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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Venezuela's Acting President Calls For "Cooperation" With U.S.; Global Oil Prices Dip After U.S. Action In Venezuela; Pope Calls For Venezuela's Independence To Be Protected; U.N. Security Council To Hold Emergency Meeting On Venezuela; Senate Expected To Vote On War Powers Resolution This Week; Venezuelans Who Fled Regime Celebrate Maduro's Capture; Images Of Venezuela Attack Flooded Social Media. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 05, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:00:38]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Salomon, live this morning in New York.

And we begin this morning with the fallout over the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Just hours ago, U.S. President Donald Trump returned to Washington and had this to say on Air Force One about who's in charge right now in Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: We're dealing with the people. We're dealing with the people that just got sworn in. And don't ask me who's in charge, because I'll give you an answer, and it'll be very controversial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does that mean?

TRUMP: It means we're in charge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you spoken with her?

TRUMP: We're in charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: At the same time, Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, is now striking a softer tone. She's extending an invitation to the U.S. government to collaborate on a, quote, "agenda of cooperation." In the hours ahead, the ousted Venezuelan president is set to make his first court appearance in New York. He faces drug weapons and narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. President Trump claims that the case against Maduro is strong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: The case is, it's infallible. People are so happy with what we've done. You know, you go down to Miami, you go down to a lot of places, and they're all dancing in the streets of this country. Now, he was a rough man, killed millions of people. He killed millions and millions of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: CNN's Evan Perez is following developments from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have now spent their first day in federal detention here at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Now, this is a place with a fairly notorious reputation. Everyone from judges and members of Congress and even the Justice Department's inspector general have cataloged the number of poor and inhumane conditions here at this facility, including inmates with illegal weapons and illegal electronics, as well as poor medical treatment for the people who are detained here.

Now, that's -- those are the conditions under which the Maduros have been -- have been living here over the last 24 hours, a far -- a far cry from the presidential palace in Miraflores in Caracas, where they were just a day before.

Now, what happens next is that the Maduros will be taken to federal court on Monday. This is going to be their first federal court appearance. They'll be before a judge at noon in downtown Manhattan. The judge will read them the four federal charges that they are facing, including narcotrafficking and cocaine importation conspiracy.

And that begins the process inside the U.S. justice system for the Maduros. We don't know yet who is representing them in a federal court, but we expect that this is going to be a process that's going to take some months, perhaps more than a year, before a trial gets started. We anticipate that the Maduros will make the argument that the U.S. plucking them from Caracas is an illegal action and that they should not face these charges. All of that, of course, is going to be worked out before a federal judge in the coming months.

Again, that gets started in downtown Manhattan at noon on Monday.

Evan Perez, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And one of the big questions for Venezuela's future under U.S. control is what will happen to the country's oil industry. President Trump said that the U.S. could potentially put troops in Venezuela for the purposes of securing oil. In a press conference on Saturday, he made clear that U.S. companies would be involved in Venezuela's oil industry. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, oil prices dipped in the first trading session after the U.S. operation, looking at WTI now off about 1.2 percent, Brent, the international benchmark, off about 1.1 percent.

Now, while Venezuela has the largest oil reserve in the world, it's actually not a major exporter of oil. The country's daily output represents less than one percent of the global supply.

Meanwhile, U.S. markets will open soon for the first time since the U.S. operation, looking at futures. Stocks are edging slightly, fractionally higher now, although the NASDAQ futures look like they're set to open higher, at least right now, half a percent.

[04:05:09]

Let's get more now on the impact of the U.S. move on Venezuelan oil and what this will mean for the sector. Joining us now is Amrita Sen. She is the Founder and Director of Market Intelligence at Energy Aspects and joins us live now from London.

Great to have you this morning, Amrita. Just looking at where oil prices are now, as I just said, Brent lower, WTI lower. But -- but taking a step back more broadly, what type of reaction are you expecting?

