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America's 250th Anniversary; Iran Bids Final Farewell to Slain Supreme Leader; Swift-Kelce Nuptials; Pope Leo in Lampedusa; Questions Mount over Venezuela's Official Death Toll; Ukrainian Woman Disguised as Man Suspected in Monaco Bombing. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired July 04, 2026 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world and in the U.S. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's get into the headlines.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yet as we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): That is president Donald Trump there, warning of the threats of communism as he spoke at Mt. Rushmore on the very eve of America's Independence Day.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): And the first American pope is spending July 4th on the front lines of Europe's own migrant crisis. We're there live with a look at the message Pope Leo wants to send.
Plus funeral ceremonies begin for Iran's former supreme leader, ayatollah Khamenei, as Tehran has a new warning for the U.S. and Israel.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Salma Abdelaziz.
ABDELAZIZ: Americans are waking up to celebrations across the nation for its 250th anniversary. President Donald Trump spent Independence Day at Mt. Rushmore. During his speech, Mr. Trump warned that communism is the biggest threat to the country, taking aim at his political rivals.
His visit also included a very impressive fireworks display. The president has promised that his speech on Saturday night will be "really long," despite a dangerous heat wave's potential effect on his audience and that the fireworks show that will follow is expected to be so big, it's going to set a new record. Trump promises that America's 250th birthday will be, in his words,
the most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen.
A large crowd gathered to hear president Trump speak at Mt. Rushmore on Friday. The monument honors presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And if Mr. Trump gets his way, his likeness could join them someday. Jeff Zeleny has more from his speech.
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TRUMP: Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11. We're not going to let this happen to us. Believe me, we're not letting it happen because communism is the enemy of free people everywhere, everywhere in the world.
Never works. It's the enemy of the Constitution. Above all, it's the enemy of July 4th, 1776.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And that was president Trump on the eve of the 4th of July, delivering a warning about what he says is a rising threat of communism in America, offering a pointed preview of perhaps his midterm election message.
But in a very disciplined and even short speech by his standards, only 30 minutes or so, the president stayed very closely to his message, talking about American patriotism and the role in the country.
TRUMP: Tonight, on the threshold of our 25th year, we stand beneath the monument of these heroes, a true group of unbelievable people. And we rededicate ourselves to being a nation as big, bold, noble and as great as these American giants. And that's not easy to do but we're going to do it. These men could only have been made in the USA.
ZELENY: Now the president did not even stick around for the fireworks afterward but there was quite a show before his arrival, for the first time flying that new Air Force One over Mt. Rushmore, giving quite a scene to his supporters on the ground.
And then one flyover after another certainly created the anticipation of him. But he also seemed like he wanted to return to Washington. Of course, a very big day on Saturday as he delivers a major address on the National Mall. The White House concerned about crowds there.
No concern here at Mt. Rushmore. Supporters gathered by the thousands and loved the night.
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ABDELAZIZ: Joining us now live from London is Laurel Rapp. She is the director of the U.S. and North Americas Programme at Chatham House. Good morning to you, first of all, Laurel.
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Thank you so much for joining us. To break down what is, of course, a very important occasion, the 250th birthday of America, we were just listening on our air there to president Trump, who stood before Mt. Rushmore last night and lashed out at his opponents, called them godless, evil communists.
What do you think this tells us about where America stands on July 4th?
LAUREL RAPP, DIRECTOR, U.S. AND NORTH AMERICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, happy birthday to all of those celebrating in the United States and those Americans around the world. We are marking the occasion here in London.
The U.S. embassy put on a really excellent gathering this week, one of the biggest events of the year here, inviting Tim McGraw to be introduced to the British people. So that was a fun cross-cultural exchange.
But you're exactly right. There are deeper questions here about where the U.S. understands its role in the world right now, how it understands and interacts with its own history.
It's no surprise that president Trump chose Mt. Rushmore as this place for this speech. He is very adept at scene setting and theatrics. And he has presented a very pure and distilled version of American history here.
