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Erin Burnett Outfront

Americans Shelter In Place As Violence Erupts Across Mexico; New Iran Protests, Trump Rejects Concerns About A Major Conflict; Trump Approval Sinks Among Latinos In Past Year, CNN Poll Shows. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired February 23, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news, Americans stranded, caught in a violent outbreak in a major tourist spot, told to shelter in place after the leader of a major drug cartel was killed. His cartel now out for revenge. An American who's trapped tonight trying to get home is our guest.

And freefall. Trump's support among Latino Americans cratering, according to our new poll. I'll speak to a Republican congresswoman from Florida with a warning to Trump that he could lose even more support from Latino voters.

And breaking this hour, the record shattering blizzard. Thirty million Americans still under a blizzard warning. Travel bans right now are in effect as five states have over two feet of snow.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Americans stranded and tonight, still no end in sight. American tourists told to shelter in place after chaos and war in the streets following the killing of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, known as El Mencho.

Terrifying footage taken by tourists in Puerto Vallarta, one of the most popular resort towns in Mexico shows the cartel exacting revenge. You see road blockages, buses, taxis and businesses burning, cars burning there on the streets. In fact, so many vehicles and buildings are on fire. You can actually see the black smoke from space in this image.

One American radio show host was there on vacation and told "USA Today" about his harrowing drive to the airport, trying to get out. It said that the driver who took us didn't break at all. He drove on parts of the road that he shouldn't have. We were dodging burning buses and burning taxi cabs and he was clutching a rosary and kissing it a couple times. Now that American says he's now stranded at the airport with no idea

when they will leave. The State Department, meantime says it's received hundreds of calls from Americans. And just to give you an idea of what's happening here in this tourist hotspot for Americans, and we've got new video just into the show of deserted streets littered with the burned out shells of vehicles, you know literally like being in a war zone.

And in a moment, I'm going to speak to the American who took the video that you're looking at your screen right now. He is also stranded in Puerto Vallarta. The uprising started after the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel died in a special forces raid.

Now, he had a $15 million reward for his capture. But those around him up until now had had protected him. And there was this raid -- eight of the cartel members were also killed in the raid. The Mexican operation, we understand, was carried out with assistance from U.S. intelligence.

David Culver is OUTFRONT. He is live in Guadalajara, Mexico.

And David, you know look, all of this, you know, ongoing pressures. And then all of a sudden, an explosion here, killing the leader El Mencho and now essentially war in the streets you've been talking to tourists stranded. What are you hearing?

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're just off the airport grounds right now, Erin. And we spent about an hour and a half upon arrival speaking with people who are inside there hoping to go home. I don't think I've ever been to a situation where you've had people so hungry for information that is verified, and the reason I say that is you have a lot of people who will admit they're scrolling through social media and seeing a lot of false information, misinformation, things that simply are leading to tense moments that they don't know whether to believe are true or not, and that's just raising the uneasiness inside that place in of itself.

Now, what is interesting is they were also pretty happy to see us, not because we were arriving as journalists, but because we arrived on a U.S. airline that then they realized, okay, a plane has now arrived. That means there are planes that could take us out. That's what they're hoping for at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: We're about to touch down. This is one of the few commercial flights that's actually able to land in Guadalajara today this plane will be fully booked with a very long standby list of people eager to get out.

I mean, this is what you see as soon as you walk out of baggage claim, you've got crowds of folks who are sitting with their luggage. Youve got people who have turned their luggage into furniture, propping their legs up. Some of them essentially camping out under blankets and many of them seem to be here without even anywhere to go. They don't have flights. They don't have a confirmed ticket. They don't even know if they have a ticket, if the plane will take off.

How confident are you, you'll be flying out tonight?

MUSKAN DAVE, STRANDED TOURIST: Hopefully, it's a 50/50 for me.

CULVER: You don't feel internally at ease

DAVE: It feels like eerily quiet right now and then like you read online that okay maybe the cartels are regrouping and maybe it's going to get worse now.

CULVER: And you just want out of here.

DAVE: At this point, 100 percent. Yeah.

[19:05:00]

CULVER: You just want to go home.

DAVE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. I'm five months pregnant.

CULVER: You're five months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

MARTIN EGSDAL LUTTA, STRANDED TOURIST: We cannot run if anything actually happens. And then also like, just to keep the baby healthy,

how are we going to get food? Are we going to be able to have clean water.

