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One World with Zain Asher
Maduro's VP Sworn in as Venezuela's Acting President; U.S. Companies Cautious Amid Political Instability, Huge Costs; Ukraine's Allies Meet in Paris to Discuss Security Pledges; Trump Says he is in Charge of Venezuela after Ousting Maduro; Five Years Since January 6 Attack on U.S. Capitol; Nvidia Shares Details of New AI Computing Platform. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 06, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right. Coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World". U.S. President Donald
Trump has been speaking to House Republican lawmakers as they return from the winter break. In his address, he told lawmakers how important this
year's midterm election is to the Republican cause.
And of course, he touted this weekend's operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He actually called it brilliant. Listen to what
he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: People are saying it goes down with one of the most incredible. It was so complex. 152
airplanes. Many, many talk about boots in the ground. We had a lot of boots on the ground, but it was amazing.
And think of it, nobody was killed. And on the other side, a lot of people were killed. Unfortunately, I say that soldiers, Cubans, mostly Cubans, but
many, many killed and they were, they knew we were coming, and they were protected, and our guys weren't. You know, our guys are jumping out of
helicopters and you're not protected. And they were, but it was so brilliant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: After the seizure of Maduro and his wife, Venezuela remains a nation on edge right now, fresh gun fire and anti-aircraft fire captured rather
erupted near the presidential palace in Caracas overnight as questions swell over who exactly is running the country.
Venezuelan officials say the police fired at drones seen flying without permission. There are reports that this is all a misunderstanding resulting
from confusion between different security groups. It comes just days after the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro. He and his wife pleaded
not guilty for drug trafficking charges and other charges in a New York Federal Courthouse on Monday.
His Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as Acting Leader on Monday. She initially denounced what she called Maduro's kidnapping, but
later called for cooperation with Washington. This is Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado vows to return home as soon as
possible.
The Nobel Laureate praised the U.S. President, but says she hasn't spoken to him since October. Donald Trump says that he is in charge of Venezuela,
doubling down on previous comments in a new interview. His Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, cited the ongoing U.S. military presence in the
area.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: By definition we are in charge, because we have the United States military stationed outside the
country. We set the terms and conditions. We have a complete embargo on all of their oil and their ability to do commerce.
So, for them to do commerce, they need our permission. For them to be able to run an economy, they need our permission. So, the United States is in
charge. The United States is running the country during this transition period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So much ground to cover here. CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House. We also have Stefano Pozzebon, who's live for us in Bogota,
Colombia. Stefano, let me begin with you. Obviously, Delcy Rodriguez, the Vice President, was sworn in.
Initially, she had harsh words, harsh words, rather, for the United States, but it does appear in a recent statement that she has fallen in line, so to
speak, essentially saying that she's willing to work and cooperate with the United States.
Just walk us through what that looks like in practical terms? What is her first port of call, in terms of showing the U.S. that she's ready to do
business, and she is on board with an American agenda in Venezuela?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's a fine line that Delcy now needs to walk, isn't it, Zain? On one side, she needs to show that she has
some backbone to stand up to Donald Trump, that she wants to see the return of a former now that he's spending most of his days at the Metropolitan the
center, Former President Nicolas Maduro to Caracas.
But at the same time, she also knows that she shouldn't play her cards unwisely when it comes to Donald Trump, especially after the scope of the
operation over the last weekend. I think that the first point that Delcy will try to make, as everyone calls her Delcy Rodriguez, Delcy is about
oil.
Delcy Rodriguez has also been the President of the Venezuelan Oil Company, which is responsible for more than 50 percent of each joint ventures
exploring oil in that country for the last few years.
She's the person that has held the meetings in the past with the likes of. Chevron and U.S., major oil companies that have done businesses in the past
in Venezuela and that managed to maintain their operations open despite all of this turbulence in the last few weeks and months.
[11:05:00]
We know how crucial the issue of oil is for Donald Trump. In particular, he has mentioned that many, many times, saying that the first step will be to
restore Venezuela's oil production, and for that production to be directed. Once again, as it's always been in the for the most part of the 20th
century, to the refiners that the U.S. has built in a scope on the Gulf Coast.
So, the first meeting will be around oil. How can Delcy Rodriguez guarantee the safety of the operations and the immediate return of as many foreign
but Western companies. U.S. companies that extract oil, rather than the Chinese or the Russian, companies that have been seen in the last few years
popping up in Caracas.
