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One World with Zain Asher
Russia & Ukraine Intensify Strikes During 5th Year of War; Trump Floats Selling F-35 Jets to Turkey, Despite Ban; Monaco Bombing Suspect Found Shot to Death in Ukraine; French Court Reduces Le Pen's Ban from Holding Public Office; Maine's Platner Under Growing Pressure to Exit Senate Race; Havana Restoring Power After Another Nationwide Blackout. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 07, 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, a high stakes NATO summit is underway. "One World" starts right now. President Trump is looking in --
looking to European allies to step up their defense commitments. All while thousands in Iran remain in mourning for its slain supreme leader.
And Cuba has suffered yet another nationwide blackout. Right, coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World" at this
hour, one of the most consequential NATO summits in years is underway in Ankara, Turkey, and once again, Russia's war on Ukraine is expected to
dominate the agenda.
All eyes are on the U.S. President, who shortly after arriving repeated this familiar grievance about the alliance, this time while referencing the
war in Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
You see, I was very disappointed with NATO. We didn't need any help at all. And in a way, I was testing people, I was testing to see whether or not
they'd be there, because Erdogan said that we helped them, but I'm not sure that they'd be there for us. And Italy turned us down, and Germany turned
us down, and France turned us down.
And it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and they're not there for us, we've always been there for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: NATO Chief Mark Rutte, however, was eager to spotlight Europe's recent progress, calling it a moment of transformation. This comes as Kyiv
gains military momentum, striking deeper than ever into Russian territory, crippling the nation's fuel and supply logistics.
However, Moscow has also intensified its missile attacks on Ukraine, particularly the capital. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live now from
Ankara. So, Nic, there are so many different threads, so many different facets to sort of unpack when it comes to this particular NATO summit,
you've, of course, got the sort of Zelenskyy issue with Ukraine, and Donald Trump expected to meet with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of this.
Then you've also got what Trump has said about the alliance itself, and just sort of really being underwhelmed by his perceived lack of support
from NATO, especially as it pertains to the war in Iran and then you got his relationship with Erdogan that is one of the reasons why he said he
even attended the summit in the first place.
And then the issue of the U.S. potentially supplying these F-35 jets to Turkey many back home say that it's a national security threat. Also, there
are other parts of the international community who are upset by that as well particularly the Israeli Prime Minister. Nic, unpack it for us.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You're absolutely right. Where to begin? Let's begin with what the majority of the European
countries, President Trump's putative allies here at NATO want. They want to speak less about this 5 percent commitment of GDP by 2035 because a lot
of them have started already, and they kind of figure that those that haven't started will start and will get there eventually.
They want to talk about how that money is going to be spent, how you're going to invest in defense procurement, how you're going to rationalize
defense procurement, how you're going to make it smarter, how you're going to make getting the weapon systems you need quicker.
How you're going to share that burden across European countries? Share those weapons systems across European countries. That's what they'd like to
stick to. But instead, you know, President Trump comes in, is angry about epic fury, the war with Iran, that NATO didn't come to his help.
You know, NATO stands by, all the allies, stand by Article Five. Article Five is when a country is attacked and needs their help. That wasn't the
case this time, but President Trump doesn't see it that way. You have President Trump in the room with President Erdogan, and he'll be sitting,
having dinner later tonight, around the same table in the same building behind me here with the Danish Prime Minister.
And is again still saying what he was saying earlier in the year, that he thinks Greenland, part of Denmark, should be run and controlled by the
United States. So, there's all sorts of grievances, and Mark Rutte is trying to sort of project this image of we're doing what President Trump
wants.
You know, $250 billion almost have increased NATO core defense spend between Europe and Canada in 24 to 25. It's going forward this way will
soon match United States contribution, but in essence President Trump has a lot of grievances, and even the NATO Secretary General can't sort of corral
and get that image of unity the way that he would like to.
President Zelenskyy, as you mentioned, there really has a very specific issue and a pressing one, where he does have the support of the vast
majority of leaders in the room, and that is the defense of his country against Russia's aggression.
[11:05:00]
And on that, he's very clear about what he wants, that is better defenses against the ballistic missiles coming from Russia. This is how he framed
it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Europe needs its own effective anti-ballistic systems and missiles, and this work is already underway and
I urge all of you and all our partners to give it the attention it deserves, and this cannot wait until 2030 or beyond.