AMRITA SEN, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF MARKET INTELLIGENCE, ENERGY ASPECTS: Thank you. Look, we're not expecting oil prices to move higher on the back of what is going on in Venezuela, even though the U.S. blockade remains in place, U.S. sanctions remain in place. Venezuelan oil exports have already halved over the last few weeks or last few days, I should say. And there's more risk that things get worse in the short term.

But we are looking at an oil market where there is ample supply. OPEC Plus have been unwinding production. There's a lot of new oil from Guyana and Brazil. So, there isn't really any fear of shortages. 2026 could be one of the biggest surpluses in the oil market unless there is any major disruption.

So, the market is really looking past any kind of supply risks at the moment.

SOLOMON: And Amrita, our reporting from CNN's Kylie Atwood is that American oil companies are privately hesitant of reinvesting in Venezuela. What are you hearing from your industry contacts? What more can you share with us in that regard? SEN: Oh, very, very similar. In fact, the major oil companies, A, weren't really kind of giving a heads up. B, of course, they'll be keen to go back because Venezuela does have fantastic reserves.

But our calculations show that just to raise production by half a million barrels per day would require at least two years and $10 billion. I cannot stress enough just how much of a damage there has been to Venezuelan infrastructure over the past few years, the brain drain, the actual physical damage of equipment, the theft. This is not something that can be turned overnight.

Let's not forget the huge amounts of debt PDVSA, which is the national oil company, has and it owes including to countries like China. And finally, let's say these companies go back in, the U.S. companies. Do they get the guarantee that a future Venezuelan government will uphold these contracts? It's just way too uncertain. It's very difficult to be the first to commit to billions of dollars of investment.

So, again, this fear in the market about, oh, there's going to be a lot of Venezuelan oil coming in the future. I am not a real believer of that just yet.

SOLOMON: Yeah. One thing we've heard from some of the oil companies is it's a bit premature at this point to talk about what their investment might look like. But to your point, billions of dollars, potentially years before you start to see the oil flowing again or being exported again.

How critical, Amrita, is stability? I mean, what would these oil companies need to see to feel comfortable investing again?

SEN: Gosh, that list is very long. Obviously, political stability. That's the main thing in terms of the government that's there. And, you know, what any contract that gets signed, what does that look like? Are we talking about an interim government? Because that's just not going to be something companies are going to be willing to then get involved with.

Again, the debt thing I mentioned is going to be very important that in that line of debtors and when you're receiving that debt back, where do you fall? Because you have very different players involved in this as well. But also, if, let's say, you do invest the billions of dollars, I think they will want certainty that then they can take the oil back to the U.S., because that's obviously been one of the biggest issues the companies face, that they did invest a lot.

And then they weren't, I mean, obviously, after a few years, they weren't allowed to continue to operate there and then take the oil back to the U.S. And that is still very fresh in these companies' minds. It's not going to be a quick turnaround to say, oh, suddenly we're going to all go back to debt as well.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Amrita, I imagine your film must be ringing off the hook with people and clients asking questions about how to -- how to play this news. What kind of advice are you giving your clients, an energy company right now who perhaps is wondering, how do you play this? I mean, what the risks are, which I think are pretty apparent, but also what the opportunity is in -- in investing in Venezuela right now?

SEN: I would say for us, the biggest thing we've been saying since the weekend has been don't jump to any kind of quick conclusions. We've had, you know, quite a few people starting to ask us about, oh, what's the Venezuelan oil production going to be in two years, in five years? Everybody is expecting a lot more oil from Venezuela.

And I think that's where we are kind of pushing back to say, let's actually look at what's changed. As of right now, nothing's actually changed other than Maduro being removed from power. Even the vice president, who is currently there, still very much belongs to the Maduro regime.

Yes, she's taken a slightly kind of, you know, tone, which is a bit more, OK, let's work with the U.S. But fundamentally, unless and until something changes, I think it is way too premature to get excited about the long-term prospects.

[04:10:10]

If -- again, we need to really see how this plays out, if that happens, then, of course, over the next few years, potentially a decade, you can see some significant volumes coming out. But again, it has to be dealt with -- with significant caution, but also the fact that we really need to know who is going to be in power.

