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American Tourists Shelter in Place After Cartel Leader's Death; White House Prepares for Trump's State of the Union Address; Epstein Survivors Demand U.S. Accountability After U.K. Arrests. Aired 10:30- 11a ET

Aired February 24, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

MUSKAN DAVE, STRANDED TOURIST: -- regrouping and maybe it's going to get worse now. And --

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You just want out of here at this point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

DAVE: Yes, 100 percent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to go home?

DAVE: Yes.

CULVER: You just want to go home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

DAVE: Yes.

ANITA EGSDAL LUTTA, STRANDED TOURIST: I'm five months pregnant.

CULVER: You're five months?

MARTIN EGSDAL LUTTA, STRANDED TOURIST: Yes. We cannot run if anything actually happens. And then also, like, just to keep the baby healthy, how are we going to get food? Are we going to be able to have clean water?

CULVER: So, where will you sleep?

A. LUTTA: We don't know yet. We'll just take it --

M. LUTTA: (INAUDIBLE).

A. LUTTA: Yes, we'll take it by the minute and see what happens.

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

A. LUTTA: Possibly, yes. CULVER: You've got Army, National Guard. And then, let's see there. They're searching some of the vehicles, it looks like, there too. I mean, in the middle of the highway, the car burnt out.

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

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

Mexican special forces raided his compound in the town of Talpalpa. Led there, officials say, through a romantic connection of El Mencho. Video recorded by locals and geolocated by CNN showed the Mexican military swarming the area after confirming his location.

The cartel leader captured and injured during the operation. Officials say he died en route to Mexico City for treatment. El Mencho was wanted on drug trafficking charges by both Mexico and the United States.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called him a top target for both countries and said the U.S. provided Mexico with intelligence support ahead of the operation. His death sparked a wave of retaliatory violence across at least 20 Mexican states, but nowhere worse than in the cartel's stronghold of Jalisco, and especially in the coastal city and American tourist hotspot Puerto Vallarta.

Large plumes of smoke seemed covering the city. As tourists hunkered down inside one of the many hotels, the cartel set barricades on fire across the city, many stranded after airlines suspended flights amidst the violence. Here in the state capital, Guadalajara, set to host World Cup games in just a few months, fierce clashes between gangs and the police. One video showing a man seemingly trying to set a truck on fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CULVER (on camera): And yet, there is a real effort today in trying to bring things back to normality, and you've got public transportation that has opened, traffic has returned to the streets here, schools are scheduled to open tomorrow. But there's a lot of skepticism as well, especially within Mexican media, in which you have folks wondering what's next. They don't believe that removing the head of the cartel is going to end violence by any means.

In fact, they see two main options going forward. One would be that there are potentially five different leaders within the Jalisco cartel that could consolidate power and reform in a stronger fashion. And then the other aspect would be a fractured cartel, similar to what has happened with Sinaloa, in which you have different regions then fighting it out amongst each other and causing more chaos and potentially more violence.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. David Culver, thank you so much. Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And just ahead, skipping the State of the Union address, we'll ask Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia why he's boycotting the president's speech tonight. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

BROWN: Happening now, the White House is making final preparations for President Trump's State of the Union address tonight. He is expected to claim he has ushered in a new age of prosperity and ticked through his accomplishments while in office. That's what officials familiar with the draft of the speech tell us. But among the people in the audience tonight will be survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. Many of them believe the Trump administration has failed when it comes to the Epstein files.

Joining us now are Congressman Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and his guest for the State of the Union, Annie Farmer, who survived Epstein's abuse. I want to thank both of you for coming on here.

Annie, I want to start with you. Why is it so important for you and other survivors to be in that room tonight?

ANNIE FARMER, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Yes. I think we're here to remind President Trump that we still demand justice in this case. He has made it very clear that he's ready to move on. The DOJ has repeatedly, you know, ignored us or, you know, really harmed us. And we're saying that that's not OK. And we want to continue to pursue justice.

BROWN: So, my understanding, Congressman, is that you are expected to join other Democrats for a rally against President Trump tonight. Why not be in the room with other survivors and demand that justice that Annie wants to demand?

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA), RANKING MEMBER, OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE: Yes. So, Annie and I actually discussed this. And there are a lot of Democrats participating in different events tonight. And part of what we're going to do is actually share the stories of the survivors. And so, I'll be actually talking about Annie and her story at this other event happening at the mall, while Annie, of course, is there at the State of the Union. So, it's a way, I think, of teaming up to tell important stories about survivors and reminding the president that this is not a hoax. And we're going to continue to push for justice for all survivors.

BROWN: So, when was the last time you reviewed the unredacted versions of the Epstein files?