Europe needs affordable mass produced anti-ballistic systems as soon as possible. In fact, today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Yeah, and I guess at the core of what these leaders want to do, they want to rationalize the defense industry, spend the money more
smartly, spend it on what they need to spend it on, recognize that perhaps they cannot get the Patriot air defense systems that they'd like from the
United States, when they may need them.
And of course, President Zelenskyyy, when he does meet with President Trump, is very likely to repeat what he's asked for before on the Patriots,
which is a license to make them inside of Ukraine. There's no indication that that is coming. That's the most pressing issue on the President
Zelenskyy's mind, quite simply, because he sees the battle in the skies is the one that's going to define the future in the war in Ukraine.
And unless they can defend themselves from Russia's ever more complex, sophisticated, faster ballistic missiles, then it's not a bet, it's not a
good outlook when it comes to negotiating table with Russia, despite their substantial gains striking deep, deep -- into Russia at their energy
facilities.
ASHER: Nic Robertson live for us there in Ankara, Turkey. Thank you. James Jeffrey is a Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute. He has
served as the U.S. ambassador to both Iraq and to Turkey. He joins us live now from Geneva. Ambassador, thank you so much.
So, because of Donald Trump's political pressure on the NATO alliance, and also because of, let's be honest, the changing sort of security environment
that Europe finds itself in, partly because, of course, the war in Ukraine, you are seeing NATO allies spend more, they have increased their defense
spending.
But Donald Trump has a lot of grievances with this alliance, I mean, let's talk, he's talked about pulling back or drawing down the number of troops
in Europe, and he's made it clear that he's still very upset with this alliance for not coming to his aid as it pertains to the war in Iran.
Just talk to us a bit about how you think Donald Trump's presence. I mean, he's saying that he only attended this NATO summit because of his close
relationship with President Erdogan. How is his presence going to sort of change the tone and the priorities of this particular summit?
JAMES JEFFREY, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW AT THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE: Well, thanks for having me on. First, Trump was complimenting Erdogan, who he
likes very much, but Trump, I'm sure, would have attended a NATO summit in any capital. There's big business to be done.
He's very aware, among other things, for example, that American firms stand to make a very significant part of this new European spending, and that's
very important for American business. It's very important for American defense. Trump does have both somewhat out of control views towards NATO,
such as wanting to take over Greenland to defend the United States and North America better.
But he also has legitimate grievances, such as NATO countries not allowing us to use bases or overfly during the operation against Iran. Granted, it
was not a NATO operation, but there's been an unwritten rule for a long time in NATO that the United States is going to protect Europe, beyond
Europe in places like the Middle East, but it will need Europe's facilitation at least he didn't get it on the Iran battle, and he's very
unhappy about it.
ASHER: Another sort, I mean, there are so many, as I was saying to our reporter on the ground in Ankara, there are so many different aspects to
sort of unpack and dissect as that pertains to Trump's attending this particular summit, but you know, you talked about, and obviously you were
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, this idea of President Trump's closeness with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the key issues is the sale of U.S.-
made F-35 jets.
You have a congressional ban on that sale currently, partly because of Turkey's purchase of the S-400 systems from Russia, and that seeing that as
a sort of conflict of interest. And then you've got Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, essentially saying that this puts them in a difficult
position, partly because of Turkey's repeated criticism of Israel's war in Gaza.
Just give us your take on this. Donald Trump saying that he is considering at this point in time, he hasn't made a final decision, it sounds like, but
he is considering possibly trying to allow Turkey to still be able to purchase the F-35s.
[11:10:00]
JEFFREY: Yeah, that's an important issue between the U.S. and Turkey, and as you mentioned, also with Israel. Trump went out on a limb in his
comments today, going right up to the edge of saying that he would ensure that F-35s are sold to Turkey. I'm not so sure he can deliver on that,
because aside from the normal congressional hurdles that president, if he wants to or she wants to, can basically just say no and dear them to
override a veto, he's doing that with jet engines for Turkey, for example.
In the case of the F-35 there's both general sanctions legislation, let's call it CAATSA from 2017 and from 2020 a specific law saying no F-35s to
Turkey without the removal of the S-400 Russian system. What deal he's going to cut with Erdogan to deal with that S-400 issue will determine
whether he can deliver on the F-35s, frankly, and that won't be easy, because the two systems cannot be allowed to integrate.