CULVER: So where will you sleep?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know yet. We just take it. Yeah, take it as -- by the minute and see what happens.

CULVER: Is it possible you'll end up sleeping here tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Possibly. Yeah.

CULVER: You've got army national guard, and then let's see. They're searching some of the vehicles it looks like there, too.

I mean, in the middle of the highway the car, burnt out.

I mean, another very obvious sign of the narco-terrorism targeting a popular convenience store. This Oxxo, look at it, torched.

CULVER (voice-over): Chaos erupted Sunday after Mexican authorities launched an operation against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The main target, the cartel boss himself, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho.

Mexican special forces raided his compound in the town of Tapalpa, led there officials say, through a romantic connection of El Mencho's. Video recorded by locals and geolocated by CNN showed the Mexican military swarming the area after confirming his location, the cartel leader captured and injured during the operation. Officials say he died en route to Mexico City for treatment.

El Mencho was wanted on drug trafficking charges by both Mexico and the United States. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called him a top target for both countries and said the U.S. provided Mexico with intelligence support ahead of the operation.

His death sparking a wave of retaliatory violence across at least 20 Mexican states, but nowhere worse than in the cartel's stronghold of Jalisco, and especially in the coastal city and American tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta.

Large plumes of smoke seen covering the city as tourists hunkered down inside one of the many hotels. As the cartel set barricades on fire across the city. Many stranded after airlines suspended flights amidst the violence.

Here in the state capital Guadalajara, set to host world cup games in just a few months, fierce clashes between gangs and the police.

One video showing a man seemingly trying to set a truck on fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER: And, Erin, you can see behind me, there's a heavy military presence. That's the Mexican army here at a gas station. And that's because some of the gas stations have become targets in this most recent outbreak of violence.

Now, it does feel a bit calmer in the moment. But you heard one of those folks there say that there's still an uneasiness, a tension that is also in the air here because something could really spark at any moment. So they're prepared for that.

That said, things are not returning to normal anytime soon. In fact, the governor of this state recently just saying that the closures as far as schools, as far as public transit will be indefinite.

BURNETT: Wow. All right. Thank you very much, David Culver, there in Guadalajara.

And I want to go now to Eugene Marchenko. He stranded in Puerto Vallarta tonight with his wife. They were on vacation.

You are -- I -- well, I don't know what word you use for it now but you were visiting from South Carolina, I know Eugene.

And I want to show some of the video that you shared with us. You know, your first morning on vacation, and I know you and your wife, you get a chance to, you know, get away together from the kids. You wake up to this cars, on fire right outside your balcony. All that honking that you hear, I mean gosh, what went through your head when you saw this? EUGENE MARCHENKO, AMERICAN TOURIST STRANDED IN MEXICO: Well, there was

definitely a lot of confusion. A lot of not understanding what was going on. And like what was said earlier about hearing all kinds of rumors about what possibly could be happening, but not really knowing what's going on. And just to wake up to smoke coming into your building and you not knowing what's going on, and cars just on fire, it's definitely -- it definitely looked like a war zone out there.

BURNETT: I mean, it's terrifying. I mean, I know you -- you know, you had the video of then the burned out cars after the flames and some of them went down and I know that someone near your Airbnb saw the moment that the cars were set on fire, I guess is cartel members or whoever was doing that what did they tell you they saw?

MARCHENKO: Yeah. So, what happened? And I showed -- she showed me the video. We had to evacuate just because there was a tanker that was on fire, and we thought that it was going to burn the building down. And so, we had to evacuate for a little while and she was showing me the video, and there was literally cartel telling people to get out of the vehicle so they would stop the vehicle as it was in the middle of the road. They would tell the people to get out.

So in this particular vehicle, there was four people that were in there they told them to get out of the vehicle and then they were throwing the gas into the vehicle and then setting it on fire just right below us.

BURNETT: Oh my gosh. I mean -- look, the fuel tanker on fire that you mentioned, that obviously, a massive conflagration, right?

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Flames, thick smoke billowing from it. I mean, that must have been terrifying.

MARCHENKO: It was it was a moment of realization that it's a lot more serious than even what I was seeing. You know, just with the cars, especially with this tanker. I mean, you're talking a huge semi-truck.

