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CNN This Morning
Hegseth Announces 'Operation Southern Spear'; Ukraine Facing Mass Enemy Attack by Russia; New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Weighs in on Politics, Issues. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired November 14, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: The world's best cheese this year. Five thousand cheeses from dozens of countries competed at the World Cheese Awards in Switzerland. More than 260 judges sniffed, crumbled, and tasting before deciding.
[06:00:12]
The winner: an aged Swiss gruyere made from cow's milk at a small dairy in Western Switzerland. One judge described its flavor as butterscotch, caramel, savory, some fruit-funk notes, and some slight burn on there like charcoal. Sounds all right.
Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. The terrific Erica Hill is up next when CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: The secretary of defense touting Operation Southern Spear. So, just how close could the U.S. be to launching an attack on Venezuela? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Narco-terrorists are on notice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Could it be a new strategy or just reviving a name for blowing small boats out of the water?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's alienated a lot of his base.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Bend the knee to the president, or vote to release the Epstein files? The choice Republicans now face.
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REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): I'm a little surprised, frankly, that it took them this long to get to me. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Under investigation. Is Congressman Eric Swalwell about to become the latest Trump perceived enemy to get indicted by the DOJ?
Out of Chicago, into Charlotte. The Trump administration's newest target for ICE enforcement.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Decimation is a pretty accurate word.
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HILL: Up in smoke. How the end of the government shutdown may have killed the $28 billion hemp industry.
It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. That is a live look at Broadway in Nashville. A little quiet at this hour. Certainly wasn't a few hours ago.
It is Friday, February -- February. I'm really jumping ahead there on you. It is Friday, November 14. Time for another cup of coffee. Thanks for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Erica Hill, in today for Audie Cornish.
So, an important question for many this morning is whether the U.S. is actually preparing to attack Venezuela. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just touting Operation Southern Spear, which was announced earlier this year.
President Trump, though, has expressed reluctance to use force to oust Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro. Last night, however, Secretary Hegseth tweeting, "Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear ... this mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people." Going on to write, "The Western Hemisphere is Americas neighborhood -- and we will
protect it."
So, let's just reset with what we actually know right now. The U.S., of course, has deployed the world's largest warship to the region. That happening this week.
The military carrying out another strike this week that we've learned -- learned about: an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. This would be the 20th boat strike since September.
The CIA is also conducting covert operations, we've learned, inside Venezuela.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon caught up with Venezuela's embatted [SIC] -- embattled president at a rally on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (through translator): What is your message to the people of the United States, President?
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): To unite for the peace of the continent. No more endless wars; no more unjust wars. No more Libya. No more Afghanistan.
POZZEBON (through translator): Do you have a message for President Trump?
MADURO (through translator): My message is: yes, peace. Yes, peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Joining me now to discuss, retired Army Major Mike Lyons.
Always good to talk to you. When we look at where things stand this morning and how this is all adding up, what we heard from Secretary Hegseth overnight, what do you believe is at play here?
MAJ. MIKE LYONS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Well, good morning, Erica.
I think this is a rebranding of an operation that started back in January of 2025. And I think the Navy thought they wrapped it up during the summertime.
But to put this performative leverage out in front and center now from the United States' perspective is just showing that we're projecting power. We're showing what our capability is.
It's reinforcement of the Monroe Doctrine that says the United States control everything in this hemisphere. It's been something that, from a foreign policy perspective, we've abided by.
So, there's a -- there's a lot of bluster. There's a lot of things, I think, that really won't amount to anything, frankly. I think that this, though, gives the Department of Defense this opportunity to lead this operation, as opposed to law enforcement or Coast Guard operations, in particular.
And -- but it's going to cause rules of engagement, other -- other factors that will make it more complicated.
HILL: You mentioned -- you called it performative, projecting strength here, too. We also can't ignore the mass mobilization, right, that Maduro called up in Venezuela this week.
[06:05:00]
I was struck by some of CNN's reporting overnight, too, just talking about a briefing that happened earlier in the week. CNN's reporting that it was really the way that the briefing went down. Specifically, as briefers described those killed in action that echoed the playbook of the drone war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
And some of what they said, what we heard here from one source familiar, as you see there, one source telling CNN the meeting, "I was like, wait a minute, enemy KIA" -- killed in action. "What war are we talking about here? What declared conflict am I missing?"
The fact that these terms were used to describe these operations, does that also say something to you in terms of the language that's being used?
LYONS: For sure. They're just changing the messaging. And they're applying the messaging that's normally used in these combat zones over here into our hemisphere.
It's unusual. You know, the task force that's deployed here is nothing more than a task force we deploy across the world in order to project power. We're just doing it in our own backyard. We've just not done these kinds of things before.