And she's perfectly tasked with doing that. Well, perhaps she's less fast in doing that. And she needs, of course, the cooperation of the security
apparatus is maintaining law and order in Caracas. But mostly on the are on the side of the country, in the provinces, outside of the major urban
areas.
For that one, she needs the support of the as I was saying, the security apparatus, which is mainly held by two key people. One of them is the
defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. The other the Interior Minister the highly ambitious Diosdado Cabello. Both of them are still on a U.S.
wanted list with bounties of $15 million and $25 million respectively.
So, they will be the one demanding Delcy Rodriguez to go after them to guarantee their security if they do what it needs to be done to secure the
stability and the peace across the nation. At the same time also a note on many of us, frankly, one myself being one of them that were saying that if
Maduro was to be replaced or removed all of a sudden, Venezuela could risk running down a spiral of violence similar to the one that we've seen in
Libya.
Well, that is not the case. There is, of course, a very delicate situation, especially in the streets of Caracas right now, but so far, Delcy Rodriguez
appears to be firmly in charge, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Stefano Pozzebon, do stand by. Alayna Treene let me bring you in, because Donald Trump started speaking a short time ago at the
Kennedy Center, addressing Republican lawmakers. And initially, at the beginning, he sort of touted this massive show of force the U.S. had in
Venezuela, essentially saying that no one else, no one else, could have pulled this off, that the U.S. has the most powerful military force in the
world.
Obviously, so much planning, so much meticulous planning went into the capture of Nicolas Maduro. But I think a lot of people are asking how much
planning has actually gone into this period, this interim period, in terms of what happens next in Venezuela?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I think that is a key question. And the president really touted this operation, the precise
action that the military took. And sorry, I just have a little bit of feedback and take this out.
But the precise action that the military took at one point, he was telling the lawmakers, he was indicating that the U.S. had shut off electricity
right before the operation, saying that was part of what was able to catch Maduro and his security by surprise by going in and doing that.
But yes, the key question now are, what are the next steps? And there really hasn't been a lot of clarity in the aftermath or the days since
Maduro's capture and those strikes in Caracas that have given a lot of people faith in what's going to happen moving forward.
Now, one of the biggest questions, of course, is, who is running Venezuela? You played that clip of one of the President's Deputy Chief of Staff,
Stephen Miller. He is one of the key people, along with Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who has really been leading a lot of the planning and the
operation into both the before and after of Maduro's capture.
And he essentially said, it's the U.S. And Trump said that as well speaking to NBC yesterday, he gave a one-word answer. When asked who was running the
country, he said, quote me, but we have heard some nuance from others as well. Rubio, for example, has really said they're trying to coerce
cooperation from Delcy Rodriguez, the now newly sworn in president who used to serve as Maduro's VP and is very much as part of the Maduro government.
Look, when I have talked to sources behind the scenes, they say that really the administration is prioritizing this idea right now of administrative
stability at this point in time versus what a lot of people, I think, had expected day after plans to look like, which is essentially propping up the
opposition party within Venezuela.
People like Maria Corina Machado, who, as you mentioned, actually said she hasn't spoken to the President since October. Now, contrast that with what
I'm being told from people here in that building behind me, which is that Rubio has actually had several conversations with Delcy Rodriguez since
Saturday.
And the president actually told NBC that Rubio speaks to her fluently in Spanish, and that their relationship has been very strong.
[11:10:00]
So that's some of the questions, I think, once these cameras stop rolling, the president stops giving remarks, if he does end up having some
conversations with these lawmakers who he's speaking with, that's going to be a lot of where these questions stem from.
And we've heard from Republicans as well on Capitol Hill, not just Democrats saying they really need more clarity on the answer of what the
precise next steps are going to be, to make sure that this operation was not only successful in its tactfulness. The president called it brilliantly
tactful, but to make sure that there's, you know, this long-term planning that the administration has actually done.
It's similar with the discussions around oil. The president has really set all of the leverage they have to ensure that Rodriguez cooperates with the
U.S. is because of the Armada that they have right off the Coast of Venezuela. Well, I mean, you know, there's a question of whether U.S. oil
companies, which he has vowed, would actually go in and help rebuild the oil infrastructure inside Venezuela if these oil companies actually see
true investment value in doing so and.