GARCIA: Just yesterday at the DOJ.

BROWN: And were there any revelations?

[10:40:00]

GARCIA: Look, I think one thing that we're beginning to see right now in some reporting is that there is a manifest that exists within the Department of Justice that talks about a survivor and some allegations that that survivor has made against President Trump, some pretty serious allegations. It appears that within that manifest, some of the documents are there. Because I reviewed them personally yesterday. But there is a series of documents that are actually missing from the DOJ's archive that we have access to.

And so, why those documents are missing, especially when we know that this survivor made very serious allegations against the president about abuse, is incredibly serious, points to a possible cover up. And it's something that is just developing. And so, we are trying to ask the DOJ, why are these documents from this survivor? Essentially, they appear to be some type of transcript of some interviews of the survivor. Why are they missing? It's incredibly serious.

BROWN: And I have to note, Donald Trump, as you know, has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein or any allegation of sexual misconduct. But tell us a little bit more about this, because basically what you're saying, what I hear you saying is you have access to information that you did not see in the manifest at DOJ. And so, what you believe is that DOJ removed that information, which is an allegation against President Trump.

GARCIA: That is where signs are pointing towards. To be clear, we have a survivor that made serious allegations against the president. Clearly, the FBI participated in some interviews and discussions with this survivor. When looking at the DOJ documents, there is a manifest or a list of documents and interviews that this survivor participated in and that should be made available to the Congress as part of the document file search.

Some of those documents and interviews are in -- are given -- we have access to, but there's a series of documents and it would appear to be possible interviews that the FBI conducted with this survivor that are actually missing, that we don't have access to. And to remind the public, I am viewing, we're viewing unredacted documents that the DOJ has in their possession. I'm very aware of this survivor. And why these documents are missing is a critical question right now for the DOJ.

BROWN: And I know our DOJ team is working on this reporting. But, Annie, I just want to get your reaction to that. And what would justice look like to you and the other survivors at this point?

FARMER: Yes, I think it's very disturbing to hear, but not surprising. We have long believed that the DOJ was holding back critical information. And so, I think, you know, it's really important that people really are looking at this in a detailed way for these kinds of indications of holes in the story.

You know, my sister, Maria Farmer, when she reported in 1996, there were multiple things that she reported. The file that was found included some of those, but there were other allegations about her own abuse and about my abuse that we have never seen written down in any way. And we believe those are probably in the files somewhere as well. So, there's a lot of things that indicate that not only have they done these redactions improperly by continuing to shield powerful predators and harm -- you know, harm survivors, but also that there are things that are likely missing.

And so, you know, one piece of justice, it's a complicated concept, of course, at this point, but one piece of justice is having full transparency so that we can all understand how this happened and prevent it from happening again.

BROWN: Annie, when you look at everything happening overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, with the arrest of high-profile people following the release of the Epstein files, does that give you hope there could be accountability here in the U.S. or are you not so optimistic?

FARMER: I think that it really brings me hope to see what's happening elsewhere. I believe that, you know, Virginia Roberts Giuffre really proved that even royals could be held accountable, right? And we're seeing all the different people now that are being investigated.

At this time, it is disheartening to know that so little is being done, you know, in terms of, you know, the DOJ here, but we are seeing other types of accountability. And then we have things like, you know, the House Oversight Committee's investigation that Congressman Garcia is heading up, which I believe could actually reveal really key pieces of information that could ultimately lead to accountability.

BROWN: Of course, right now, Democrats do not have the majority, right, in the House. And I know when President Biden was in office, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's co-conspirator of sex trafficking, was appealing her case, right? And so, they said that that's why they didn't release the documents, though there's still an appeal ongoing. Is there any regret from Democrats of not doing more when you held that power at DOJ and in Congress?

GARCIA: Yes. I mean, look, obviously I've only led this committee not even for a year. I just got to Congress as a new member.

[10:45:00]

BROWN: Yes.

GARCIA: But I have the same exact questions for Democratic administrations. And I think one of the questions I've had to Merrick Garland, for example, is why not in the former DOJ, whether it was a Republican or Democratic administration, why weren't we aggressive in getting justice for the survivors? Why has it been now decades of abuse and cover up? Why have these survivors not been able to have access to these files? And so, I think that those questions have to be answered by every administration.

Now, clearly, there is some type of cover up happening right now. But why the DOJ and Merrick Garland or others weren't forthcoming in what was actually in these files, I think is an important question that has to be answered. I've talked to Chairman Comer. I think it's important that we hear from Merrick Garland and others and former directors of the FBI and former attorneys general. That is an important part of this investigation.