So, it is. It's all -- it's all about messaging and making sure that the Department of Defense is leading this effort by -- by making this -- this message in such a manner that it's telling our partners and adversaries alone that leverage is now going to be implied from coming from the strength of our military in the in the region.
HILL: As all of this is playing out, as there are questions about the ultimate goal that the United States has there, whether it is regime change, how that would actually play out, we can't ignore what has happened on the intel front this week.
CNN's exclusive reporting about the U.K. saying they would no longer share intelligence on vessels in the area because of concerns. Colombia, on the heels of that, saying they are no longer going to share intel.
How damaging could that potentially be to the broader U.S. efforts to stop the flow of drugs into the United States?
LYONS: Well, there's 2,500 metric tons of cocaine that leave Colombia and make their way to the United States on an annual basis. And blowing up a few ships in the Pacific and the Caribbean is not going to stop that -- that flow. It will come in other manners, which again, which is why I think this is just so performative.
I think the United States will work harder, use intel assets on the ground, go after the sources like we did back in the '80s. We had this operation back in the '80s to try to take some of that down.
But the demand is just so furious in our country. And then get -- as the drugs get to Mexico, mixed with fentanyl, and there we go.
So -- so, again, they're just reframing this as this narco-terrorist operation war to protect our homeland. But there's a couple tells.
First of all, if we were going to invade Venezuela, you'd have to see the Army involved with this. And you don't see any Army units deployed just yet. This is a naval operation for -- for sure, with Marines.
And while it's also not Panama. Venezuela is a real country. They have real military. It would be a very difficult military mission to think that we could invade that country and have any kind of success without taking the kind of casualties that the American public would [SIC] tolerate.
HILL: Major Mike Lyons, always appreciate your insight and your expertise. Thank you.
LYONS: Thanks.
HILL: Just ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, Ukraine gearing up for yet another harsh winter as it faces a massive enemy attack from Russia.
Plus, D.C. back in action. Federal agencies reopening. So, when can workers expect their back pay?
And a hidden provision in the shutdown bill -- pardon me, the bill to reopen the government could decimate a $28 billion industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): For many farmers, hemp has proved to be a lifeline, a new cash crop. Farmers turned to growing hemp to mitigate the losses they've endured during this season of hardship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:13:13]
HILL: Ukraine is bracing for a long, deadly winter. Right now, the capital city, Kyiv, is facing what officials describe as a mass enemy attack by Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The strike was massive, with a lot of ballistic missiles. There were at least 25 ballistic missiles, as well as aero-ballistic and cruise missiles, and more than 450 drones of various types.
It was a very flagrant, largely demonstrative strike.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: With bitter cold temperatures arriving. Ukraine's energy infrastructure is badly damaged after nearly four years of intense war.
And now a $100 million energy scandal in the Zelenskyy administration has forced Ukraine's Justice and Energy ministers to resign.
As we follow the developments in this war, we're joined by Mikhail Zygar. He's the author of the new book, "The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory Over Totalitarianism."
It's good to have you with us this morning.
So, in your book, you note that the Cold War never really ended. In fact, saying the Soviet Union hasn't yet fallen. So, what can that tell us about Putin's endgame here in Ukraine?
MIKHAIL ZYGAR, AUTHOR, "THE DARK SIDE OF THE EARTH": Thank you for having me.
You know, definitely for -- for Putin, that's an attempt, first, to stay in power, because he -- he needs to make sure that he recreates the atmosphere of fear, first of all, in Russia.
Because I always say that, for him, that's more war for Russia than war for Ukraine. Although Ukrainians are the major victims of this war. But his initial goal is to stay in power in Russia forever.
And that's why he needs to -- to reestablish that atmosphere of fear within the Russian population, the one he was growing up with in the Soviet Union.
Because still, most of his life he spent in the Soviet Union. He was 40 when Soviet Union collapsed. So, it's -- it's crucial to understand -- to understand his psychology, to --
HILL: Right.
ZYGAR: -- to know what was happening there.
HILL: So -- so, given that, is there anything that you see that would convince Putin to end this war? Is it -- and I don't mean to simplify this, but is it as simple as, you know, holding onto the next Donetsk region?
Because we know, ultimately, his goal is not even just recreating the Soviet Union. He wants to go back to this map, right? Long before that, in terms of, as you noted, this idea of imperialism.
ZYGAR: You know, Putin thinks that sanctions don't work, and he considers himself to be quite invincible.
But speaking about your -- your previous news about Venezuela, I think, if something changes in Venezuela, or I mean, if something really important changes to the global oil market, that could be the only factor that could really hurt Vladimir Putin. Because he really depends on the oil prices.
As we remember, Soviet Union was really hurt in -- in 1984 when Saudi Arabia lifted all -- all the limitations of oil production and oil prices collapsed globally.
So, if -- if there is a way to -- to stop Putin from earning a lot of money from Russian oil, that's going to hurt.