So, again, a lot of questions, not a lot of answers, and they're all things that the administration is continuing to work on behind the scene, but I
think for these lawmakers in the audience, many of whom I should note, Zain, have not yet had a briefing on what had happened on Saturday, only a
select few were in that classified briefing yesterday, just the leadership in both chambers, as well as the intelligence ranking officials and
chairman in both chambers as well.
So, a lot of questions that need answers. They want to know what the next steps are, whether the president is actually has the iron grip that he is
describing on Venezuela and the current leaders there, as well as what is the actually reality on the ground at this point in time, all of that,
hopefully we'll get some more answers to this week.
ASHER: All right. Alayna Treene and Stefano Pozzebon thank you both so much. Appreciate it. And all right. Joining me for more on this is Brett
Bruen, President of the Global Situation Room, and Former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama Administration.
When you think about the main priorities for the U.S. agenda, I mean, obviously part of it is the oil infrastructure. The energy infrastructure
in Venezuela has been degraded because of years of under investment. The Americans obviously hope to change that.
And but just beyond the sort of aspects of energy and oil and that being one of the U.S.'s main priorities. What is the U.S.'s political agenda and
goals in Venezuela going forward, Bruen?
BRETT BRUEN, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIAL IN OBAMA WH: Well Zain, it seems to depend who you ask. Secretary Rubio is offering one version of
events. You're hearing a lot of different versions from Republicans on Capitol Hill, and then there's the president who rhetorically throws all of
these wrenches into those well-articulated plans.
So, I think the question that is lingering in limbo at the moment is truly, what is the future of Venezuela? And the challenge, I think, for the
administration, is that they have left in place this Chavista movement who is trying to rebalance, to recalibrate itself, and you've seen Delcy
Rodriguez, the interim leader, try to assert her authority while at the same time appeasing Trump in some of the demands that he's making.
But Zain one key point here is, well, Trump wants to prioritize oil. You know, the instability that comes with de-prioritizing democracy, the rule
of law, human rights, is still going to be concerning for those oil companies.
ASHER: Now, that's a good point. And speaking of democracy, I mean, what sort of credible pathway is there right now to free and fair elections in
Venezuela. I mean, obviously the Trump Administration officials have said that that's not the goal right now, that that could take some time. But
what does it even look like to get those elections off the ground and in place?
BRUEN: Well, the key problem I can attest to, I worked, actually, at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. I was an observer of elections when Hugo Chavez
was trying to reform the constitution back in 2007. And look right now, you're going to have this Chavista Election Commission undertaking that
process.
Now, are we talking, for instance, about the United Nations or about an international organization coming in to administer those elections? I mean,
these are the kinds of technical issues that have to be worked out. Obviously, Trump is not a big fan of the UN.
And yet, in order to have the credibility, in order to have the stability to achieve those kinds of democratic outcome, you're going to have to find
some sort of process everybody can buy into.
ASHER: What does success here look like? Just sort of the best-case scenario outcome here of U.S.'s involvement and their capture of Maduro.
What does it look like for the Venezuelan people?
[11:15:00]
I mean, we have seen, I mean, I'm sure a lot of people watching this program have seen the footage that is, you know, it sort of stays with you.
You know, millions of Venezuelans suffering under this particular regime, having to flee to Colombia.
You know, obviously food crisis in the country extreme poverty, just walk us through what success looks like, especially when you consider just how
much Venezuela's economy has really suffered over the past few years.
BRUEN: Well, I think if you ask the administration, they would point to the likes of Panama, where we removed three decades ago, Manuel Noriega, who
himself was trafficking in drugs, who himself was not a democratic leader of the country and Panama, has gone on both to be democratic as well as
prosperous.
But the key thing here, Zain is how you get there? And we're not seeing right now any of those preparatory steps to put in place, not just
stability, but also some of the infrastructure, even articulating what are our short term, our medium term, our long-term goals here. That's not clear
for anyone in Venezuela or anyone here in Washington.
ASHER: All right. Brett Bruen live for us there thank you so much. Let's take a look and see how oil prices are reacting to all of this. Brent
Crude, WTI Crude, both down about half of a percent. President Donald Trump says it will take less than 18 months for American oil companies to rebuild
Venezuela's energy sector.
Despite that, U.S. oil executives seem to be in no rush to start investing in Venezuela. Two of the main deterrents are the lack of political
stability and the high cost of rebuilding. Plus, they need an incentive. Gas prices are low right now, which leaves some companies reluctant to take
on risky projects.