SOLOMON: Yes, certainly a lot of questions for the day after, months after and years after. Amrita Sen, appreciate your expertise on this matter. Thank you.

SEN: Thank you.

SOLOMON: Let's bring in our CNN's Nic Robertson, who is following developments and joins us live from London. Nic, good morning to you.

So, lots of change in Venezuela today. Maduro out, the interim leader in. What more can you share with us about how this is shaking up order in Venezuela?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it's certainly being viewed with some concern by allies of the United States. If you listen to the language of the European Union, if you listen to the language of British prime ministers using, they're all saying that they respect and believe in the rule of international law. They're not directly criticizing the United States for breaking that. They're not making a determination on it, but they are saying that it's important.

They also say that Maduro was not the legitimate leader of Venezuela. And therefore you can see a level of support for the United States there. President Trump's comments on Greenland will cause further consternation within the European Union. These Danish prime minister, of which Greenland is one of three of the kingdoms of the state of Greenland. Mette Frederiksen has pushed back on Trump's comments saying this is not the time to be -- to be talking about, you know, taking -- taking Greenland. President Trump has said that it's important for U.S. national security.

But focusing on the issue of -- of Venezuela, it is very clear that this is a divisive issue. Those countries that stand against the United States, its enemies, if you will, the division between them and the allies of the United States will tend to deepen. But the concern is there with the allies about what President Trump and what the United States does next.

We've heard also from the spokesperson from the opposition leader, Maduro. He is saying that she is the legitimate, if you will, leader of or represents the legitimate will of the Venezuelan people. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SMOLANSKY, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN: She's very capable. She's brave. She's courageous. She was in hiding for over a year. And I don't have any doubt that she's going to be with President-elect Edmundo Gonzalez. The leaders of the rebuilding of Venezuela, where obviously the U.S. is going to be our main allies. And we will have plenty of other allies in Latin America and Europe and beyond. But Maria Corina Machado is a leader who is out of this world. And she's got support for -- from almost every Venezuelan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well, and also got the support from the Nobel Committee winning the Peace Prize last year. So, this is, you know, a figure that is clearly being pushed, but it's not a figure that the Trump administration is turning to. In fact, they don't seem to believe that she actually has the support within Venezuela to -- to affect the changes that they want to change.

I think this is a real open space. And I think, therefore, when you hear members of the European Union speaking about the needs to make decisions and actions based on international humanitarian law, on -- on international law. This is what we're hearing from the British prime minister as well.

It speaks to what they are concerned about in the United States is actions going forward from here. And that's something I think the U.N. Secretary General, through his spokesman, has reflected on as well about the implications for Latin America, for the Caribbean and for upholding international law as well.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Nic, to that point, I mean, we know there is an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting scheduled in just a few hours. Realistically, what can we expect to happen there?

ROBERTSON: I think realistically we can expect very little to -- to change coming out of it. It will be a place where representatives will be able to express their -- their, you know, feelings and sentiments. There will be those that will express the view that Maduro needed to go. There will be those that will express their concerns about how the United States handles this going forward, about the precedent that it sets. But the U.N. is sidelined by President Trump's actions. There are those that say that for President Trump to have taken this action, he would have needed the support of the U.N. Security Council. He didn't go there. They've said that he would have needed support from the Congress. He didn't go there. He didn't seek that publicly.

[04:15:13]

So, it is clear that they are going to be some cautionary messages coming out of the U.N. Security Council. However, your question was, well, what can we expect from that?

It's probably not going to change the dynamic in the short term of how President Trump and the White House are handling the situation in Venezuela. It is, however, going to absolutely focus attention on the key concerns about how it's done.

SOLOMON: Yeah, absolutely. Nic Robertson reporting live for us here in London. Nic, thank you.

All right. And still to come, look at how people in Latin America are viewing the U.S.' operation to capture Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:11]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. President Trump is claiming that the U.S. is in charge of Venezuela after capturing ousted leader Nicolas Maduro this weekend.

