we want to fight with our domestic population at the same time that were fighting with these external enemies?

GHARAGOZLOU: To be sure, they still don't formally control the government, but they are already in key positions and in the parliament, positions that could be critical in their dealings with the U.S. and Israel.

AZIZI: It's only a matter of, you know, whether they want to also occupy formal positions as well, like the position of the president or they want to act mostly from behind the scenes.

GHARAGOZLOU: But with their growing influence, life won't necessarily get easier for Iranians. Economic monopolies and corruption benefiting the IRGC make it hard for Iranians to make money and break into the nations key industries. So, with a struggling economy and a repressive and violent regime, the IRGC represents to many Iranians all that is wrong with the system.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A mass trial is underway in a mega prison in El Salvador. After the break, we'll look at who's been charged and the crimes they allegedly committed.

Stay with us.

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[02:48:07]

BRUNHUBER: The Trump administration has announced its reclassifying state licensed marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the order to move state licensed medical marijuana products from a schedule one drug to a schedule three, a schedule one narcotics like heroin and ecstasy, are the most restricted. Medical marijuana will now be in the same category as prescription medications like Tylenol with codeine and ketamine. The change doesn't make recreational marijuana legal under federal law. A mass virtual trial of hundreds of alleged gang members got underway on Thursday in El Salvador's notorious CECOT mega prison. Handcuffed and ankle chained inmates watched the proceedings in front of TV screens. The trial involves more than 47,000 alleged crimes, including homicide, arms trafficking and even trying to establish a parallel state committed between 2012 and 2022.

As Cuba struggles with an ongoing energy crisis, Cubans living in the United States are still trying to help deliver much needed aid to the island.

CNN's Carolina Peguero talked with Cuban expats in Miami who send supplies back home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Aiza opens her trunk packed with boxes and bags of goods. Everything inside has one destination, Cuba.

For Aiza, and many Cubans coming to this type of agency is part of their routine in south Florida. They arrive, stand in line, sometimes for hours, and send off their shipments.

She claims to always include something essential for Cubans.

AIZA CRUZ, MIAMI RESIDENT (translated): The typical Cuban breakfast is coffee with milk. Any Cuban who doesn't get their coffee and milk hasn't had breakfast.

PEGUERO (voice-over): This isn't new. For decades, the Cuban diaspora has supported their families on the island, but now the need is greater.

[02:50:01]

PEGUERO: So, this is just an idea of what it looks like here in this place where there's a lot of cargo shipments being sent out to different parts of the world, including Cuba. A lot of people have been waiting in line for hours just trying to get a spot in line.

BRYAN CALVO, HIALEAH, FLORIDA MAYOR: See, you know, days where you'll have a couple hundred people waiting in line to send goods.

PEGUERO (voice-over): Cuba's crisis has deepened under sweeping U.S. economic restrictions, tightening the pressure on an already fragile economy. Fuel shortages and rolling blackouts have intensified, and goods that were once hard to find are now increasingly scarce.

RAMON RIZO, MIAMI RESIDENT (translated): It's terrible, there is no electricity, no gas, no oil, no gasoline. There is nothing, and the people are in the dark.

PEGUERO (voice-over): Jose Antonio Govea is sending a generator to his mother. JOSE ANTONIO GOVEA, MIAMI RESIDENT (translated): You charge it and

then turn it on when the power goes out. She has one over there, but she broke it, so it doesn't work anymore.

PEGUERO: How much was it?

GOVEA (translated): $300, plus $104 to send it, That's $404 in total.

PEGUERO (voice-over): Jose Antonio says he'll keep sending essentials, but he hopes Cuba will change.

GOVEA (translated): God willing, this administration under Donald Trump, our president, brings a change that leads to a solution. We cannot go on like this. The solution is not for us to send support to our families for our entire lives.

PEGUERO (voice-over): Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, she's a game changer for European football and especially Germany. We meet the first woman to manage a top tier men's team in Europe's major soccer leagues.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Extreme drought conditions have fueled dozens of fires across the state of Georgia, 36,000 acres have burned in the last 30 days. One fire in Brantley County intensified on Thursday because of shifting winds. At least 87 homes have been destroyed like this one. The family grabbed everything they could before evacuating on Tuesday. Just 30 minutes after leaving, they checked their surveillance cameras to find their home up in flames.

Meanwhile, in nearby Clinch County, a wildfire is still growing out of control. The blaze is close to the border with Florida, which is also expected to face above average fire activity through at least June.

Breaking the glass ceiling, at least for the time being. Marie-Louise Eta has made history by becoming the first woman to lead a men's team in one of Europe's top five football leagues.

[02:55:00]

She became interim manager of Union Berlin last week, but this smashing of a long standing barrier has been met with some ugly abuse online.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The welcome that FC Union Berlin fans gave their new interim coach, Marie-Louise Eta, football goddess, they bellowed.

The climax of a week where the club and Eta became history makers. The first woman to take charge of a men's football team in any of Europe's top five leagues, smashing through a glass ceiling.

SHUKLA: What was your feeling when you took charge of the game on Saturday? When you walked out onto the pitch?

MARIE-LOUISE ETA, FC UNION BERLIN INTERIM HEAD COACH (through translator): I was really looking forward to it because we had a good week of training and then it was just about getting it on the pitch right from the start, a lot of energy, but also the tactics, and that's why I had a good feeling and I was just happy when it started.

PHILIPP KOSTER, FOUNDER, 11-FREUNDE MAGAZINE (through translator): Marie-Louise Eta football expertise is undisputed.

SHUKLA (voice-over): Philipp Koster is the founder of one of Germany's most popular football magazines, "Elf Freunde", or "11 Friends".

KOSTER (through translator): Much more important is the question of why football needed so long to be confident for a woman to also train a men's team. So, the questions you have to ask yourself are more embarrassing for football than for Marie-Louise Eta.

SHUKLA: Marie-Louise Eta's appointment has been widely hailed across the football world as a success, but online there are still haters, abuse and misogynism.

SHUKLA (voice-over): Since the historic appointment, a torrent of awful abuse has been hurled at her online. The club have been active in calling out insolent fans and not afraid to issue their own rebukes.

A few days after their loss to Wolfsburg, I asked Louis, as her players and staff call her, how she's coped with the vitriol.

ETA (through translator): I'm focusing on what I can influence here and that's the work with the guys on the pitch, the daily football routine. It's about staying focused and focusing on the thing. That's what we do every day.

SHUKLA (voice-over): They didn't win at the weekend and have struggled this season, resulting in the sacking of previous manager Stefan Baumgart. Eta called on her fans to stick by their side.

ETA (through translator): We will also need it in the next few weeks and it will be important. And, of course, the team have to perform on the pitch first and then I am convinced that we will have every fan with us.

SHUKLA (voice-over): Support from the Union die-hards will be hard to dampen.

SIMON, FC UNION BERLIN SUPPORTER: She needs a little bit more time to get to know the guys better, and then there will be also a better result.

SHUKLA (voice-over): Club President Dirk Zingler said Eta will only remain in charge until the end of the season, as keeping her on would be a disservice to women's football.

Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Berlin at the Stadion An Der Alten Forsterei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment with more news.

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