ASHER: And finally, Ambassador, especially just given your role as U.S. Ambassador, Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, you know there's been some
sort of question about Turkey's role within NATO. Some perceive it as a problem child within NATO, it slowed down the ascension of Sweden and
Finland to the alliance, and also, obviously, it's had closer ties with Russia, partly because of the purchase of those S-400 systems, as I was
mentioning.
But at the same time, it does have, as I understand, the second largest army in the alliance, it's got a booming defense industry, it's got a
prominent role in terms of Middle East, sort of military and politics, and that sort of thing. Give us your sense of Turkey's power within the NATO
alliance itself.
JEFFREY: That's a really great question, and it's a complicated issue. Let's take the S-400. Erdogan wound up having to buy them after Turkey shot
down a Russian fighter during the Syrian water crossed into Turkish territory. Turkey is the only NATO state that shot down a Russian fighter
in the last 30, 40, 50 years.
Turkey has done more to help Ukraine, including shutting off Russian naval reinforcements into the Black Sea, providing the Bayraktar drones at the
very beginning of the war, and various other things than any other country in NATO, with the exception of the United States under Joe Biden.
However, Turkey, at the same time, maintains relatively close ties with Putin. Turkey buys a lot of gas from Russia. They have a lot of bilateral
other trade. The other thing is that while there's no doubt Erdogan wants to see Ukraine survive and defeat Russia. Erdogan, like Trump, also thinks
that there are deals to be made with Russia, and we should have a negotiating track, not all European countries agree.
ASHER: All right, Ambassador. Ambassador Jeffrey, thank you. Thank you for your perspective. We appreciate it. Thank you.
JEFFREY: Thank you.
ASHER: All right, a stunning new development in the Monaco bombing that injured Ukrainian businessmen. Police say the woman identified as the prime
suspect has been found shot to death in Ukraine. Last week we reported that the 39-year-old was alleged to have carried out the attack disguised as a
man.
Authorities in Ukraine say the two men have been detained in connection with her death, our Nick Paton Walsh reports.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The startling, remarkable story of what seems to be an attempted assassination
on Ukrainian millionaire in the otherwise peaceful and luxurious territory of Monaco has taken yet another remarkable twist.
The woman sought by Interpol's red notice for being a prime suspect in this particular crime Anastasiia Berezovska a 39-year-old Ukrainian while she
herself has now been found dead in her native Ukraine. Ukrainian investigators say that they noticed her return to the country on July 1st,
began looking at bank transfers, her general movements and communications, saw she was talking to her family but two other men as well.
One a serving Ukrainian Intelligence Officer from the main intelligence directorate, and one former law enforcement individual. They went to see
the Ukrainian Intelligence Officer, and he, it appears, confessed about this involvement, and indeed suggested to the involvement of the former law
enforcement officer, that man's house was then searched.
And officials say they found what they thought was some kind of torture chamber in his basement. They've released a remarkable video of that
particular place. Now, Ms. Berezovska's body was found, it says, according to Ukrainian investigators, with shell casings alongside of it, and indeed,
the Ukrainian Intelligence Officer confessed to being part two to that particular murder.
They are both under arrest, but Ukrainian officials stay there still looking for who may have instigated this particular crime and continuing to
investigate. A reminder of how we got here in the first place.
[11:15:00]
Ms. Berezovska was pointed out potentially as the prime suspect here by Monaco prosecutors, who studied CCTV around the residence where Mr.
Yermolaiev was hit by a bomb carried in a shopping bag. They noticed a man in the days ahead, and then just the day before the device went off, a
woman, Ms. Berezovska.
Indeed, police say they traced her back to Germany, where she was last resident, and now it appears she fled to Ukraine. A remarkable story here,
one in which it seems that the apparent hit man was then killed by those who may well have contracted her to do the job.
Investigators still looking for who may have been on high here. I think certainly an unwelcome embarrassment for Ukraine that their intelligence
officer, one of them, might be involved in something as high profile as this, and a sign still, too, that the murkiness, the potential criminal
underworld of a Former Soviet Union, still continues to exist, despite the horrors being inflicted on Ukraine by the war.
Exactly why Mr. Yermolaiev was indeed targeted still unclear, but a remarkable moment still for what Monaco considers to be its luxury and
safety. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
ASHER: I want to turn now to Iran, where massive crowds are mourning slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Today's ceremonies are taking place in the
sacred City of Qom. There has still been no sign of Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, who was named leader in his father's place.