Let's bring in CNN Business and Economics Reporter Anna Cooban. Just in terms of what Trump has said about this, from an energy perspective. He
said, we're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, to go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the
badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country.
Just explain to us, Anna, what that actually looks like. I mean, as I was mentioning to our previous guest, the oil infrastructure in Venezuela has
been degraded because of years of under investment. American involvement could potentially change that just in terms of increasing exports. But just
explain Donald Trump's strategy here and what it looks like in terms of getting it off the ground?
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it all sounds so simple, doesn't it, Zain, just spend lots of money, and within 18 months,
you know, you'll get oil pumping from Venezuela. And from Trump's perspective, there is a huge trove of potential economic riches here.
Venezuela sits on the world's largest proven oil reserve, around 300 billion barrels worth.
And also, the type of oil, it's this sort of heavy, sticky type of crude which is used to make diesel power factories, basically the kind of oil
that the U.S. doesn't really have and needs to import, so it's highly valuable. But you've just mentioned a whole host of factors and caveats
there.
You've got the political stability aspect of this. Many U.S. companies like Exxon Mobil, for example, were in Venezuela a couple decades ago, but had
the assets expropriated? They need some kind of reassurance that they're not going to spend billions going back into Venezuela only for the same or
similar things to happen again.
You've also got this aging infrastructure. And by the state-run oil company's own emission in Venezuela, they haven't updated their pipelines
in about 50 years, and so that will take a lot of money and time to upgrade. And then you've got this tension, almost contradiction, between
low oil prices, falling oil prices over the past year around 20 percent.
And incentivizing oil companies to invest those billions to drill for more oil, to upgrade infrastructure in Venezuela. But they're not going to do
that if they don't think that they can get much of a profit. And so, the promise Zain is a whole different thing from actually turning that into an
economic reality.
ASHER: All right. Anna Cooban, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, it is cold and very sparsely populated, but
Greenland is now the subject of debate over whether or not the U.S. will actually try to seize it. We'll look at the probability and the possibility
of it ending up becoming part of the United States.
Plus, searching for peace in the new year, will go live to Paris, where European Leaders are discussing Ukraine's future and the challenges that
lie ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ASHER: Washington's actions and President Trump's public comments are raising some serious red flags in Greenland and in Denmark, which is
responsible for the territories defense. The Danish Prime Minister warns that U.S. threats against Greenland put the very existence of NATO in
jeopardy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: Firstly, I believe that the American President should be taken seriously when he says that he wants
Greenland. But I also want to make it clear that if the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops
that is including our NATO, and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: European Leaders are banding together against the notion of a Greenland takeover. In a joint statement today, the Leaders of France,
Germany and Spain and others made it clear that Greenland, as a Danish territory, is a part of NATO, and its security must be protected by the
alliance, collectively, including by the United States.
But the rhetoric from the Trump Administration only appears to be ramping up. The White House Deputy Chief of Staff openly questioning Denmark's
claim to the territory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their
basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark? The United States is the power of NATO.
For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests obviously, Greenland should be part of the United
States. Nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Meantime, in Paris, European Leaders are working on proposals to end Russia's war on Ukraine. In today's meeting of governments that call
themselves the coalition of the willing, leaders are looking to firm up security guarantees for Ukraine. Kyiv has been wary of any peace agreement
that would leave Ukraine open to a fresh Russian attack.
In the next hour or so, we expect to hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with the Leaders of Britain, France and Germany,
Ukraine's post war borders remain a key obstacle in negotiations with Russia. As the conflict approaches the four-year mark, Moscow has shown
little sign of dropping any demands.
Let's discuss all of this with CNN's Melissa Bell joining us live now from Elysee, Paris, a Palace, rather, in Paris. So, Melissa, part of the sort of
main reason for the Coalition of the Willing meeting today is really to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
I mean, that is probably the most important thing for Zelenskyy. This idea that there must be a binding agreement with all of Ukraine's allies to
ensure that if Russia attacks the territory again in the future, in the event of a peace agreement, that these allies would essentially defend
Ukraine. Just walk us through what's on the agenda today, Melissa.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, that meeting continuing even now we understand the press conference has
been delayed a bit, so the conversation continues.
[11:25:00]
But what we're waiting to hear Zain about is exactly that, how those binding security guarantees will work? What they will look like, the role
that the United States will play in securing the future peace of Ukraine, should a ceasefire be agreed with Russia in the coming weeks?