The history of Mt. Rushmore is much more complex, built on Native American land by a sculptor who was likely a member of the Ku Klux Klan. But also has these really patriotic strains underpinning them on U.S. power and might and patriotism and freedom.
And so there's so much complexity to where he's speaking. A lot of that gets flattened over. But this is a moment of reflection and uncertainty of where the U.S. is headed and how it interacts with the rest of the world.
ABDELAZIZ: And I want to have a bigger conversation than president Trump because, of course, in the context of 250 years, he is a fraction of American history. And so many of the principles that he espouses or uses to justify his policies are longstanding American ideals -- exceptionalism, isolationism.
How do these values continue to define America today and how are they being wielded to justify policies?
RAPP: For those who say president Trump is an aberration or a blip, they are not students of history. Many of these questions and these views that he has seeded over the last years can be traced back to the origins of the founding fathers of the United States.
There were so many contested debates at the origin 250 years ago of what the U.S.' place in the world should be.
Should the U.S. be a country of broad ties and alliances around the world?
Or should it be more narrowly focused at home?
President George Washington, the first president, said the U.S. should not be tangled in alliances that burden the United States, yoking themselves to other countries' problems and instead solving problems at home.
So that strain is still very much an active debate. Early debates, two of the founding fathers, of how to think about its economy.
Is it a free trading nation?
Is it a nation of protectionism and tariffs and trade barriers?
Right. These are questions that still endure today. That is the U.S. going to advance a set of universal values of democracy, of human rights.
Or is it more narrowly focused on interests, core interests and what Americans are getting in very specific ways?
So as we all know, these questions continue to play out in president Trump's tariffs and how he is thinking about it, the U.S. alliance with NATO and Indo-Pacific partners, and whether U.S. democratic values are something to be celebrated on the global stage or whether they are really under question right now.
So Trump has seized on a lot of these questions that have coursed through American history.
And the question now is, how do these questions resolve, 10 and 20 and 100 years from now?
Europeans, the rest of the world really want to know. They carry profound implications for how they are conducting their foreign policy, how they think about the U.S. as a partner or as a challenge.
And then more than anyone, these really matter for Americans, for all of us who believe in the power and the strength and the promise of a U.S. that is deeply embedded in the world and with friends and allies from sea to sea.
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much, Laurel. It's so wonderful to break down again on America's 250th birthday, where it stands and where those historical strains have brought us today.
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Thank you so much.
President Trump has posted a new image of a $100 bill bearing his signature. The U.S. Treasury Department announced back in March that his signature would feature on the bill.
Now CNN has reached out to the Treasury to clarify whether these $100 bills are currently being printed. It would be the first time that a sitting president's signature has appeared on paper currency in the U.S.
Millions of Americans are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation's independence, despite record high temperatures. You're looking at live pictures right now of Washington, D.C., where the July 4th parade that was to be held there Saturday morning has actually been canceled due to the extreme heat.
On Friday, the nation's capital hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit. That's about 38 degrees Celsius. That prompted the Great American State Fair to close for a short time.
In New York, thousands of people were without electricity because the power grid was overburdened.
And in Philadelphia, the Independence Day parade scheduled for Friday was also canceled due to extreme heat. At least one heat-related death has been reported in Pennsylvania.
High temperatures in Washington, D.C., forced organizers to shut down the fair on the National Mall for about four hours. On Friday, CNN's Brian Todd was there and tells us what happened.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here on the National Mall, it continues to be a pounding, relentless heat and people are taking refuge and respite from it any way they can. And this is a pretty effective way to do that.
This is called D.C. Fire Department's Fan Unit Number 1. It is here for this express purpose. They spray as much water on as many people as they can. You see some people just kind of standing underneath it just to get some relief.
You've got a huge fan there with at least 10 nozzles of water spraying out. And these are the lines of people to get back into the Great American State Fair. The state fair shut down at 1 pm Eastern time on Friday. It reopened at 5 pm Eastern time.