CNN teams on the grounds in Tehran have seen displays of anti-American sentiment. Fred Pleitgen has more on that, and we should know that, note,
rather that CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government, but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millions of Iranians taking to the streets as the procession commemorating
the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made its way through Tehran for hours. The crowds surrounding the trailer transformed into a giant
hearse.
PLEITGEN: This is as close as we're going to get to the casket of the supreme leader and his family members who were killed in a U.S. airstrike.
As you can see, the people here are extremely angry. What they're chanting right now is, "Death to America," and they have vowed revenge for the
killing of the supreme leader, both against the United States, as well as President Donald Trump.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): While some Iranians oppose their government, the leadership says it's managed to mobilize an unprecedented number of people,
many carrying posters bearing the likeness of the late supreme leader, along with a simple message, Iran has a score to settle with America and
with Israel.
We've come here for the revenge of the blood of our leader, and we will not put this aside for one second, this woman says. And he says the objective
for being here is to take revenge against Trump and Netanyahu. Absent from the funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son and successor,
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who so far has not appeared in public, communicating only via written statements since taking the reins.
But the people on Tehran streets insist their new leader is in charge, their country stronger than before and ready for another military
confrontation with the U.S., should negotiations fail. Our message to Trump is, do not repeat your mistake, this man says. As Iran lays its longtime
supreme leader to rest, his message of confrontation with the U.S. endures, even as Washington and Tehran attempt to negotiate an agreement for a
lasting peace. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, when we come back, a ruling by a French court could have paved the way for Marine Le Pen's return to politics, but there are
certainly some complications with that. We'll explain after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ASHER: A French appeals court has upheld Marine Le Pen's criminal conviction, but reduced her punishment, meaning that she could contest next
year's presidential election after all. The leader of the far-right national rally had been found guilty last year of embezzling EU funds and
banned from running for public office.
Today's ruling means she will no longer be legally banned, but it's not yet clear if she'll stand for president. As CNN's Melissa Bell explains.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was 16 months ago that a Paris court found not just her, but several other party members,
members of the National Rally, senior members of National Rally Party here in France, guilty of embezzlement, they had been at the heart, said ruled
the court of this scheme to use European funds to pay party political workers back in France.
Now it had been a controversial verdict at the time, not just because of the fine that she was handed and suspended prison sentence, and the fact of
a one-year home, year spent under house arrest wearing an electronic tag. The most controversial part had been this ineligibility that they had
announced.
So essentially a ban, a five-year ban placed on Marine Le Pen with immediate effect, even before any appeals were heard that prevented her
from standing in 2027. Clearly, she appealed, and it is that decision that was handed down today. Now everyone had expected that the ruling that came
from the court behind me would mark the unofficial start of the 2027 campaign, since we were to find out whether either Marine Le Pen would be
eligible to stand in 2027 or not.
But this is where it gets slightly more complicated, and where the suspense is likely to last a few more hours, and in fact the unofficial starting gun
of that campaign for 2027 will begin only later today when Marine Le Pen speaks in a French television studio, because we have yet to know what she
plans to do.
Essentially, the ruling that was handed down keeps in place the initial verdict, it keeps in place a suspended prison sentence, it keeps in place
the one year under house arrest wearing an electronic tag. It does reduce the ineligibility part of the sentence, so she can technically now stand,
but she had previously said that she would not be standing for French President.
She would not be standing in the race if she had to wear an electronic tag, and we've just found out today that that is what she would have to do. So,
we're going to have to wait until tonight to hear what her plan is, but it is very difficult to imagine that a woman who spent her entire life
fighting to lead her party, this would be if she does it, her fourth presidential run, and she has, of course, this stand-in in the shape of
Jordan Bardella.
All the polls suggest that he too would be leading the race if he stood in her place, but it is very difficult to imagine this particular political
animal, a real battle-axe on the French political scene, deciding when she's been allowed to stand, that in fact she will not. We'll hear more on
that officially later on.
ASHER: Melissa Bell, thank you for that. All right. Democrats are worried controversy in the state of Maine could endanger one of their best chances
to flip the Republican seat in November. Their candidate, Graham Platner, is facing calls to withdraw after a woman accused him of raping her back in
2021 while he was heavily intoxicated.