The idea is that it is Europeans who would provide, potentially boots on the ground to help ensure the peace. The question is, how the United States
would back that up in the case of a future Russian aggression? So, we wait to hear more about what's been decided.
Europeans were certainly hopeful, and given extra hope by the fact that for the first time, the American envoys and emissaries in this Steve Witkoff
and Jared Kushner, have made the trip to this Coalition of the Willing meeting in person. In the past, they've taken part remotely. And we wait to
hear what progress has been made specifically on the binding nature of those security guarantees.
Still, this is also a meeting Zain that's been not dominated, but certainly affected, impacted by those questions over Greenland and that increasingly
belligerent rhetoric we've heard from the American President. You mentioned a moment ago, of course, the words of the Danish Prime Minister who is here
at the Elysee as well speaking yesterday to the Danes about her feeling that any American aggression would essentially put an end to NATO itself.
There's also been a fairly strongly worded statement by several European countries that was put out just before this meeting got underway here at
the Elysee Palace in which they said, Greenland belongs to its people, and it is up to Greenland and Denmark. Any matters relating to Greenland and
Denmark are up to Greenland and Denmark and no one else.
To remind the world of how strongly they stood by that. Still this meeting and the press conference we're about to hear will very much be about
Ukraine and the security guarantees and how closely NATO can work together despite these tensions over Greenland in order to ensure the future piece
of Ukraine.
The question then, of course, how these peace talks will translate into a ceasefire once the proposals head back to Moscow Zain.
ASHER: All right, Melissa Bell live for us outside the Elysee Palace in Paris. Thank you so much we appreciate. We'll have much more news after the
short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ASHER: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching for you today. We just had President
Trump give a speech to House Republican lawmakers at the retreat in Washington, DC. He touted what he called the unprecedented success of the
first year of his current term.
And praised the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro as tactically brilliant. Gun fire and anti-aircraft fire were heard in videos over
Venezuela's Capital Caracas Monday night. Venezuelan officials later said that police fired at drones that were flying without permission. There are
reports that this is all a misunderstanding resulting from confusion between various security groups.
Meantime, ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores, pleaded not guilty to drugs and weapons charges in New York Federal
Courthouse on Monday. Maduro told the judge that he was kidnapped from his home in Caracas, adding, quote, I am innocent and I am a decent man.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 17th. And Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is now the country's Acting Leader following
the capture of Nicolas Maduro. She was formally sworn in on Monday. Rodriguez has spent more than two decades as one as the leading figures of
Chavismo, Venezuela's socialist movement.
I want to bring in CNN's Paula Newton joining us live now, from Ottawa on, more on Venezuela. Just in terms of what Delcy Rodriguez's priorities are
right now. I mean, obviously, initially, her statement condemned the U.S., and she quickly changed that.
She released a post on X essentially saying that she's willing to cooperate with the United States. Walk us through what that looks like in practical
terms. What are her goals, especially when it comes to opening up Venezuela's oil sector to U.S. investment and involvement, which obviously
is a priority for the Trump Administration.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A priority for the Trump Administration, and likely for her as well. I will talk about the oil first, right. She
was, before she became acting president, she was not just the vice president, but the acting energy minister.
And many have been impressed with her tenure in the last few years with that, because she has managed to increase oil production a little bit that
marginal revenue, again, going right back to the regime. And that is the key point here, Zain.
I mean, you have to put aside what she would like and what the U.S. would like in terms of economic cooperation. But it is clear that so far, Delcy
Rodriguez and that inner circle so close to Nicolas Maduro still have all the levers of power and those that, in many cases, repress the free speech
and the rights of the Venezuelan people.
Making a fine point of that was Maria Corina Machado. She is the opposition leader who, as you know, just won the Nobel Prize, and I want you to hear
what she told Fox News yesterday evening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: This is something that has to be followed carefully, sure by the United States government and by the Venezuelan people, and certainly we believe that this
transition should move forward.
Delcy Rodriguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco trafficking. She's the main ally and liaison
with Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual that could be, you know, trusted by international investors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So, Maria Corina making that appeal there, very publicly, but also behind the scenes, on anyone that she can talk to within the Trump
Administration. She admitted she had not spoken to the president herself. But that is what is at issue right now in Venezuela Zain.
And you know from the president's comments, you can see it will satisfy him, if there's an improvement, even just in the resource industry, let's
say gas and oil in Venezuela, even if the inner circle of Nicolas Maduro remains in power and that that repression continues.