U.S. operation will be the focus of a U.N. Security Council meeting in the hours ahead. Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, is now extending an invitation to the U.S. government to collaborate on a, quote, "agenda of cooperation." The offer comes as Trump weighs further military action inside the country depending on the posture of Venezuela's new leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We were prepared to do a second strike if we needed. We were totally prepared --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But that's off the table --

TRUMP: And we're still prepared --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's off the table now.

TRUMP: No, it's not. If they don't behave, we will do a second strike.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The question is that, the American troops, are they going to be on the ground there doing any kind of peacekeeping? I think Americans are very --

TRUMP: It depends -- it depends on what happens. It depends a little bit on the new administration if you want to call it that --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, he's --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Maduro is scheduled to make his first court appearance in New York City today, and top Trump administration officials are expected to brief a select group of bipartisan lawmakers on the situation in Venezuela.

CNN's Paula Newton has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A new day in Caracas and with it, mounting questions about what's next for Venezuela. Its ousted leader, Nicolas Maduro, is in U.S. custody awaiting his first appearance in a Manhattan federal court on drugs and weapons charges. And details of the U.S. role in Venezuela are still evolving after a stunning claim by U.S. President Donald Trump made soon after Maduro's capture.

TRUMP: We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

NEWTON: On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to explain one of the ways that would be done, saying the U.S. would be, quote, "running policy".

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, what's going to happen here is that we have a quarantine on their oil. That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met, and that's what we intend to do.

So, that leverage remains, that leverage is ongoing, and we expect that it's going to lead to results here.

NEWTON: But Venezuela has taken its own steps to fill its power void. Saturday, the country's supreme court ordered Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to assume the role of acting president of the country. And Rodriguez, a Maduro loyalist, has said the U.S. actions violated the country's sovereignty.

But Trump says there has been communication between the U.S. and Rodriguez, and she is willing to work with Washington. There was little sign of detente on Sunday from Venezuela's defense minister, who demanded Maduro's return.

VLADIMIR PADRINO LOPEZ, VENEZUELAN DEFENSE MINISTER: It was an act of cowardice, but it also represents a threat to the world order.

NEWTON: There have been crowds of government supporters in Caracas also calling for Maduro's release. But for the most part, the streets of Caracas are quiet as Venezuelans hunker down, uncertain about the path ahead and who will really be running their country.

Paula Newton, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Meanwhile, across Latin America, many leaders are expressing concern over the capture of Maduro. This comes as some Maduro loyalists rallied in Caracas in support of their ousted president. CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go home, Gringo, go home.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anger from a group on the streets of Colombia's capital city.,

CROWD (through translation): Yankee, hitman, out of my neighborhood.

LOPEZ (voice-over): Solidarity after the U.S. captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from his compound in Caracas. It's an attack many in Latin America feel is far too close to home. Trump has accused Maduros government of flooding the U.S. with drugs, an accusation that has long been leveled at other countries in Latin America, too.

Colombia, Venezuela's next-door neighbor is also the largest recipient of that country's refugees, with over 2.8 million in a 2024 count. The possibility of a new surge worries the government so much that more than 30,000 Colombian troops are now positioned along its border with Venezuela.

MARTHA ELENA HUERTAS, PROTESTER (through translator): As a Latin American woman, we want to tell the world that we are absolutely and unequivocally rejecting this criminal, murderous, colonialist invasion and invading, plundering act by the decadent U.S. empire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Well, I feel that this was something many people were expecting, especially the Venezuelan people. However, we have to see to what extent international law is respected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Many people from Venezuela are going through great hardship because of that regime, and the kind of dictatorship that existed. I'm happy and I support the United States in this attack.

LOPEZ (voice-over): In Rome, people gathered Sunday to listen as Pope Leo expressed deep concern for Venezuela. The U.S. born pope with extensive ties to Latin America, called for Venezuela's independence to be protected among bystanders and passersby. Reactions were mixed.