Who knows how much fuel that that thing holds? Completely jackknifed, so there's no moving it. And we were watching the person try to move the truck out of the way, and he didn't know how to drive a truck, so he completely just jackknifed it.

And then you just see the flames blowing, and this is in a gas station. So, it's not like the tankers in the middle of the road the tankers in a gas station, 30, 50 yards in front of our building.

BURNETT: Wow. And then and just to even think about then you've got all the gas underneath -- I mean, that is just terrifying. I mean, then when you saw the military response, Eugene, you and your wife, the helicopters then overhead and there's all this smoke. It's a war zone. Soldiers outside your Airbnb, and then you see them, I guess, you know, we see the video that you show that they're using a bus to try to ram cars. I mean, all of this is really incomprehensible in a certain sense. I

mean you're going on vacation to Puerto Vallarta. This is a vacation hotspot. It -- can you even really comprehend what's going on right now?

MARCHENKO: At this moment? Currently, yes. But at that time, when you see the when you see the fire and you see the cars blocking the roads people not knowing what to do with the panic with the horns blaring with the military, you know, with the police everywhere, people in different uniforms, you don't really know who's good and who's bad -- you know, especially when you're -- you're in a building looking down. You just see a bunch of commotion, a bunch of movement.

So, at that time, yes, there was definitely a lot of confusion. And, of course, the most important part is, is my wife going to be safe? Are we going to be able to come home to our children? Yeah.

BURNETT: Yeah. I mean, look and I know you went out today to look for food and water, right? Because then there's that, that you're trying to make sure you have what you need. And the shops are looted and damaged. So, then you're seeing these images here, also terrifying and very unsettling as you're trying to figure out how to get food and how you're perceived as an American. And all those questions that had to be going through your head.

Do you have any plan or knowledge of when you can get back home? I know you and your wife, you know, sort of are on a getaway, right? And you want to get back to your kids.

MARCHENKO: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The goal was this morning with my building being locked down, we couldn't get out. So actually, I had to jump the wall to get off the premises. My first goal was to get some cash.

So, you know, even now, I'm thinking of ways. What are we going to do when it comes time for me to move to the airport? The first thing was to get cash. And obviously, we need food, food and water here. So that was the next task is how to survive the moment.

But my flight is not -- not until Thursday thankfully. And hopefully by then the airport settle down a little bit. We -- outside my Airbnb, outside my window we do see some flights taking off, so that's reassuring.

Not really sure. You know, who's moving where, right or what flights are taking off. But we are being updated by our airline and then by the U.S. embassies. We are getting live text messages as, as they come in.

BURNETT: Well, that's a relief to hear that. But I just -- just such a terrifying thing.

Thank you very much, Eugene, for sharing all of this. And I hope that you are back home with your kids soon.

MARCHENKO: Thank you. BURNETT: All right. I want to go to the Democratic Senator Jeff

Merkley, who's a member of the Foreign Relations Committee now.

And, Senator Merkley, obviously, as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, when you hear Eugene talk about his experience, you know, today saying he had to you know, scale a wall to get out of his building the images there of just completely looted stores just to try to get food and water and cash. This is -- this is pretty terrifying and this is a place a lot of Americans go on vacation. A lot of people are there now.

How worried are you about where this is headed?

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Well, it was a terrifying experience for everyone, and were encouraging everybody to simply shelter in place, go out as little as possible until things calm down. The scale of the destruction shows how powerful the cartel is in Jalisco state, and this is generally true of several of the major Mexican cartels. So when the government is taking them on in a battle, in this case, trying to arrest and eventually killed the leader of the cartel, El Mencho, there's a -- there's a huge response from the cartel members. They're like a small militia or a sizable militia inside of Mexico.

So, shelter in place. I've had over a dozen folks from Oregon call my team my constituent services team. People who need help should consider calling the constituent services team of their senator or their House member. We'll certainly try to get you all the advice we can.

BURNETT: So, you know, look, when you talk about the small militia and there's always been, you know, over years the control the cartels have had over various levels and levers within the Mexican government.

[19:15:08]

There was mourning today within the Mexican military itself, or national guard members who were killed by the cartel in the -- whatever the right word might be for it the drug war on the streets that we just saw over the past day.

But President Trump p has called on Mexico to step up their efforts on cartels and drugs he has floated striking drug cartels on land in the past. Do you think that is where this should go?