We have heard already stories of people being arrested, and for that reason, many Venezuelans remain apprehensive, and so does the international
community. Frankly, we are hearing from allies saying that, look, there must be this democratic transition in the next few weeks or months in
Venezuela, and yet the Trump Administration really not outlining any of it.
ASHER: All right. Paula Newton live for us there. Thank you so much. All right. The U.S. military in -- U.S. military operation, rather, in
Venezuela challenges long standing norms of international relations, causing many to worry that it sets a precedent that other powerful leaders
will follow.
[11:35:00]
President Trump has said that American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again. That's at the center of what's being called
his Donroe Doctrine, a policy to enact his will on sovereign nations with threats, coercion and military force if necessary.
Hence, the concern shared by many that U.S. action of Venezuela could embolden China and Russia to assert their own spheres of influence, for
example, in Taiwan and also Ukraine. In the past few days, the Trump Administration has already issued a warning to Iran, to Colombia, Cuba,
Mexico and Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark.
To unpack what's at stake here, I'm joined live now by Brian Winter, Editor-In-Chief of America's Quarterly and Vice President of Policy at the
Americas Society and Council of the Americas. Brian, thank you so much for being with us.
I think that one of the things that is or many things that were shocking over what happened over the weekend. But one of the things that is most
surprising is, I think a lot of people watching thought that the U.S. had left this particular era of essentially targeting sovereign nations and
capturing their leaders behind.
You know, we saw it in 1954 in Guatemala, that leader accused by the U.S. of spreading communism. He was captured and taken and then we saw it with
Salvador Allende, for example, in Chile in the 1970s. We saw it with Emmanuel Noriega, for example, in Panama in the late 80s as well. Just walk
us through how what happened on Saturday differs from those three examples that I just gave?
BRIAN WINTER, VP OF POLICY, AMERICAS SOCIETY AND COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS: Well, it's true, there was nothing exceptional about what President Trump
did in Venezuela. If you look at the long arc of American history, some of the examples that you cited, but if you go back to the gun boat diplomacy
of the 1900s and 1910s Teddy Roosevelt carrying a big stick in the region.
This is traditionally; these kinds of actions have been what the United States does in its own hemisphere. The exception really seems to have been
the last 35 years or so, since the end of the Cold War, when the threat from externally, which at the time was the Soviets, receded, and when in a
period when the United States was also focused on the Mid East and, to some extent, Asia.
But it does appear that, at least for now, President Trump is dialing back the clock a bit to an approach that is dictated U.S. And you know, that has
some national security doctrine, reasons for it. Sometimes we treat these kinds of attitudes, is just the belligerent whims of, you know, would be
empire.
But it's also true that the idea that the Caribbean in particular is part of the you know, is essential to U.S. National security is part of what
guided U.S. administrations during those years.
ASHER: What are the consequences, just in terms of international order? If the U.S. chooses not to hold itself to the same standards that it applies
to other nations. If it chooses to exempt itself from those same standards going forward.
I mean, you know, I was mentioning just a few, a few minutes ago, this idea of Russia now being emboldened when it comes to Ukraine or China being much
more emboldened when it comes to Taiwan. Just give us your take on that.
WINTER: Well, this is the question that countries all over the world are asking themselves right now. Our long-time allies in places like Europe,
also other powers including Russia and China, and certainly countries elsewhere in Latin America who are asking themselves if the United States
of the early 20th century is essentially back.
And I think, you know, I think that's still an open question. I mean, I do see some important differences compared with, say, Teddy Roosevelt more
than 100 years ago. One of them is that domestic popular opinion in the United States would not allow the United States to just suddenly start
invading country after country, especially if it involved occupations as the United States during did during those years.
I mean, the United States occupied Nicaragua for 20 years, occupied the Dominican Republic for an equivalent amount of time. Lyndon Johnson,
President during the 1960s sent 20,000 troops into the Dominican Republic in 1965 we're not exactly talking about ancient history here.
Domestic popular opinion in the United States would not allow that today. And so, I do think that there are some limitations on what President Trump
can and cannot do. He seems to be aware of that in part because, you know, we know that he left the Chavista regime in place there in Caracas
precisely because the United States does not have the option of putting 20,000 troops on the ground. So, you know, we're in a new era. But just how
new remains to be seen.