[04:25:13]

CLARA PERES SOLANO, MEXICAN TOURIST (through translator): As a Mexican first acknowledged, Trump's great achievement. However, I'm a little scared by his desire to dominate everything he's talking about regarding oil.

CIELO CELESTE, PERUVIAN TOURIST (through translator): But finally, the dictatorship is gone. Thank God. As they say, Trump took a firm hand and dragged him away.

LOPEZ (voice-over): For Venezuela and its neighbors, who have taken in refugees by the thousands and witnessed their struggles firsthand, there is hope for relief.

SANDRA, CHILEAN RESIDENT (through translator): I'm happy for them because they're going to get to go back to their country. Well, they won't leave immediately because I'm not going to let them go so quickly.

LOPEZ (voice-over): In Latin America, many are still holding their breath. Maduro is gone. But for now, those close to him remain in power before the region's millions of displaced Venezuelans, they return home. Still isn't on the cards.

Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: President Trump is now taking aim at Colombian President Gustavo Petro. He's accusing the leader of heading up the country's drug dealings and hinted at a potential U.S. operation involving that country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Colombia is very sick, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long. He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories. He's not going to be doing it very long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, there will be an operation by the U.S. in Colombia?

TRUMP: It sounds good to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Meantime, the Colombian president is defending his government's track record of combating drug trafficking. The president says that his administration was responsible for what he called the largest cocaine seizure in the world's history. He also said that he will respond to President Trump's comments once he has seen the translation and, quote, "knows the true meaning."

And so to come for us, what some lawmakers are saying about the legitimacy of the Venezuela operation and if congressional approval was required.

We'll be right back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [04:31:36]

SOLOMON: Welcome back to "Early Start." I'm Rahel Solomon, live this morning in New York.

And returning now to our top story, captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's schedule to make his first court appearance in New York City today.

The longtime leader will face drug trafficking and weapons charges. President Trump called the case infallible ahead of Maduro's court appearance. Maduro's Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, well, she is now the acting president of Venezuela. Rodriguez says that she's inviting the U.S. government to collaborate on a, quote, "agenda of cooperation." Trump had threatened her with a fate worse than Maduro if she, quote, "doesn't do the right thing."

U.S. intervention will be the focus of a U.N. Security Council meeting in the hours ahead. President Trump detailing the operation that led to Maduro's capture while speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was a very dangerous operation. It was amazing that we had a few injured, but all are in good shape right now. But I knew there was great danger. He got off the helicopters were being shot at. They got on the ground. Amazing, amazing talent and tremendous patriotism. Bravery. The bravery was incredible.

Let's see, they got off the helicopter and the bullets were flying all over the place. As you know, one of the helicopters got hit pretty badly. But we got everything back and everything back and nobody killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And sources tell CNN that the Trump administration is set to brief a select group of bipartisan lawmakers on Venezuela in a classified meeting on Monday night. This comes as the White House is being criticized by some lawmakers who say that the Venezuela operation should have had congressional approval. But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushing back against those claims.

Sources also say that White House officials are justifying the Venezuela operation with a legal opinion from 1989, which was used to invade Panama and capture then military dictator Manuel Noriega.

But there was also one key difference. Panama had declared war on the U.S. prior to American intervention. CNN's Camila DeChalus has more now from Washington on how some lawmakers are reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Democrats on Capitol Hill are raising serious concerns about what just happened in Venezuela and the military actions that the Trump administration took.

Now, number one, they argue that under the current U.S. law, Congress is supposed to be notified in advance when any president plans a major military operation abroad. And they say that in this case, that did not happen.

Now, the second thing I've been hearing from a lot of Democrats is that they're arguing that this could set a very dangerous president. And they're really saying some senators like Tim Kaine who talked to reporters just the other day, he said that he's concerned that the Trump administration's latest actions could encourage other global superpowers like Russia or Iran to take similar aggressive actions and that can further destabilize conflicts abroad.