They pushed people out simply because of the heat. When people came back in after 5 pm Eastern time on Friday, several of them still lined up to go onto the Ferris wheel. And you can see people on that Ferris wheel up there, even though those cars and the Ferris wheel have no air conditioning.
It is a heat box inside those cars. Not sure why anyone would want to do that. But we will see what the crowds are going to be like on Saturday when people start to stream in here, starting on Saturday morning.
D.C. officials and law enforcement, White House officials telling us the heat is a real concern. They are really concerned that they're going to get a lot of heat related calls on Saturday. And one official saying no amount of water can really fix this, not even this kind of water.
What people do need to remember are buildings like this. This is the National Gallery of Art. It is surrounded by a lot of other Smithsonian museums. We are told that the Smithsonian museums, as they always are on the 4th, are going to be open from 10 am to 5:30 pm. So that's something that people need to remember.
You can take shelter in a museum. There are large, open spaces where people can take shelter in addition to maybe trying to take shelter under these trees. But if there are hundreds of thousands of people on the mall on Saturday, that's going to be a little bit difficult to do.
There's also the security apparatus that we can tell you about. Officials telling CNN about some of the assets that are going to be used. You see the National Guards over here, you see the D.C. Metropolitan Police. You see the dump truck blocking roads there.
People are going to have to deal with a lot of blocked streets in the district, especially down here near the mall. What were told is National Guards will be deployed in addition to D.C. Metropolitan Police, U.S. Marshals, Secret Service police, park police, even outside deputized law enforcement will be involved.
They'll deploy drones. They will deploy counter drone systems. They're going to have snipers on rooftops. They will deploy a lot of different assets.
In addition, there will be large structures. When president Trump is speaking on Saturday evening, there will be large structures to kind of block the view of him from certain vantage points. That's for security. There will be bulletproof glass surrounding the president while he speaks.
But again, the real concern on Saturday is the heat. Officials expecting a lot of heat-related calls.
A key question that we'll only know the answer to when this is all done, how many people show up on the mall on the 4th of July?
Traditionally, there are hundreds of thousands of people who come here and they stay all day long.
How many are going to show up?
How is that going to affect the heat-related emergency calls?
That's all to be played out on Saturday. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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ABDELAZIZ: Iran is sending a defiant message to the U.S. amid the backdrop of America's 250th birthday, with a very massive sendoff for its late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. You're looking at live pictures of that now. The public portion of his
funeral is now officially underway. Days of ceremonies planned for five cities in Iran and Iraq are expected to draw millions of people. The mosque in Tehran, where Khamenei's casket is on display, will stay open for a very contentious 24-hour farewell ceremony.
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For more on all of this, I want to bring in our Oren Liebermann. He is joining us live from Jerusalem.
Good morning, first of all to you, Oren. We are looking at those live pictures of Khamenei's funeral. So I just want to start by asking you about that, because this is clearly intended to demonstrate that the Islamic Republic is unbroken, unbowed by the U.S.-Israeli war.
How is that playing out in Israel, particularly within prime minister Netanyahu's government?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no doubt that Israel is watching this very closely. But the government has taken a largely quiet approach to this.
We haven't seen statements. Crucially, we haven't really seen threats against the funeral of Ali Khamenei itself. But no doubt Israel is watching this very closely. First, of course, is to see if there are any signs of Mojtaba Khamenei and what that means or doesn't mean if he shows or doesn't show.
Israel and the U.S. believe he was injured in the opening strikes of the war back on February 28th.
So what does it mean if he does or doesn't show at his father's funeral?
Who else is there in terms of Iran's top officials?
Israel, at the beginning of the war, basically put out an open threat as it was trying to topple the regime that anybody who replaced the officials that had been killed would also be targeted.
Now in previous months, earlier in this war, this might have looked like a prime target for Israel, perhaps even for the United States, although it was Israel, largely the target of the top leaders of Iran. But at this point, it's very clear to Israel and, frankly, to Iran that president Donald Trump is interested in pursuing diplomacy.