ASHER: And what are some of the lessons that we learned from those examples that I gave in terms of what happened in Chile in 1973 and Panama in 89? I
mean, what were what was some of the blow back that followed the U.S. essentially capturing or imprisoning leaders of sovereign nations because
their policies differ from what the U.S.'s interests were?
[11:40:00]
WINTER: So, look, I've been digging through some of this history over the last couple of weeks, and there are some interesting lessons. One of them
is that these interventions can actually be fairly popular, at least in the short term, including in the countries where they take place.
Nicolas Maduro was a dictator. He brutally repressed his own people. He led to one of the greatest economic disasters and outside of war in recent
world history. It's also true that the consequences of that crisis were felt by countries all over Latin America because of the exodus of more than
8 million Venezuelans over the last 10 years.
Most of them went to other South American countries who can see with their own eyes the consequences of those failures. And so, you know, I think that
there, while there are a lot of governments in Latin America are nervous about what's happening?
Domestic opinion in a lot of these countries, in places like Colombia, Chile, Argentina and beyond, is actually quite supportive, because they see
the end of a tyrant who caused problems for their own countries.
But look, it's also true that if you look at the historical record, these kinds of heavy-handed actions by the United States tend to generate a
backlash. It can sometimes take decades, but if you look at the gun boat diplomacy of Teddy Roosevelt back in the 1910s you can draw a straight line
between some of the invasions of the United States during those years and the rise of Latin American nationalism that eventually gave us figures like
Fidel Castro.
Who based much of their political identity on opposition to the quote, unquote empire in the United States that created problems for U.S.
governments as well as U.S. companies all over the hemisphere for a large part of the 20th century. So, it's still early days, but it's important to
have some of these consequences in mind.
ASHER: Totally. And if you are the Colombian Leader, if you are Gustavo Petro, you're looking at this and you're thinking, what I mean, one of the
things one of the things that you touched on is that this idea that, yes, Maduro is a dictator, was a dictator.
I'm not really sure whether to use past or present tense here, but when it comes to Gustavo Petro, for example, his situation is slightly different.
Obviously, Donald Trump has made threats against him too, and because Colombia shares a border with Venezuela, there would be real sort of
consequences for that country if there were to be a much bigger crisis, humanitarian crisis, security crisis within Venezuela.
But the distinction is that Gustavo Petro was democratically elected back in 2022, excuse me, and that was an internationally observed vote. So, if
you are Gustavo Petro, you are thinking, what right now?
WINTER: If you're Gustavo Petro, you are not worried about being spirited out of your presidential palace in the middle of the night in the fashion
that Nicolas Maduro was, because you are a democratically elected leader. There is also no open indictment against you in the United States.
But what you are worried about is a unilateral strike by the U.S. military on your territory targeting drug cartels that I think is very much on the
table for Colombia, as well as for Mexico, which has also been explicitly threatened by President Trump in recent weeks, including in the aftermath
of this operation in Caracas.
And you have governments in both Bogota and Mexico City they're very concerned about this. Yes, they are, you know, they're there -- they know
that the problems that these cartels oppose to domestic security in their own country, but they do not want their national sovereignty violated. And
so, I think this is very much kind of the new wave that we're likely to see in Latin America.
ASHER: Sure, you'll be watching closely. Brian Winter live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
WINTER: Thank you.
ASHER: All right still to come, the U.S. is marking five years since the January 6th attack on its Capitol. We are live for you in Washington with
events to mark that fateful day after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ASHER: Happening right now in Washington, a memorial march to honor the four people who lost their lives during the January 6th attack on the
Capitol. Today marks five years since a crowd stormed the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential
election, believing that victory had been stolen from Donald Trump.
About 1600 people were charged over the attack, and nearly all of them were granted clemency when Trump took office last year. CNN's Brian Todd joins
us live now from the March in Washington.
So, one of the people Brian that is being honored by this March is Ashley Babbitt. She's the 35-year-old Air Force Veteran who's fatefully shot by a
U.S. Capitol Police Officer. Just walk us through what you're seeing. I mean, looking behind you, that doesn't seem too much activity, but just
explain to us what you're seeing, Brain.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, there were -- there was a series of speeches near a hotel, near the Ellipse here in near the White House,
just a short time ago. And already we've seen a bit of a dust up here. During those speeches by some of the January Sixers, including Enrique
Tario, Ashley Babbitt's mother and others, there was a loud noise from a bull horn simulating a police siren, which drowned them out.