HILL: In your book, you also talk about how you see parallels in America in this moment and the last days of the Cold War. How so?
ZYGAR: You know, it may seem very unusual for -- for American audience, but, you know, my -- my book is more a book about people than some kind of political science. So, it's about the people who really believed in democracy. And we used to think that we -- we know the end of the story. Soviet
Union collapsed; Berlin Wall fell. And in a way, the West was the winner of the Cold War.
But I think if we look at this from today's point of view, it looks slightly different. So, I really wanted to remind us that these were the people who really believed in -- in democracy. They might seem naive from today's point of view; because unfortunately, these days, a lot of people in the world, including in -- in America, but even much more people in Europe or in -- in the global South started believing that democracy is impossible, that liberal democracy is something outdated.
And in many -- in many countries of the world, new politicians, new leaders start saying that being authoritarian is fine.
I think that's very important that, from the Soviet example, we know that Soviet Union collapsed because its people stopped believing in its core ideology, which was communism.
So, democracy is definitely the -- the cornerstone of -- of America as a -- as a -- as a country. So -- and I think it's -- it's very important for -- for us to keep -- to keep our values and to -- to remain naive or idealistic, but at least not cynical. Because cynicism is something that -- that kills even great countries.
HILL: Yes. Mikhail, great to have you with us this morning. The book, again, is "The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia's Short-Lived Victory Over Totalitarianism." It's out now. And as you point out, this is really about the people.
Appreciate your -- your insight. Thank you.
ZYGAR: Thank you.
HILL: Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING, GOP leaders bracing now for a revolt in the House over the Epstein files. We'll preview how next week's vote to release those files could split the Republican Party.
Plus, Audie's conversation with New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. Is there a political return in her future?
And good morning to our friends in Charlotte. Your city, as you know, next up for President Trump in his immigration crackdown. What that could mean. We'll take a closer look after.
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[06:23:34]
HILL: It can be pretty lonely at the top. Just ask New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, who sat down with CNN for a rare and intimate look at both her private and political life.
She became one of the youngest heads of state in the world, leading her country through a mass shooting, the COVID pandemic, before announcing her return to private life.
Audie sat down with her for a candid conversation about the challenges she sees facing today's leaders, and also the chances for her own political return.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Are you going to enter politics again? Do you want to run for office again?
JACINDA ARDERN, FORMER NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: It always fascinates me that this is always a question people ask when, for me, I -- it seems so implausible that I would ever go back when I chose to -- to leave.
CORNISH: Because of your chances or because -- are you in exile?
ARDERN: No, no, no, not at all. I think because in my mind, when you make a decision, when you're in office, you know, you're one year out from your term, leaving and you say, well, for all of these reasons, now it's time for someone else, then that's not a -- that's not an interim decision.
CORNISH: Right.
ARDERN: That's a -- that's a final decision.
CORNISH: I think it's because you're so young. And you're now even teaching other people -- young executives, students -- about leadership.
And so, I guess we're sort of thinking there's that temptation to go and put into practice, for example, what you have been teaching.
ARDERN: I'm always mindful, as well, that whilst I'm teaching, I'm also learning. You know, I work with other politicians who are still in the field, and it is -- I've been out for two years. It's harder now than it was when I was in, even.
[06:25:09]
CORNISH: In what way?
ARDERN: I just think the environment we're in, it's escalated. You know, the sense of polarization has deepened. The environment and disinformation has become more frenzied. Certainly, I experienced, you know, what some of that was like.
CORNISH: Yes.
ARDERN: But -- but now I just see it. I see the significance of it and the impact of it.
CORNISH: What, in the end, do you think is going to be the biggest challenge for leaders, you know, in your -- in your style? ARDERN: I think the environment you operate in matters a lot. And I
think we've underestimated the impact on the health of our democracies, the impact of disinformation and just not having that starting point where people are at least debating on -- on the facts.
CORNISH: Yes. Because we're still debating if it exists, right?
ARDERN: Yes.
CORNISH: We're still having this conversation with misinformation.
ARDERN: Yes.
CORNISH: We're not actually having a conversation about what the world --
ARDERN: Yes.
CORNISH: -- could look like if we found a way through, around. I'm not even sure.
ARDERN: How do you -- how do you debate, you know, the solutions to climate change when some people don't believe in it? These are hard, difficult questions.
There are ways through, though. There are ways through. But that is -- that is the difficulty of the environment that we're in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And you can see more of Audie's interview with New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, in the new CNN film, "Prime Minister." It premieres Sunday at 9 p.m., right here on CNN. And you can catch it next day on the CNN app.
Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING, more than 3,000 people arrested during the immigration crackdown in Chicago. Now the Border Patrol is leaving for a new city.
Plus, heading home. Why a Chinese spacecraft is coming back to Earth more than a week late.
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