And that's where this will return to as Trump and the White House try to push from the 60-day memorandum of understanding to a longer term agreement.
We've also seen a statement from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warning quite clearly that the U.S. and America not to interfere here and not to disrupt the funeral in any way. Here is the statement from the IRGC. It says, "Any miscalculation will be met with a decisive and more
crushing response than ever before, which will be forever recorded in their shameful history."
Now we have seen Trump repeatedly claim that Iran was racing to a deal, that they were desperate for a deal. And yet all of the actions we have seen from Tehran have shown that they are acting like and they believe they have the upper hand in negotiations.
They were never able to match Israel or the U.S. militarily but they used, frankly, asymmetric warfare, were able to leverage control over the Strait of Hormuz. And that has given them a tremendous amount of strength and power in the negotiations. And that's the position they're negotiating from.
Despite Trump's repeated claims that they're rushing for a deal, they are very much taking their time and they'll get back to those negotiations after these days of funeral proceedings, Salma.
ABDELAZIZ: And on those negotiations, they have created, among other things, quite a strain when it comes to the relationship between prime minister Netanyahu and president Trump. But there was a phone call that was held between the two leaders yesterday.
How did it go?
LIEBERMANN: There was. That was prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling Trump and congratulating him on the 250th birthday of the United States of America. He also said that they had agreed to meet in Washington soon.
Now that's very interesting. Netanyahu had visited Trump multiple times but the last time was in February, before the war. And that's quite telling, as we have seen that strain on the difference of opinion about how to proceed in both Iran and Lebanon and even, to some extent, Gaza.
Trump wants negotiations. He is moving and pushing for a deal. Israel has long been skeptical of Iran's intentions behind these negotiations. And Netanyahu has made clear that he wants a return to war. He wants to continue striking Iran.
We have seen Israel's defense minister put forward a threat of what he called a blue and white operation against Iran. In other words, a sole Israeli unilateral operation against Iran. We'll see how realistic that is if Trump says he's not interested in that.
Trump has forced Israel Israel's hand multiple times when it comes to Iran, Lebanon and Gaza. So that's where you see that split about how to deal with, frankly, how to deal with Iran as Trump wants negotiations.
Netanyahu is trying to convince him that those negotiations aren't leading anywhere and that Iran is not negotiating in good faith and that a return to war, a return to strikes on Iran is the better option. We'll see if that meeting happens. We'll see if Netanyahu travels to Washington, Salma. No doubt that, too, would be very interesting.
ABDELAZIZ: Oren Liebermann there on an Israel that is right now watching that funeral for any sight of the new supreme leader. Thank you so much.
Festivities are believed to be over after Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce exchanged their vows. Still ahead, we'll have details about their celebrity wedding, where even guests were not allowed to record anything.
And we're going to have the latest World Cup results as the final day of the round of 32 launched three more teams that much closer to their championship dreams.
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ABDELAZIZ: The celebrations are now expected to be over at New York's Madison Square Garden. That's after Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce exchanged their "I do"s on Friday night. The celebrity couple tied the knot in a star-studded ceremony in front of about 1,000 people.
There was a very strict no phone policy at the event but our Elizabeth Wagmeister still got us a few details about the wedding.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are officially married after weeks of speculation over whether they would really get married at Madison Square Garden.
Well, they did it and they pulled it off after the event was shrouded in secrecy. They got married in front of 1,000 people, according to sources who spoke to CNN. And it was officially announced right behind me on a giant billboard that lit up, that said, "JusT&T married."
The just was spelled with T&T. That's, of course, for Taylor and Travis. And shortly after it was lit up on the streets of New York City, I received a press release from Taylor Swift's representative Tree Paine, which divulged some of the wedding details.
Now who was the officiant?
Adam Sandler.