MERKLEY: Well, I do feel that there has to be an effort for the Mexican government to reclaim their nation from the cartels. Those cartels are fueled by the money that comes from the United States, from the purchase of the drugs. They provide a whole lot of cocaine, a whole lot fentanyl to the United States, so they have a huge impact on American families.

So, we need to have as much cooperation between the United States and Mexican officials and our intelligence agencies as possible to strengthen and diminish the power of these cartels that's in the interest of both nations. BURNETT: So as this was happening, the images that we saw were a bit

jarring of the director of the FBI. Kash Patel was parting with the men's hockey team at the Olympics. And I'll just play that.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BURNETT: And, Senator, you know, we were watching Kash Patel there. He's got the medal around his neck. The USA jersey on. He's in the locker room with the men's team after their victory over Canada.

We have learned from sources that this video that were looking at here quickly spread through the FBI, with many questioning Patel's judgment. You know, he's defended himself, s saying, I love America and was humbled when my friends, the newly minted gold medal winners of Team USA, invited me to their locker room to celebrate.

What's your reaction to these videos of the FBI director and his response?

MERKLEY: It is a continuation of amateur hour at the FBI and I know the serious agents, the senior agents, they are appalled by the diminished reputation of the FBI as a result of Kash Patel. And for this to be -- for him to spread this when there's serious issues around the world and were engaged in this close relationship with Mexican government trying to take down -- help them take down a cartel, it doesn't sit well.

BURNETT: All right. Senator Merkley, I appreciate your time. And thank you.

MERKLEY: Thank you, Erin.

BURNETT: And we do have some new video just coming in to OUTFRONT now of Iranian students protesting despite a crackdown and we're seeing there some burning the Iranian flag as President Trump tonight is seemingly dismissing concerns from his top general about striking Iran.

And more Republicans tonight are calling on one of their own to resign over allegations he had an affair with one of his staffers, who later died by suicide. Will he be forced to go? We'll talk to a Republican congresswoman this hour.

And thanks, but no thanks. The United States women's hockey team which also won gold at the Olympics, turning down Trump's invitation to a State of the Union after the president was caught on video saying that if he didn't invite them, he would probably be impeached.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:48]

BURNETT: Breaking news on Tehran government protests spreading in the country today. These are protests that took place at Alzahra University in Tehran, which is an all women's school. You can see them here. Protesters chanting against the government and also reportedly burning an Iranian flag.

And it comes as President Trump tonight is rejecting concerns of an American strike on Iran raised by his own top general. Trump posting quote, General Caine, like all of us, would not like to see war but if a decision is made on going against Iran at a military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won.

But multiple sources tell CNN that General Caine, who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has told Trump and other U.S. officials that there are many risks if Trump strikes Iran, including issues with U.S. weapons stockpiles and straining U.S. service members and the potential of American casualties.

And the warnings come as the United States is massively build up its military presence in the region, including now sending the USS Gerald Ford, which is the largest aircraft carrier in the world. This is the biggest buildup of American forces in the Middle East since the Iraq war more than two decades ago.

And the United States has never built up a military force this large without using it. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis, comparing Trump's military buildup to Dante's inferno at Trump's former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, says Trump is more likely to hit Iran after the Supreme Court tariff ruling saying, quote, I don't think he can take this loss and then be seen as backing down.

OUTFRONT now, Karim Sadjadpour and retired U.S. Army Major General James "Spider" Marks.

Karim, look, it's a precarious moment and we've got this new images of protests coming in. Obviously, there have been mass protests around the country which were met with such deadly force and so many killed by the regime. And then a period of relative calm. Now we're seeing images like this at Alzahra University, all women's university in Tehran.

You know, what is -- what is the significance of this? And would you say, Karim, the regime in Tehran is weaker or stronger today than it was after that deadly crackdown of protests weeks ago?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: The significance of today's protests, Erin, is that that university, Alzahra University, is a conservative female university, which historically had been a religious stronghold for the regime. So, it's just illustrative of how deeply unpopular this government is.

[19:25:04]

And I think it's a government which feels existential angst, both internally and externally. It's despised by, I would argue, more than three quarters of its population. And as you alluded to, it's facing a massive show of U.S. military force in the Middle East. And it's facing a U.S. president who in the past has rolled the dice on several occasions and feels like he's been vindicated, and in my view, potentially prepared to take action again. BURENTT: So, General Marks, you know, when President Trump made that

comment about General Caine, he used the words war. General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see war. And he put a capital W on the word "war". Right? He's not talking about strikes or anything like that he used the word "war".