Now, the Trump administration on their end, they have really pushed back on these criticisms. And even I've talked to some Republican lawmakers who argued that if the Trump administration deliberately chose not to notify lawmakers, that was OK because honestly, them telling lawmakers in advance, that could have led to any leaks in the press and that could have compromised their mission and potentially put U.S. troops in danger.

Now, it's also worth noting that this upcoming week, the Senate is expected to vote on a bipartisan war powers resolution. Now, this resolution would seek to limit the president's ability to take any further military actions in Venezuela or even abroad just without congressional approval that he would need congressional authorization first. And that is something that we are now going to be diligently following and seeing whether this resolution will get enough votes.

[04:35:16]

Camila DeChalus, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Now, how that vote could turn out remains to be seen, especially given the mixed reaction from lawmakers. While there has been criticism for Congress being kept in the dark, one lawmaker says that he can understand why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): I think that there is also broad agreement across party lines that from this point forward, Congress needs to be centrally involved in whatever role the United States has in ushering in a better future and a better political arrangement in Venezuela and giving them, you know, the freedom and democracy and self- determination that they deserve.

As to the question of the strike itself and the lack of, you know, approval by Congress leading up to it, you know, I'm someone who always wants Congress to be informed as much as possible. Under traditional legal frameworks, that's when the president's powers are at their highest ebb. But for an operation like this that was predicated on secrecy, there are circumstances where that just isn't possible, where it puts the mission at risk, where it puts our service members at risk.

SOLOMON: Senate Democrat Chris Coons, however, taking a different approach, saying that if the U.S. president's powers are not kept in check, there could be far-reaching effects.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): If Republicans step up and do their job as the Article 1 power and say that there shouldn't be further military action without our consent, there's a lot we can do. If Republicans fold their arms and say, nope, we're willing to let President Trump do whatever he wants with our military overseas with no clear evidence of an imminent threat, then I think folks around the world will be even more anxious.

Our trusted ally Denmark will wonder what it means when Trump continues to make threats against Greenland. Our ally Panama will wonder what it means when he threatens Panama. Heck, even Canada has reason to worry if there's no checks or balances provided by the Republicans in the Senate.

SOLOMON: All right, joining us now to discuss is Natasha Lindstaedt. She is a professor of government at the University of Essex. Natasha, great to have you this morning. Good morning.

We just heard in Camila's piece there some of the reactions politically to this operation. What are you watching? I mean, how does this impact Trump politically? What fallout might we see?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, we're already seeing that the Democrats have had a pretty tough, harsh reaction because they say it's violation of the War Powers Act and basically Trump was completely circumventing Congress as the report already highlighted.

You have the Trump administration trying to respond to say, well, this was a counter-narcotics operation. It was a law enforcement operation, but then top leader in the House from the Democrat side, Hakeem Jeffries has said, well, then why did it involve the Delta Force? Why did it involve thousands of military troops? And why did it involve 150 military aircraft?

So, you have Democrats going on the media, trying to connect with the American public about the illegality of this and how this undermines Congress.

You had Chris Murphy, a senator from Connecticut, Democratic senator, that said, well, the administration lied to them and kept them in the dark. And other members of the House, Democratic members of the House like Jim Himes saying that this is going to be basically a disaster and that the Trump administration doesn't care about Congress.

So, they're trying to sound the alarm about how dangerous this is, about how it puts the U.S. more at risk. It undermines the U.S. standing in the world. Of course, it violated the U.N., you know, Coventry Charter, excuse me. And -- and there's concerns that it's going to embolden other -- other dictators to attack other countries.

So, the Democrats are trying to clarify to the American public what the dangers are.

SOLOMON: Yeah, and speaking of the American public, we know that Trump cares a lot about voters. He said on Sunday that those who voted for him are thrilled. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The voters that voted for me are thrilled. They said, this is what we voted for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Natasha, do you buy that? I mean, how does this operation square with his America First message?