[04:25:03]
Yes, that Adam Sandler. That was not on my bingo card. Their press release also announced that they didn't have any bridesmaids or groomsmen. Jason Kelce, of course, Travis Kelce, his brother, was his best man. And Austin Swift, who is Taylor's brother, was her man of honor.
Now we saw a lot of celebrities going in, everyone from Benson Boone to Hugh Grant to Jennifer Lopez and some guests even leaving early. Chris Rock was spotted leaving early, also Steven Spielberg.
But who can blame them?
The party was running late. Yes, our sources tell us that the party was set to go until about 2:30 am but the space was actually rented out until past 4 am. Now remains to be seen when we might see any footage or photos from the event. But that will, of course, be up to Taylor and Travis.
She is a mastermind, after all. For all the Swifties who have been waiting for years and years and years to see her love story come true, Taylor finally had her fairy tale ending -- back to you.
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ABDELAZIZ: The final day of the World Cup round of 32 ended in triumph and heartache as three more teams have survived to advance.
Egyptians are celebrating after it made history on Friday, defeating Australia in a penalty shootout after drawing 1-1. The Pharaohs fought very hard and walked away with their first-ever victory in a knockout round, renewing the hopes of their fans back home as they move on to the round of 16.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was truly an amazing performance and thank God they made us happy and made all the Egyptian people happy. This is an achievement for us, a victory and a joy for Egypt.
God willing, in every half and every match, they'll keep the same level of play and performance they showed. Thank God we won.
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ABDELAZIZ: Columbia also advanced, beating Ghana 1-0 with an early goal backed by fierce defensive play and extending their unbeaten streak to four matches so far in this World Cup.
Argentina will be moving on after surviving an intense battle against fan favorite Cape Verde, winning 3-2 in extra time. Cape Verde fought back to level the game twice before an own goal sent Lionel Messi and Argentina into the round of 16.
Later today, Canada will kick off against Morocco in Houston, Texas, and Paraguay will face off against France in Philadelphia, the city where America's Declaration of Independence was adopted 250 years ago today. We're going to take a quick break. For our viewers in North America,
I'll have more news in a moment. For our international viewers, "CNN CREATORS" is next.
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ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London.
It is July 4th in the U.S. and Americans will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of independence from England.
President Trump started things early on Friday with a speech at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. He only spoke for about half an hour, which is pretty unusual for him. He focused on what he called the dangers of allowing communism to threaten the nation's values.
Americans will celebrate in cities and towns across the country but extreme heat has canceled some events, including parades in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
New York mayor Zohran Mamdani kicked off the 4th of July holiday weekend with a speech targeting president Trump's agenda but Mamdani did not mention him by name, instead focusing on Trump's policies, particularly immigration.
The speech was meant to contrast with president's remarks at Mt. Rushmore on Friday night. Here is part of what Mamdani had to say.
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MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NY), NYC: At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another.
Division is the oldest trick in politics and the cheapest. But time and again, including 250 years ago, those forces of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, the first American pope is actually spending his 4th of July on Lampedusa. This is the Italian island that's often at the front line of the Mediterranean migrant crisis.
The trip highlights the humanitarian issues that Pope Leo has put at the very center of his papacy. During his visit, the pope will meet with migrants and lay a wreath in memory of those who have died at sea. For more on all of this, we're joined by CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb. He is with us now live from Lampedusa.
Good morning to you. First of all, it is wonderful to have you on to break this down.
I mean, what does it mean that the first American pope is spending the 4th of July with migrants?
I mean, the visuals are very powerful here.
Is there a message he is trying to send?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think there is. And I've spoken to U.S. church leaders who say that what Pope Leo wants to say is, first of all, that the United States is a country with a history, a long history, of welcoming migrants.
He wants to be here, they say, to emphasize the importance of welcoming immigrants and new arrivals. And that's what he has been doing so far in Lampedusa today. He is about to start celebrating a mass. He arrived to a very joyful and festive welcome. A big crowd has gathered to greet him.