Now, obviously, Congress has not approved a war. Is it inevitable, though, General, that Trump strikes Iran no matter what?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: I think so, Erin. Clearly, what you see, as has been described, we haven't had this type of troop buildup in over two decades. And generally, when you have a force like that, it becomes a negotiating tool. Clearly, there's still talks going on in Geneva, they will resume again on Thursday.

So, the options are crystal clear. Youve got that type of force. But when you deploy a force like that, you're incredibly vulnerable. So, you have to make sure that all the air defense capabilities that are all linked are in place. We need we need to make sure this force clearly understands the capabilities that Iran still has, which is in excess of 2,000 long range missiles. None of those are nuclear tipped take that off the table.

But still, they have a capacity to do some tremendous damage against this potential strike force. So, I think the short answer is, sure this could be. And in fact, there could be a very limited strike right now. I have no clue what the target packages look like but there could be a limited strike in advance of the resumption of those talks on Thursday. So, you go to the table on --

BURNETT: Right, to make a point, yeah.

MARKS: You just happened more, more -- more could be coming your way.

BURNETT: So, Karim, you know, when we look at the buildup that were seeing as general marks is, is laying it out. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has been in negotiations, said that Trump can't believe Iran hasn't caved to Trump's demands and pressure. Here's how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: I don't want to use the word frustrated. It's almost because he understands he's got plenty of alternatives. But it's curious. He's curious as to why they haven't -- I don't want to use the word capitulated, but why they haven't capitulated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now, Karim, of course, they've never capitulated before. That would be the norm. But what do words like this trigger, word like "capitulate", the way that Witkoff is using it as being the person in the room in the negotiations? What does it trigger in terms of the Iranian regime response? SADJADPOUR: You know, Erin, I think president Trump was hoping to

resurrect his Venezuela strategy to subject Iran to significant military and economic pressure in the hopes that it would force either, as Witkoff said either capitulation or political decapitation.

What I find a little unsettling watching these negotiations is the enormous mismatch in expertise between Iran's negotiating team, which has two decades of expertise, and the U.S. negotiating side, which is not profoundly informed on these issues. I think the U.S. side, the background of Witkoff is as a real estate negotiator. And for the Iranians, this is an existential irreconcilable ideological war, and they're all in on it and I don't see that same seriousness on the U.S. side.

BURNETT: General Marks, you know, when you think about this, though, and both of you have just talked about, you know, the example of Venezuela and the use of the word capitulation, right? And what Karim's just laying out in the mismatch of, of negotiating expertise.

Maybe this the simplification of it from the -- from the Trump side what is the risk, general, in a moment like this, that if they think this is Venezuela and they think you just do it and its one and done, and you put Delcy Rodriguez in and you just move on and it's like nothing happened.

What is the risk of that when you talk about what you just laid out with 2,000 long range missiles and American troops in the region?

MARKS: Erin, this is not like Venezuela at all. I would hope that the administration is self-aware, and I would imagine they are, that this is not a Delcy Rodriguez. There's nobody in Iran in the leadership of the regime that's going to step up. And anybody in the United States is going to tolerate it.

Look, there could be the possibility of some type of regime collapse. I'm not qualified to get into that. But there could be going forward, a change in leadership in Iran and that leadership may not wear a turban. It may be incredibly secular, which might include a whole number of leaders from the IRGC.

[19:30:07]

But the risk is incredibly high to the U.S. forces but the preparation for that is within the calculations of, you know, the risk calculations. And, of course, General Caine has the obligation to go to the president and say, here are the risks, here are the risks that I'm going to lay out for you. They include, you know, risks to the -- to the soldiers and the sailors that are going to be involved.

BURNETT: Right. And of course, you know, I think again, with, with his use of the word war and the role of congress, right. It should be that the American people would -- would be given a case as to why this war is directly in their interest, if that's what it's going to be.

Thank you both very much. I appreciate your time. And next, Trump quickly losing support among Latino voters. One

Republican congresswoman is warning the president that this could be just the tip of the iceberg. Why? Well, she's next to explain.