Platner has firmly denied the allegations, but acknowledges that they could hurt his chances of unseating Maine's longtime Republican Senator.
[11:25:00]
Platner's accuser spoke to CNN's Jake Tapper earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me be as direct as I can. Did Graham Platner or rape you?
JENNY RACICOT, PLATNER ACCUSER: By definition, yes, absolutely.
TAPPER: Because he had non-consensual sex with you, forced himself on you after you had told him no, and fought him off.
RACICOT: He violated multiple layers of consent that night by coming into my home when I asked him not to, and by advancing on me when I told him not
to, and furthermore, another incident that I had told him not to do, and --
TAPPER: With protection?
RACICOT: Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, by the way, that my nervous system reacted to this experience. Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Washington, D.C. First, Jeff, these are really disturbing allegations. Just walk us through what exactly Graham
Platner is being accused of here. What happened?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, they are very troubling allegations, and it has led to effectively the
collapse of Democratic support for his campaign and we should put in context, your Maine is was one of the places that was a central and is a
central race in the control of the fight for control of the U.S. Senate.
But Graham Platner has been a rising star from the outside, he's never run for office before, he's not part of the establishment, but clearly, he also
had not been vetted, and that has come through with example after example after example. So, he right now is saying that he is going to look for a
way forward.
He released a video yesterday in the wake of the news. Let's take a quick listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM PLATNER, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE: I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any
accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: And he goes on to say he's reflecting on the best path forward, so that is effectively trying to buy a little time here. But in talking with
advisors this morning, I'm told that there was a campaign advisors call just within the last hour, and there's been no timing discussed of when a
decision or next steps will be made, but it is very clear that going forward would be effectively not much of an option here.
So, the question is, what comes next, and Maine law actually provides, gives until next Monday, July 13th, for him to drop out, and then there's
two weeks for Maine Democrats to put forward another candidate. So, we, of course, have our eye on that, but again, the big picture here is that Susan
Collins, who is running for a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, is the only Republican running on the ballot this year from a state that Kamala Harris
won, effectively a blue state.
So that's why Democrats had such high hopes for this seat in Maine, but it has been nothing short of a fiasco, in the words of one Democratic adviser
I was speaking with this morning. So, we shall see what he decides it to do, but there's no doubt taking politics out of these very serious
allegations from it from a Jenny Racicot to our Jake Tapper, Zain.
ASHER: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. All right, still to come on the show. Another long night for Cubans after yet a total collapse of its
energy grid, yet again. Our Patrick Oppmann was in the middle of it, and we'll show you how people there are coping.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher. Here are some headlines that we are watching for you today. President Trump is
optimistic about a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, despite saying that nothing has changed, he's in Ankara for a NATO summit, where the war
in Ukraine is high on the agenda.
After his meeting with Turkey's leader, he'll hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A French appeals court has upheld the
conviction of far-right leader Marine Le Pen for misusing EU funds, but it also reduced the ban that had blocked her from running for president in
France's 2027 elections.
She'll also have to wear an electronic monitoring device for a year. At the World Cup, Belgium ended the hopes of co-host USA, beating them four-one on
Monday. Belgium scored twice in the first half, and then exploited U.S. defensive mistakes to extend their lead.
In less than half an hour, Argentina will face Egypt, and later Switzerland take on Colombia for a quarter final place. Britain's Prince Harry has lost
his privacy case against one of the UK's biggest newspapers. He and six others sued the publishers of the "Daily Mail" saying it had unlawfully
gathered their personal information.
The high court dismissed the claim, saying the group failed to prove there was unlawful conduct. Cuba is restoring power to its capital, Havana, after
yet another total collapse of its energy grid on Monday. The country's electrical grid operator says it is investigating the cause.
Cuba has been grappling with an energy crisis made worse by sharp declines in fuel imports. CNN's Patrick Oppmann brings us the latest from Havana.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Havana's Malecon seawall, and despite the fact that it's a nice night, there's a beautiful sunset
happening behind me. There's a lot of concern right now, because Cuba is in a nationwide blackout. It has become a fairly regular occurrence here.
But even more so now that the U.S. has essentially stopped all oil shipments into this island, is preventing countries from selling oil to
Cuba, giving oil to Cuba, trying to make this island make economic and political concessions that up until now the government here has resisted.