And he said that he wants the world to become more humane in its response to this crisis. And I think that is key to Leo's message, that, regardless of the politics around migration, that there is a responsibility that the church has and that governments have to treating people with dignity.
Of course, Lampedusa is a place where many, many people have made this perilous crossing, too. It's estimated that more than 32,000 have died, making the crossing over the last decade.
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And it is obviously a tragedy to see here on the island -- and it's very evident -- the memorials to migrants. I went to the Lampedusa cemetery, where Leo has been to as well, where there is a grave to a 6-month-old child who died in a shipwreck.
So this visit by Leo, the first American pope, on July 4th, is, I think, very significant for the message that it's saying about the importance that he places on protecting and welcoming immigrants.
ANDERSON: Chris Lamb there in Lampedusa.
What a split screen we're seeing here of president Trump in front of Mt. Rushmore, attacking his opponents and Pope Leo there in Lampedusa, calling on people to welcome migrants. Thank you so much.
Growing desperation in Venezuela following the deadly twin earthquakes. Some residents say they fear that international search and rescue teams may begin winding down their operations in the coming days, leaving their missing loved ones still trapped beneath the rubble.
Nine days after the quakes, the government says the death toll has climbed to more than 2,600 people. At least 12,000 people have been injured. More than 15,000 people have lost their homes. Authorities have not said how many people remain missing.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's sad and heartbreaking because everyone wants to find their missing loved ones. And in the midst of this disaster we're facing right now, it's been difficult to do so. It's very difficult.
The families have been practically cut off. Honestly, I hope they keep finding people alive because that's the only hope we have.
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ABDELAZIZ: Part of a school collapsed on Friday in the capital, Caracas. That injured one person. And nearby residents said they thought another earthquake had struck and ran outside to check on their neighbors.
Venezuela's acting president denies the government has been slow to respond to the earthquakes. Delcy Rodriguez says search and rescue efforts will continue. Still, public frustration is mounting over the governments response to the disaster. CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon reports from the capital
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that the government of Delcy Rodriguez is trying to have it both ways. In a way,
they do want to project an image that they are in charge, saying that all of the efforts have not been spared in order to locate and rescue as many
survivors as possible. And Delcy, for example, was very adamant in pointing out that she signed an emergency decree less than three hours after that
earth double earthquakes hit Venezuela.
However, it's also, there's ample evidence, like it's beyond any doubt that Venezuela is not prepared as a state, as a country. The public nation is
not able to deal with the catastrophe of the magnitude of the one that arrived onto Venezuela's shoulders.
And I think that Rodriguez did allude to that thing, so without actually mentioning it plainly. But she did, for example, say, like in the
sound bite that you played, that, of course, the obstacles and the moving around the personnel is very complicated when we know that the main airport of Caracas is out of use right now because there is a giant crack halfway through the runway.
So I think that Delcy Rodriguez is trying to be frank and honest to his -- to her countrymate, at the same time, of course, as being the person in
charge, as being a person that is an acting president who has taken the power after an authoritarian leader with serious questions about his
legitimacy have been removed violently in that dramatic raid at night time on January the 3rd. And I'm referring, of course, to Nicolas Maduro. Well,
Delcy Rodriguez doesn't have any of that legitimacy either and so it makes sense that she tries to project an image of strength.
This, of course, is in response to a mounting frustration and anger with the thousands of Venezuelans that we've spoken with who are, of course,
frustrated because the slow pace of the search and rescue has impacted many of them.
Today, for example, it is the first day that the government publishes a written memorandum with all the latest statistics. They told us, for
example, today that at least 2,630 people have been killed. It is the first time that we, as journalists accredited here to work in Venezuela, are
receiving this type of information on our phones written in a statement. All of the previous death tolls were communicated just by speaking to the
national media and the public broadcaster here in Venezuela.
You can see that there is a sense of the state still very much under shock by the magnitude of the earthquakes and trying to come up with some
solutions with the difficulties of being Venezuela, which is a country that has gone through an economics and social collapse.