And breaking news this hour. 30 million under a blizzard warning this hour. More than two feet of snow falling in at least five states. And in Massachusetts, look at the devastating waves that they're also dealing with on the coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:46]

BURNETT: New tonight, a major warning sign for Trump Republicans. President Trump's approval rating among Latino voters is in freefall. A new CNN poll shows a 19-point drop in just the past year from 41 percentage point approval to 22.

That is a stunning plunge, and it comes as Trump, of course has ramped up harsh immigration tactics, which he continues to tout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tom Homan, Kristi Noem, our people have been incredible, the job they've done. It just amazes me that there's not more support out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Republican Congresswoman Maria Salazar of Florida. She is warning that President Trump could lose more support from Latino voters. And her district is front and center here, one of the highest percentage of Latino voters in the country.

And so, Congresswoman Salazar, you are seeing this firsthand, right? Every single day with your constituents. And I know we're looking at this 19-point drop in support in a year from 41 to 22. I mean, that's stunning by any measure, right? No matter what you're looking at.

Here specifically, we're talking about approval among Latino American voters.

Why is that drop so dramatic, do you think?

REP. MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR (R-FL): Well, thank you for the opportunity because the president has this great opportunity that he -- and I've said it so many times -- that he needs to take up this moment to start this national conversation that is called immigration. Immigration is the most toxic topic in the country and in Congress and it's been a problem that has been lingering for 40 years, and the president has the opportunity to solve it.

And the problem is that right now, we have this coalition that was formed by the GOP which are the Hispanics largest minority in the country, fastest growing minority in the country. And that is why I introduced, as you mentioned, the only legislation as Kristi Noem asked us to do, which is called the Dignity Act, which starts this national conversation as to what are we going to do with those people who do not have a criminal record, who are not the bad hombres, but they contribute and they are needed in three key sectors in the economy agricultural hospitality and construction.

And I know at the end that the president is getting it, and he will be the one signing this legislation.

BURNETT: They are, of course, the lion's share of the deportations and the people being rounded up though, are people who do not have criminal records. Right? I mean, and he's known this for a while. I mean, why?

(CROSSTALK)

SALAZAR: Well, we do not know.

BURNETT: The refusal to do something about it.

SALAZAR: There are figures, we do not really know. Out of the 100 percent, how many people do have a criminal record, because in reality, they have taken -- meaning ICE and the law enforcement agencies, they have taken a lot of the criminals that we don't need. Hispanics do not want illegals who are rapists and murderers or are part of Tren de Aragua or MS-13. We don't want those.

Now we cannot conflate the gangster with the gardener and the nanny with the narco and the construction worker with the coyote. That's the problem.

But look, look, still, President Trump is the only guy and you know, I used to work for in television, he is the only person who can get and solve this problem. Why? Because he has. He did it with the -- he has had the fortitude, the pants to do things that other presidents, including Republicans and Democrats, have not done. And immigration is one of those topics.

BURNETT: Congresswoman, I'm curious, though, as to why you think he has so stubbornly continued to do it the way he's been doing it, right? I mean, this administration, we've all heard, whether its the press secretary to cabinet secretaries, make the argument that you're a criminal if you're here illegally, regardless of whether you're law abiding, taxpaying, agricultural worker or a Tren de Aragua member, right? They've made the point that that all of its a criminal, right?

When they've been given the opportunity --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: -- to walk through the door. They haven't done it.

SALAZAR: At the same time, the president has said that there are many people on the field, picking up the jalapeno peppers or the tomatoes or the oranges that are good people and that -- and he said it to "The New York Times" a couple of months ago, that he was willing to do an immigration reform with the Dems if the Dems were open to it. And they are because I have a bipartisan bill called the Dignity Act with a very stellar member of the Democratic Party called Veronica Escobar.

[19:40:04]

And we have put together what is Solomonic in the middle, which is no path to citizenship but dignity. Dignity to those people who do not have a criminal record who have been here for more than five years, who have been contributing to the economy because the economy needs them.

This is not an immigration bill, the one that I presented. This is an economic bill and a national security bill, because we need to know who our neighbor is, number one. And number two, we need to have those hands on the fields and construction. If we want to have cheaper homes and cheaper vegetables and more and more roof. And for the economy to continue growing, it's impossible for us to continue growing, our GDP if we do not have hands working those jobs.

BURNETT: Well, a lot of people obviously would agree with you on that.