A woman started screaming over the bull horn. And then several of the people who were gathered for that news conference confronted the woman, and
justled with her, wrestled with her, argued with her, even some people wrestled her to the ground. One of them smashed her electronic bull horn.
And then she kind of stayed in the area, then eventually was brought away into the White House secure area by Secret Service police to get her away
from the January Sixers who have gathered here. So, it's kind of an illustration of the tension surrounding this anniversary. This is really
kind of a January 6th anniversary like no other.
In previous anniversaries, there was a lot of security around the Capitol area, fencing, police officers lining the streets. You don't see as much of
that here. The fencing is not there. The people who organized this March are saying that they really want it to be peaceful, that they do not want
any of this kind of tension.
Enrique Tario, who is the Former Leader of the Proud Boys, he posted on social media saying, this has got to be a peaceful event. And if you're
thinking about causing trouble, we want you to stay home. So, they are -- have been trying themselves to avoid this, but once, a counter protestor
started to kind of disrupt their proceedings. They confronted her, and it did get a little bit violent, Zain.
ASHER: Right. But in terms of that aside, obvious, you had the press down, you had a counter protest, as you mentioned, and that it did get violent.
But the Democrats are marking today very, very differently from how certain Republicans may be marking today. Just walk us through how the Democrats
are remembering January 6th.
TODD: Well, the Democrats on Capitol Hill, especially members of the January 6th Select Committee, are and they started this about a little more
than an hour ago. They started an informal hearing. They could not -- they don't have the authority or the power, really, to call a formal hearing.
But they started an informal hearing where members of that committee, who are still in Congress, spoke about January 6th.
[11:50:00]
And they wanted to call attention to the crimes that were committed on January 6th, to the investigation, to the fact that, you know, people who
took part in January 6th, many of them were convicted, and they want that message to get out, rather than this message, you know, honoring Ashley
Babbitt and some of the other rioters.
Now I will say this, though, the people who organize this do say, or did say, that they also wanted to honor the police officers who died as a
result of January 6th. But their names really weren't mentioned during the speeches at this news conference that we just witnessed.
ASHER: All right. Brian Todd live for us there. Thank you so much. Right, Nvidia leads the world when it comes to the chips that power AI technology,
and it's about to release a new platform that could huge implications for the industry. More on that from the Consumer Electronics Show after the
break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, AI Giant Nvidia, is unveiling what's next for the tech that made it the world's most valuable company. Nvidia's ultra powerful
chips are indispensable to firms developing AI capabilities. And now it's offering a closer look at what it calls Vera Rubin, a new computing
platform for AI data centers.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Head of Nvidia has been sharing more details about a system that could have major ramifications for
the future of AI. Lisa Eadicicco Tech Editor for CNN Business is at the conference for you.
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: CES, there's always tons of robots, tons of fancy flashing new demos. But what we're seeing with Nvidia
in particular is some big announcements around its next generation computing platform for AI data centers called Vera Rubin.
And that platform is going to -- it's already in production, and it's going to be rolling out to the first products in the second half of 2026 and
that's really important, because this isn't just about Nvidia's future. This is kind of helping steer the direction of where the AI industry is
going, because so many companies rely on Nvidia's chips.
All those robots that you see at the convention, yes, those will probably be in some ways connected to what Nvidia is doing. But it's really about
more than that. What Nvidia is doing here is trying to make it so that as AI models go from just kind of spitting out answers with Chat GPT and the
Chat Bots that you're used to interacting with to being able to process more and more information quickly and more efficiently as AI models start
to do things on your behalf as companies share shift to AI agents.
[11:55:00]
So, there's a lot of investment happening in humanoid robots right now. Hyundai, LG, these companies always demonstrate these technologies and what
they're doing in this space. And I think what we're seeing here is kind of more of a push to get these humanoid robots into different industries.
But what I've been hearing from analysts I've been speaking to in this space is that even though the technology is impressive, it's not always
super practical. So, the likelihood of actually encountering these robots in the real world is relatively low, but there are some promising
applications for robotics in general, in places like factories and hospitals. So, I think we'll see more of that moving forward, for sure, but
humanoids, maybe not so much.
ASHER: Thanks to CNN's Lisa Eadicicco for that report. Stay with CNN I'll have much more "One World" with my colleague Bianna Golodryga, in about an
hour from now, but Amanpour is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