[04:40:05]
Like something not many people can actually imagine in the last 10 to 15 years.
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ABDELAZIZ: For more now on the Venezuelan government's response to those earthquakes, I want to bring in Christopher Sabatini. He is the director of the Latin America program at Chatham House. It is a British think tank. And he joins me now from here in London. Good morning. First of all to you, thank you so much for joining us.
We were just listening to our correspondent who is on the ground in Caracas, talking about the response of the government.
You know, I heard one survivor say there are two crises in Venezuela right now, the earthquakes and the failure of the authorities to respond to those earthquakes. Before I get into that, let me play you a sound bite of Delcy Rodriguez defending her government.
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RODRIGUEZ (through translator): Our officials were deployed immediately. You can count the hours between the quakes and when we signed the emergency decree. There were 4,000 officials out in the first 24 hours, 10,000 officials the following day.
Now there are 19,000 officials in La Guaira alone, despite how complicated it is for us to move personnel around with the airport out of use.
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ABDELAZIZ: So she's essentially saying, look, we're doing everything we can. We're deploying the resources we have.
What do you think?
Break it down for me.
CHRISTOPHER SABATINI, DIRECTOR, LATIN AMERICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, this was a disaster on the human side. The institution side, 27 years in the making since Hugo Chavez, the founder of the Bolivarian movement, was sworn into power in 1999.
He, his successor, Nicolas Maduro, and now the interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has have consistently basically deconstructed institutions, hollowed out the state, underfunded it, including infrastructure investments, investments in terms of public services, in terms of actually upkeep of quick, fast response teams.
That we're seeing now, ambulances, hospitals and all the like, as well as just basic infrastructure, have been underfunded and are in disrepair. Electricity, for example, is a huge -- there's regular blackouts throughout Venezuela.
So given those examples, Delcy Rodriguez was already starting with an understandable and legitimate deficit in terms of popular confidence in her ability or the government's ability to deliver.
And then, of course, piled on top of that, you have this natural disaster, which is really a toxic mix in terms of a tragedy that we're already seeing unfold. So, yes, what we're seeing are several things.
First of all, her reaction to this and citizens' understandable reaction that, in many of these cases, you haven't seen the search and rescue teams there immediately in the aftermath of the earthquake. You've also seen the army, which has been really a key feature of this
government for now, more than 20 years, just standing by, not helping out, not actually arriving with any digging equipment. The response has been very, very weak.
But I think for many Venezuelans, having suffered through a 75 percent shrinkage of their GDP just in 10 years, as Stefano was saying, as well as seeing the capacity to repress the inability to invest the levels of corruption, this to them is not a surprise. It just adds more misery to their already existing misery.
ABDELAZIZ: It's not a surprise but it's so heartbreaking, especially when you see images of people literally digging with their bare hands in the rubble to find their loved ones. I've read, you know, that some civil society groups said that they were banned from opening collection centers in certain parts of the country.
Delcy Rodriguez, let's talk about her because she is the acting president. She was installed by the United States. No democratic elections, no mandate.
Does this crisis threaten her rule?
And what would it look like?
How would that transpire if the foundations were to shake here?
SABATINI: Absolutely right. So I think let me take the first question. This does really throw into question how long her future will be in power in Venezuela.
Unfortunately, that's probably up to Donald Trump and the White House. Since the extraction of her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, on January 3rd, he's praised Delcy Rodriguez as being a great partner. He said some very offensive things about Venezuelans despite the earthquake. We're dancing in the streets.
She -- her fate really depends on Donald Trump and the Venezuelan people. She was already starting out, as I mentioned, in deficit. As of May this year, her approval rating was only 25 percent.
So clearly, given the response, given her lack of popular authority and legitimacy, she was already starting as a -- basically a lame duck president.
Now how will this change?
It's going to have to come down to elections. Recent surveys, which are not all that statistically valid but it seems, in individual interviews and online surveys, the majority of Venezuelans want elections to actually accelerate.