Congresswoman, I want to ask you about one other thing here, and that is your Republican colleague Congressman Tony Gonzales. Another Republican colleague of yours, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, I don't know if you saw this because it just happened in the past few moments. So you may not have, but she just called on him to resign, joining Lauren Boebert who has also made a similar call.

Gonzales, as you know, is alleged to have had an affair in 2024 with a staffer who died by suicide last year by self-immolation. Gonzales now denies the affair, says he's being blackmailed. But as I said, this is now widespread. And you've got Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert calling for his resignation. Two other House Republicans say he should end his primary campaign.

What do you think he should do?

SALAZAR: I think that there is a code of conduct that we elected officials need to follow, because that's good for the institution. The United States Congress, and for the republic the United States.

At the same time, there is an investigation. We do not know all the facts. So, I'm going to go with what Speaker Johnson said. These are serious accusations. We need to investigate the whole situation.

But at the end next week, the constituents in Tony's district will determine his fate. And that is the beauty of democracy. It will be the punishment or the reward by the people that he's representing. So we don't need to really do anything. It's just let them speak, the people that he represents.

BURNETT: All right. Congresswoman Salazar, I appreciate your time. And thank you very much.

SALAZAR: To you for the opportunity.

BURNETT: All right. And next, the Olympic gold winning U.S. women's hockey team turning down an invitation to a Trump's -- to attend Trump's State of the Union. Why?

And Harry Enten, we love him so much he got the assignment of the day. That is a large snowball, nearly two feet, falling where Harry is standing in Central Park. And he's here to tell us something we don't know. Like, why is the same jacket after 11 years? Which is actually a wonderful thing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:14]

BURNETT: Breaking news, more than 30 million people still under blizzard warnings right now as the bomb cyclone continues to slam the northeast with hurricane force winds and extreme snowfall. These powerful waves that you're looking at are right along the coast of Massachusetts.

There's a travel ban still in place there, and there have been travel bans across the northeast, where more than two feet of snow has fallen so far in at least five states. I think it was, what, 33 inches in Rhode Island or something, but I think we'll find out from Harry Enten, who is in Central Park this hour.

You know, Harry, you get the juicy assignments. You know you want to go on the field on a gorgeous day. And here you are. And this is actually because the first time you were on the show 11 years ago was you in the snow.

And you know what's so funny, Harry? You're wearing the same coat. You're wearing the same coat.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I am. I'm wearing the exact same coat. The bottom line is, good fashion is good fashion, Erin Burnett.

But look, 11 years ago, when I was in the field with you the first time around, it was a bust, a total bust. Oh, we were going to get 20 to 30 inches of snow, it didn't end up happening.

This storm, not a bust. We got about 20 inches of snow here in Central Park and we cracked the top 10, baby, crack the top 10. But what's so important to note is the storm is actually bigger in other places. We're talking about the second all-time in Newark, New Jersey. Okay, cracking over two feet of snow.

How about Providence, Rhode Island? Providence, Rhode Island, at this point, over three feet of snow. My goodness gracious.

You go out to the eastern end of Long Island, you go to Islip, again north of two feet of snow. It's a snow globe, baby.

BURNETT: I mean, it's unbelievable. I mean, 38 inches of snow. I mean, just to even think about that, it's incredible.

All right. So, New York City --

ENTEN: I know,

BURNETT: I remember sledding in Central Park, the last was in 2016, right? Which was just a little bit more than this. But this sort of snow, right? And it was just an epic winter of snow after snow after snow. This feels like it has been the snowiest winter that I can remember in almost 30 years, living here.

ENTEN: You know, what I will say is, there's all this talk I hear all the time. Oh, when I was a kid, it used to snow more. But the bottom line is this the clear majority, eight of ten, eight of ten of the snowiest winter, the snowiest storms ever in New York City history have happened in the last 30 years, starting off with the 1996 blizzard going through today.

And of course, the last few years, not too snowy, but this year -- this year, we've cracked 40 inches on the year. As a guy who went to weather camp, it's a plus for me.

BURNETT: Oh, you just told me something I don't know that tops everything I'm ever going to hear.

[19:50:00]

You went to weather camp. I mean that beats band camp, baby.

All right, there is this idea that it doesn't snow like it used to. Tell me something I don't know.