So, we've been seeing daily blackouts of stretch already for most of the day. In my neighborhood, we had blackouts that were lasting, you know, 20
hours or more in recent days. It's very hard to live under those conditions, it's impossible to live when you have days and days of
absolutely no power.
So, if you see some lights on, it's because there are emergency generators. There are hospitals or hotels that are prioritized here, they get a little
bit of power from the government. Some people have generators, but of course, they don't have fuel for those generators. Other people
increasingly have solar panels and batteries, but those are really things that most Cubans can hope to afford.
Still, very hard to bring those items in, and so the concern is, if this goes on for days like it's happened previously, the people's food will
begin to spoil. We've already seen some anti-government protests, but they've remained pretty small people are just exhausted by this ongoing
crisis.
[11:35:00]
And so even if the power comes back on, it will likely be a couple hours a day at maximum, because this is an island that is running on fumes. The
pressure campaign against Cuba has all but broken this island. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
ASHER: Right, joining me live now is Political Analyst and Best-selling Author Brian Winter. He's the Editor-in-Chief of America's Quarterly and
Vice President of Policy for the Americas Society and Council of the Americas. Brian, thank you so much for being with us.
Just talk to us about what happens to Cuba if this continues, just in terms of the impact on the economy, infrastructure, food shortages, potential
protests, social unrest. Your take on that.
BRIAN WINTER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF AMERICAS QUARTERLY: Zain, I think we're in the end game now, since the beginning of this year, when the Trump
Administration announced this blockade on fuel imports into Cuba. The plan was always to get to the Caribbean summer, to these hot, hot months of July
and August, when even under good conditions, life in that part of the world can be unbearable.
In the hopes, from the Trump Administration's perspective of generating some kind of political change. Here we are. And conditions on the island,
according to accounts from your correspondent, from Patrick, and from others, has become exceptionally difficult, not just because of the
inconvenience of not having electricity, but the effect that it has on things like surgeries in hospitals and the amount of food that is available
for Cubans to eat.
The question now is whether that will, or whether it even can result in some kind of political change. You do get the sense that that's what many
Cubans want, but look, the Cubans are absolute experts in keeping the population of the island under their thumb. They've been doing it for 67
years, and I think for many of us, you know, we're waiting to see some kind of change, but it's not clear that it will happen.
ASHER: Well, Cuba has announced these sorts of sweeping sorts of economic reforms, potential reforms, I mean, right now obviously we're talking about
a centralized economy, the island and the government in Cuba, they decide what is produced, how it's produced, who produces it, what prices it sold
for, and these changes are I assume to obviously placate the Trump Administration.
Just talk to us about some of these announced changes, and what they could mean for this island economically.
WINTER: You know, the thing about capitalist reforms is that they don't depend exclusively on the government. It is relevant that the Cuban
government has announced these changes, which would allow, for example, investment by the descendants of Cuban expats in places like Florida and
the private sector in Cuba for the first time.
But you have to ask yourself, who would be willing to invest in these conditions, especially if you bet, as some people do, at least, that the
Cuban regime is, you know, that they're short timers, that they're not going to be around for much longer. So, you know, the way you asked the
question, Zain, this seems more like a political gesture for on the part of the Cuban government.
I don't -- no one really senses that it's going to be enough to placate the Trump Administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who, of course,
has been dedicated to the prospect of political change in Cuba for much of his career, coming from politics in South Florida, where this has been an
issue for so long.
So, you know, I mean the feeling that I hear from people in the private sector here in the United States is that this is just another -- these
measures really just show a Cuban government that's grasping at straws, trying to do dramatic things in the hope that it can survive, but very few
people expect any significant money to come into the country as a result.
ASHER: Brian, what do you make of the ethics, just the ethics of the way that the U.S. government is going about trying to sort of force Cuba to
implement some of these changes, just in terms of inflicting, let's be honest, this sort of suffering on ordinary Cuban people.
I mean, everything from, you know, you talk about the summer and blackouts, just the oppressive heat that people are experiencing right now. The food
in your fridge obviously spoils. I mean, these are really difficult conditions.
[11:40:00]
People are experiencing real hardship in and around Havana, your take on the ethics of this method, this way to force Cuba to make change.