And those elections were denied the democratic opposition and the Venezuelan voters in 2024, when, by all accounts, the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, was a stand-in for Maria Corina Machado.
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Now the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was denied a victory. He won over 60 percent of the vote, close to 70 percent of the vote to 30 percent of Nicolas Maduro's vote. Obviously, already, this was not a popular government.
There is a sense of Venezuelan people among Venezuelans. They need a government that can deliver but more importantly, one that reflects their own popular demands and frustrations not just before but especially now.
So now we're beginning to hear the talk of accelerating these elections. We'll see if Donald Trump will allow that to happen. This government, the interim government, has already made excuses for why they can't hold the elections now.
But, quite frankly, they didn't want to hold them anytime soon before anyway. They were just trying to look to find a way to extend themselves in power and maybe game the system where they could win the elections. Right now, I don't see that happening, whenever those elections are held
ABDELAZIZ: Will president Trump allow democratic elections in Venezuela?
Christopher Sabatini there on how the fate of Venezuela and its people in this crisis depends on D.C. Thank you so much for your analysis.
There is a new twist in the investigation into an apparent assassination attempt on a Ukrainian tycoon in Monaco. Still ahead, why investigators now believe that the suspect is actually a woman, not the man they initially described.
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ABDELAZIZ: There are no breaks from Russia's deadly attacks on Ukraine. Officials say the city of Zaporizhzhya was hit on Friday and two people were killed; 17 others were hurt. Six more people were killed in other parts of the country.
The attacks came on the heels of Thursday's massive strikes on Kyiv, which left at least 30 people dead. That was the third deadliest attack on the capital this year.
Authorities now say the main suspect in Monday's bomb attack in Monaco is actually a Ukrainian woman who disguised herself as a man. The explosion wounded a Ukrainian businessman in a residential building, as well as a woman and child, who were there with him.
The rare act of violence has shaken the small city-state. Nick Paton Walsh has more for us.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): An extraordinary twist in the tale of a bombing of a millionaire in a place of luxury where absolutely none of this is meant to happen.
Monaco's prosecutors announced today they were seeking this woman, Anastasiia Berezovska, age 39, Ukrainian but resident in Germany as prime suspect in the bombing of this Monaco residential building.
This man, Ukrainian millionaire Vadym Iermolaiev, and a woman and child were critically injured by a bomb hidden in a shopping bag. It all comes down to this individual caught on CCTV.
Prosecutors said they twice scouted the scene with the shopping bag that carried the bomb both two and three days before the bombing. But on the day before, they didn't. And instead, the exact same route was walked, back in tow, by this woman.
MORGAN RAYMOND, MONACO DEPUTY PROSECUTOR (through translator): It was then noted that on June 28th, 2026, the only day for which no observations had been made by the individual wearing the baseball cap, a woman followed the same route around the site of the explosion.
Her route was the same as that of the individual wearing the baseball cap and her behavior was similar when she was near the site of the explosion.
This led to the conclusion that this woman, who had dark brown hair, was heavyset and had a prominent tattoo on her right arm, might be the same person who had planted the explosive device.
WALSH (voice-over): The rest was easier in a place where there is a police officer for every 70 residents. There's not much other crime to solve and a third of the residents are millionaires. Her rental car traced back to Germany, where she lived. And an Interpol Red notice issued the why still an issue?
Why Iermolaiev?
Why the half sophistication, a homemade remote controlled bomb and a suspect who got themselves filmed on scene.
Resident in Monaco about five years, Iermolaiev had no obvious links to the war in Ukraine. This apparent failed hit rattling a place sought for the luxury and tranquility that beams off the waters around it -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
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ABDELAZIZ: We'll be right back after the break.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): As the U.S. celebrates its historic 250th anniversary, CNN will bring you nonstop live coverage of this landmark milestone throughout the day. Thank you so much for watching us.
I'm Salma Abdelaziz. I'll be back with more news right after a quick break.