ENTEN: I'll tell you something you don't know, Erin Burnett, which is 1996, 2006, 2016 and now 2026, all of the sixes. Maybe there's something about sixes and top ten snowstorms in New York City, 20 inches across the board, in all of those big storms over those years, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Harry, thank you so much. Weather camp sounds really awesome.

Okay. Thank you, Harry.

And next, breaking news, we're just learning the masked suspect in Nancy Guthrie's appearance appears to have visited her home days before she disappeared.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news, CNN learning the masked suspect in the Nancy Guthrie doorbell video had gone to her home before -- in fact, days before she was abducted.

Ed Lavandera joins me on the phone.

And, Ed, what are you learning about this?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, this is significant because if you remember back on February 10th when the FBI released those haunting and dramatic images of the suspect wearing a backpack, a mask, a gun in a holster around his waist, that that was in that batch of photos that was released. There was one photo in particular that showed the suspect standing there without a backpack and without the gun in the holster on his body.

So, there have been a lot of questions about where that photo was coming from. Was it part of the same timeline? But now we have learned through a source that that photo actually came from a day previous to the early morning hours of February 1st which means this person was at Nancy Guthrie's doorstep on a different day.

[19:55:05]

It's not clear exactly which day that was. We do not know that yet, but we do know that in the last few weeks, there has been a call for video dating from January 1st all the way to February 2nd, there's also been another call of video for some specific days, one dating back to January 11th between 8:00 p.m. and midnight. So, there have been some specific requests for videos for way before just that February 1st morning.

BURNETT: All right. Ed, thank you very much. Obviously hugely significant. I think we've all made the assumption those pictures were the same time. So, the fact that that was taken before sinister and jarring but huge development.

Also tonight, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine is speaking to CNN with a direct message to Trump.

And Clarissa Ward is OUTFRONT

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I've been coming here regularly throughout the war, and I can honestly say that this time it feels different. The morale is the lowest that I have ever seen it and I wonder as things stand, do you believe that Ukraine can still win this war?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We didn't lose our country, our independence and freedom. We have it now. We speak in the capital.

Russia is not winning. This is very important. And everybody is asking how long we can hold the line and how long we can stay.

WARD: And how long can you

ZELENSKYY: You know, it's not about it. We want to do it yesterday. We wanted Putin to stop this war yesterday. And when we speak about how to stop him, first of all, to give Ukraine security guarantees.

WARD: So, help us understand what is going on with these security guarantees. What is the holdup?

ZELENSKYY: We have mostly everything. Everything. I think everything in the paper. But it's not still signed it. It's not signed by the United States. This is the first.

WARD: Why?

ZELENSKYY: I think that the United States wants to sign security guarantees at the same -- very same moment when the 20-point plan will be accepted by all of us.

WARD: And is that a problem for you?

ZELENSKYY: I think -- it's not the problem, but I think -- I can tell you what is better.

For me, it still is not clear that if Russia will begin aggression against us, what I wanted very much to have in the security guarantees. My question is how partners will react on the aggression of Russia if it will be.

WARD: So you want a very specific in writing guarantee.

ZELENSKYY: I want very -- I will have good things in these guarantees. It's true between us. It's true.

But I want very specific answer what partners will be ready to do if Putin will come again.

WARD: If you get those security guarantees, would you be willing to accept a frozen front line whereby Russia keeps the territory that they have already seized?

ZELENSKYY: We already said that we are ready for the compromise to freeze the points where we stay, the places. It's a frozen contact line. We are ready for this.

But if Russians or partners in dialogue with Russians want just to withdraw our army from our fortifications, I mean, we can't be such, sorry, foolish guys. We are not children.

WARD: What would you like to hear from President Trump tomorrow at his State of the Union address?

ZELENSKYY: I want him to stay on our side.

WARD: This woman said to me, I never want to hear the word resilient again. I am so over being resilient. I am so exhausted. I am so broken what do you tell Ukrainian people right now who are feeling, that they're done.

ZELENSKYY: It's very difficult. It's very understandable and painful that we want to end this war as quick as possible and really, we -- each day, we do all we can. I speak with all the partners. I try to negotiate -- I'm asking different partners in different continents. Help me to stop Putin.

But if we will give him all he wants, we will lose everything. Just everything -- our houses, our lives, our families, everything because all of us people will have to run away from the country or be Russians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Our Clarissa Ward there in Kyiv tonight with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Thank you so much for joining us.

"AC360" begins now.