WINTER: Yeah, that's a very fair question. I mean, look, I think on the one hand it's clear that the Cuban government deserves a lot of the blame for
the economic policies that have put Cuba in this state, but there's no doubt, as you say, that the measures taken by the Trump Administration so
far this year have resulted in suffering on the island.
And probably, according to record -- according to reporting that has come out of Cuba, some loss of life as well. People in Washington tell you that
this is, you know, the cost that is necessary for there to be a change in, you know, a repressive dictatorship, and the possibility for Cubans to have
a better life, whether it's worth it or not, that is because of the human cost that you point out, is a real question.
I would note my perception, at least as an American who follows Latin America here in the United States, is that this U.S. role in the suffering
on the island has not gotten a lot of political attention here in the United States. You don't really hear people talking about it.
You don't see that much coverage of the suffering aspect of it on the news, except for on CNN, one of the few outlets that is still allowed to have
reporters there on the ground. Patrick does a great job, but apart from that, it's not really present in the debate here.
It's not particularly present in the debate around the rest of Latin America either, where we have seen many left-wing governments lose
elections over the last year and a half, these were traditional allies of Havana who have now been replaced by conservative leaders who are also
quite eager to see change, potentially, and supportive of what the Trump Administration is doing there.
So, all of this has kind of produced this alignment where you know maybe there's a possibility for change, you do sense that some shift is coming,
but how deep it will be, whether it will be regime change or some sort of deal like the U.S. government made with Nicolas Maduro's successors in
Caracas, none of us know the answer to that question.
ASHER: Yeah, and you bring up an important point. Change is coming, but at what cost for the Cuban people? Whether it's in terms of the oppressive
heat, whether it's in terms of transportation difficulties, the humanitarian aspect of all of this, the hospitals facing shortages, your
food and your fridge, going to waste.
I mean, it's just -- it's awful what people are going through right now. And you point out that the U.S. does indeed, maybe they're not to blame
entirely, but they do indeed have a role to play in the current level of sufferings for the Cuban people right now. Brian Winter, thank you so much.
Appreciate it. All right, still to come, a dramatic and controversial end to Team USA's dream run. Details ahead on the race to the World Cup
quarterfinals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ASHER: All right, 24 hours ago, the World Cup was engulfed in controversy, with FIFA accused of caving to President Trump's pressure to give the U.S.,
let's say, a little bit of a helping hand. Did it help? Probably not. It's Belgium who go through to the quarter finals after beating USA 4-1.
Belgium's next challenge is to take on Spain. On Monday, Spain actually eliminated Portugal, complete with 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo. More
action on the way today. We are just minutes away from kickoff in Atlanta, where Argentina takes on Egypt at 04:00 p.m. You've got Switzerland.
This is 04:00 p.m. Eastern time in the U.S. Switzerland taking on Colombia as well. Let's bring in Coy Wire from Seattle, Washington. Coy, I don't
even know where to begin. Should we begin by talking about Argentina and then facing Egypt today, or should we talk about what happened yesterday?
And I'm so sorry for what happened yesterday. After all that controversy for nothing.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: -- I feel sorry for all the fans have just been on this kind of magical run for America. We will get to
that in a minute, but we have to start with today's matches, because if you love star power, today is your day the final two round of 16 matches on
deck, and one features two living legends carrying the hopes of entire nations, Argentina and Egypt colliding in Atlanta.
Then it's Colombia, a team many believe has the ingredients for a Cinderella run, taking on a disciplined Switzerland side that's made a
habit of ruining other teams' dreams. The marquee matchup, though, Leo Messi facing Mo Salah, two global icons, two set of feet capable of
painting masterpieces.
Messi still chasing history, adding to his record 20 World Cup goals, but the defending champs, they had to survive a real scare in the last round,
edging tournament newcomers Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time in Egypt. Well, they know about drama too. Salah inspired the Pharaohs through a nerve-
shredding penalty shootout against Australia.
Now we'll get to the Americans. Here in Seattle, last night their World Cup dream came to an end at the hands of Belgium after an emotional roller
coaster of a day. Right, breakout star Flo Balogun returning after FIFA overturned his suspension. The U.S. was hype, and then they were humbled.
Belgium unleashing an avalanche of revenge, playing with a chip on their shoulders. Their social media team, Zain, poking fun afterwards, saying,
overturn this. The final score is four to one. Belgium's on to the quarterfinals to face Spain, ending America's fairy tale.