LINDSTAEDT: So, it's really going to pose a threat to it, to the unity of MAGA, that they had always been talking about no more wars and they liked that that was part of his campaign. I mean, he talked about that endlessly, that -- that he was incredibly critical of the Bush administration's attack on Iraq and the, you know, efforts into regime change and state building and how expensive this was.

[04:40:03]

And this really tapped into what the MAGA movement liked, this more isolationist style of foreign policy. So, I think it's going to create more cracks within his base. If we just look at what the American public wants, we see that from recent polling showed only 25 percent of the American public was in favor of some kind of U.S. military action in Venezuela and a majority were against this.

So, he doesn't really have a groundswell of support behind this. And even amongst Republicans, there were a lot of Republicans that weren't in favor of this and that are worried about a lot of different things. They're worried about how long is this going to last? Is the U.S. actually running Venezuela? How much is it going to cost?

And the main issue that Americans care about at the moment are cost of living, affordability, and they're trying to figure out how is this adventure in Venezuela, this -- this effort to run the country, going to affect the U.S. economy.

SOLOMON: On the foreign policy front, though, I mean, Natasha, if Trump and Rubio are able to ensure a peaceful transition, a democratic transition, how significant is that for the legacies of both and perhaps more significantly for Rubio?

LINDSTAEDT: So, I mean, I think this was part of Rubio's effort to exercise greater control over Latin America. He plays a really huge role in impacting Trump's foreign policy in Latin America and he did during the first administration as well. And I think we're going to see the U.S. eyeing regime change in Cuba as well.

If this does go smoothly, then I think Trump is going to say that this is, you know, was a huge win, that he was able to oust a dictator who wasn't really very popular in Venezuela and had taken, and there'd been all kinds of human rights abuses of that particular administration.

But even one of the more successful invasions of another country, the 1989 invasion of Panama, there were still, you know, after effects of that. There was looting, there was crime.

It wasn't even as smooth as I think the U.S. portrayed it at the time and that was a much smaller country of only two million people. I think it's going to be really difficult for this to go smoothly, even if there is some support on the ground because there are already issues with the military that may remain loyal to Maduro and to Rodriguez and whatever this current administration is. And there are also violent non-state actors. There's guerrilla groups like the ELN that control the border in Colombia and Venezuela that may seek to take advantage of the vacuum.

So, I think this is going to be far more complicated than the Trump administration had bargained for.

SOLOMON: Yeah, and you mentioned Cuba there. I mean, Rubio said during that press conference on Saturday, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned. Natasha, how is this being viewed elsewhere?

LINDSTAEDT: So, I think in terms of Latin America, I mean, it's -- it's really sending shockwaves throughout Latin America and the region and what is going to happen next because there's concerns that there could be an invasion of Cuba, that they could decide to get rid of the regime there, which would be very, very difficult to do. But I think that's something that they're eyeing. And they are also looking at Panama.

They've wanted to have control over the Panama Canal. They were threatening Panama for months as soon as Trump took over. And there's concerns that they could try to take that back. And that, of course, affects the region because they're not sure whether their sovereignty is guaranteed and what Trump is going to do next.

SOLOMON: All right, we'll leave it here. Natasha Lindstaedt, appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

SOLOMON: Yup. And while some across the U.S. are protesting against the military action taken in Venezuela, there are others who support it.

(CHANT)

SOLOMON: What you're hearing there is, "Thank you, USA." This was the scene in Atlanta as Venezuelans who have fled that country are rejoicing at the ousting of Nicolas Maduro. Some of them told CNN that they hope and have hope for their country now that Maduro is gone.

(CHANT)

SOLOMON: And Venezuelans living in Mexico City attended a rally celebrating Maduro's capture. They say that rebuilding the country should be the next step so they can return home.

North Korea, meantime, has strongly denounced the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, Pyongyang, called the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro the most serious encroachment on sovereignty and wants in violation of the U.N. charter and international law. Experts believe that North Korea will use this act as justification to forge ahead with its nuclear weapons.