I asked the team's vocal leader, Tyler Adams, afterwards what this whole World Cup journey has meant to him. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER ADAMS, USA MIDFIELDER: I mean, the support was unbelievable. I think our initial reaction as a team was in this moment we let them down, but I
think altogether people gravitated towards a team because we were relatable, represented exactly what the U.S. was, today wasn't a good day.
I think from a performance you can analyze the performance, you can analyze a lot of things, but the togetherness of the group, how we competed in
large parts of the tournament, I think was really good so. Yeah, it's tough to judge right now of the overall tournament, obviously after a loss, but I
think overall there were positives that we're going to take away from it. It just doesn't feel like it right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: One thing that was really cool, Zain, coming out of the stadium, even an hour after the game, there were just hordes of fans who were chanting
USA. They were sad, but it's clear that they've been inspired by what this team did, what they meant, especially to the next generation, the young
girls and boys who were following them all along this run.
Now enjoy those games today, Zain, two matches with no safety net, Switzerland, Colombia, and then Messi in Argentina versus Salah and Egypt.
One superstars World Cup dream lives on, the others, becomes a memory. That's knockout football. One moment can make you immortal.
One can send you and all of your fans, home to watch all the rest of the games, like the rest of us, from the couch with the whole clear cold
beverage.
ASHER: Yeah, you know the Team USA did, they did very well, you know, they worked hard. It wasn't a great game yesterday, as you said, but they did
very well to reach this point.
[11:50:00]
Obviously, the controversy, little bit embarrassing, right? That's not really what Team USA would have wanted, that all of that focus and that
drama around them, but overall, did they play well? Of course they did. Overall, maybe not yesterday, though. Coy Wire we have to leave it there.
Thank you so much. Right, most matches in this World Cup have been clear- cut victories that didn't require extra time, but a handful of others in the knockout round have come down to penalty kicks. CNN's World Sport's Don
Riddell talks to an expert on the art of the penalty shootout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEIR JORDET, AUTHOR OF "PRESSURE: LESSONS FROM THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT: For most of these players, this will be the largest
amount of pressure that they've ever felt in their lives.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: There is nothing in any sport quite like the nerve-shredding tension of a penalty shootout, and in the World Cup, the
stakes just couldn't be any higher.
JORDET: They know the consequences, they know that if they miss often, that's it for their team, and this is something that will define their
legacy forever.
RIDDELL: The penalty takers must score, but there's more to the job than just hitting the back of the net.
JORDET: This may be the most important single task you do in your whole life. It's going to be difficult. A penalty kick is not the sign for you to
feel well. This is a job you have to do. You have to just focus on getting your job done. The best specialist penalty takers have this almost
mechanical, machine-like, almost rigid behavioral signature, where you can tell that this is not their first audio.
And what is more beneficial in terms of your focus at this moment is probably to focus on all those little steps, all those little behaviors,
all those little tasks that you can solve before the shot actually comes. So, what do you do before the shot? How do you walk up to the penalty mark?
When do you step up to the penalty mark, depending on where the goalkeeper is standing? How do you walk back? What you do when the whistle goes? Do
you take a deep breath? Do you take two deep breaths? You wait a little bit. You run towards the ball right away.
Then you take the shot, you score, hopefully, and your job is not over. What's important at this point is to make sure that that goal counts, and
what I mean by that is, now it's time to celebrate. We've done studies on this, showing that the more intense you celebrate your goal, the higher the
chance is that you end up on the winning team in the penalty shooter, and the reason for that is that these emotions are contagious.
They will rub off on your teammates, who will get a little bit of confidence from your big display of positive affection, and it will annoy
the opponents. It will just send signals of dominance to your opponents, where their confidence will actually go down a little bit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:55:00]
ASHER: It was the first running of the bulls in Spain San Fermin Festival earlier today. The annual tradition in the City of Pamplona sees runners
try to outpace six bowls in 60 years through the old city center. There's always the risk of serious injury, and some runners slipped and fell on the
cobbled streets.
And although a few ended up with bruises, there were no, that is incredible. There are no major accidents this time. And finally, stunning
pictures from space. European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot captured a video of an aurora shimmering in the earth's atmosphere while she was on
board the International Space Station.
Gorgeous, gorgeous images there. Stay with CNN. Bianna Golodryga will join me for more "One World" after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