And images from the Venezuela attack and the Maduro arrest have flooded social media. But what's fact and what's A.I.?

[04:45:04]

That's ahead.

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SOLOMON: U.S. airlines are now scrambling to add flights to the Caribbean after Saturday's military operation in Venezuela disrupted travel. The FAA temporarily closed airspace in the region, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations from popular tourist spots like Aruba and Puerto Rico. Those restrictions have now been lifted, but airlines are playing catch-up during one of the busiest travel times of the year.

Delta, United, Southwest, American Airlines, and JetBlue all say that they are working to add more flights to get travelers where they need to go.

[04:50:01]

Pope Leo is expressing concern over the developments in Venezuela. He's calling for the country to remain an independent nation after U.S. military operations led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO (through translator): The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over any other consideration and lead to overcome violence and embark on paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each and every person, and working together to build a peaceful future of collaboration, stability, and harmony.

With a special attention to the poorest who are suffering because of the difficult economic situation. For this, I pray and I invite you to pray.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: The pope had previously urged President Trump not to oust Maduro using military force.

Roughly 48 hours now since the Venezuelan leader was captured and CNN's Brian Stelter takes a look at how the viral moment played out on both social and traditional media.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

We saw that happening all weekend long as the world's media focused on the aftermath of the U.S. attack in Venezuela. You know, it was eyewitnesses in Caracas and elsewhere in the country who captured the first videos of the strikes.

But there were plenty of mislabeled videos on social media as well, and some examples of straight-up disinformation on those platforms.

I noticed, for example, several A.I.-generated images imagining Nicolas Maduro in U.S. government custody before verified real images were shared by the government.

But sometimes that raw material can be useful. And Even members of President Trumps own inner circle were logged in to Elon Musk's social network X early Saturday morning, as the attack was underway.

Photos released by the White House show the social network up on a projector screen, and it appears senior officials were monitoring X to see if word of the operation had leaked, or if any local residents had posted about the explosions.

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

The Trump administration is trying to control the message by funneling information through the White House, and in many cases, directly through the president himself.

Pentagon beat reporters who cover the U.S. military for a living tell me that they are not getting answers from military spokespeople, even to basic questions. Instead, those questions are being referred back to the White House.

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

And Trump seems to want to be his own spokesman. He fielded questions from the press both on Saturday and again on Sunday. Although many of his answers about the future of Venezuela were vague.

And CNN's Daniel Dale pointed out falsehoods in his comments.

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

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

Brian Stelter, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: U.S. clothing company Origin USA is trying to cash in after Nicolas Maduro was seen in one of their hoodies when he got off the plane in New York. The image went viral. The company posted on social media, "I don't believe it's this hoodie, unless I'm wrong. Get in my air control room if I am. Welcome to America. Unfortunately, our Patriot Blue RTX shirt won't be shipping till spring, but they are available for pre-order."

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

All right, and we are also following Donald Trump's latest threats to deploy the National Guard to U.S. cities. On Sunday, the president said that he can and will send troops to major cities, quote, "when the crime starts." Trump has sent the National Guard to Democratic run cities, despite pushback from local leaders and federal courts. His latest comment comes weeks after the Supreme Court rejected the administration's request to send troops to Chicago.

The president also says that he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, which he calls his most powerful tool. He has claimed, incorrectly, that the act will allow him to deploy troops without facing potential legal action in court.

Also, authorities in Ukraine are reporting a new barrage of drone and missile strikes overnight. They say that a medical clinic in the Capitol was among the targets hit, with one person killed and three others wounded in that attack. More than a dozen patients had to be transported to other hospitals. The governor of the Kyiv region says that another man was killed when a drone struck his house south of the Capitol.

[04:55:04]

Overall, Ukraine's Air Force says that it shot down more than 130 drones launched in the north, center, and east of the country.

And thanks for joining us for this hour of "Early Start." I'm Rahel Salomon in New York. I will be back with another hour of "Early Start" and our breaking news coverage of the operation of Venezuela and the aftermath after this quick break.

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