BROWN: What are you doing in terms of that for accountability?

GOLODRYGA: Well, what we've asked, we want to see them actually testify. I want to get answers from these officials. And so, we've made those requests to Chairman Comer. I believe there will be additional subpoenas and requests made in the near future. But this is not a partisan issue. Republicans and Democrats need to stand united across this country, including in Congress, demanding justice. And that means full transparency as to why our government continued to cover up for these powerful and wealthy men that were connected in government and in business when they were doing horrific things to women and children.

BROWN: And, Annie, I see you nodding your head in agreement.

FARMER: Yes, I think that's such a key piece of this. And I really appreciate that Congressman Garcia has highlighted that. You know, he asked for the Office of Inspector General to actually investigate why nothing was done about Maria Farmer, my sister's 1996 report. And for me, that is a key piece of this, because clearly, in my mind, it indicates that even at that time, there was some level of corruption that was influencing why he was not investigated. And I believe that that has gone on, you know, through administrations. And we need to really understand this isn't partisan. This is about people in power.

BROWN: All right. Congressman Robert Garcia, Annie Farmer, thank you so much for coming on the show. We appreciate it.

GARCIA: Thank you.

FARMER: Thank you.

BROWN: And be sure to join CNN for in-depth coverage and analysis of the State of the Union. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern on CNN, or watch on the CNN app. We'll be right back.

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[10:50:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, the foreign policy challenges facing President Trump as he prepares for tonight's State of the Union address, including his threat of military action if Iran doesn't give up its nuclear weapons ambitions. The speech comes amid a massive buildup of U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Here to discuss that and more, CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. He's also a White House and national security correspondent for the New York Times. David, thanks very much for coming in. Walk us through what you anticipate we'll hear tonight.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES AND AUTHOR, "NEW COLD WARS": Well, my guess is that the president will say something along the lines of, this is a last chance for Iran. But it's also a really critical moment for the president to make a decision here. He has, Wolf, put this huge force in the Gulf. It's really hard after you've put that much combat power, more than we have seen at any time since the run up to the invasion of Iraq, was that 22, 23 years ago, to make that sort of go away.

And so, he would have to come up with some kind of an agreement that he could sell as much stronger than what President Obama got 10 years ago during the Iran negotiations. That's going to be tough. And while there are some proposals around, it certainly doesn't sound like they're very close at this point.

BLITZER: You've really written some very strong articles in the New York Times these past few days on the lack of a specific mission that the president should articulate to the American people and indeed to the world, what the goal is in this military buildup. Do you understand what the goal really is? Is it regime change? Is it destroying any potential nuclear capability, destroying ballistic missile strength? What is the goal?

SANGER: Well, you know, you've gotten right at it. The president has really described four goals. The one he comes back to the most is the nuclear program. But then he frequently talks about getting rid of the missiles, which are conventional but could reach Israel. He talks about supporting the protesters. He talks about ending Iran support for the proxy forces, Hezbollah and Hamas. But he hasn't really explained how the application of military power helps the protesters.

I mean, I can understand how he could take out the missiles, or I could understand how he could hit additional nuclear targets. But frankly, it's a relatively thin reed since he declared that he has already obliterated most of their nuclear program. So, they're further from a bomb than they were in June of last year, which raises the question, is this an attack of necessity or is it one of choice?

BLITZER: Is it the U.S. goal to help the Iranian protesters? The Iranian regime has killed thousands of them over these past few weeks.

SANGER: The president has said that was his goal. And he said that he would come to their aid. And then, of course, he didn't immediately. It could be that they're guessing that if they do the bombing, well, that they there would then be an uprising on the streets and that that would be the end of this current regime. But there's no plan to put American troops on the ground. So, once you do the bombing, you're sort of lost control over what happens next.

BLITZER: You think if the U.S. does launch a military action against Iran, it would be just the U.S. or would Israel be directly involved with the U.S.?

SANGER: My suspicion is the Israelis would be involved. You're not going to see the other allies who, of course, were involved, say, in the Iraq invasion. The British have already said the U.S. cannot use their bases in the Garcia and one in Britain to launch this. This tells you they're very uncomfortable with the president's rationale. And that's our closest ally.

[10:55:00]

Now, the combined power of the U.S. and Israel is pretty great. But the question here is, will the president use the speech tonight to define toward what end this is? Is he trying to bring down the regime? He hasn't said so. Is he? He said it would be good if there was regime change. But he hasn't said that is his goal. Is does he have a lesser goal? Does he think that a lighter strike would bring them around? Little hard to understand how that would work.

BLITZER: We'll see what he says that's coming up. All right. David, thank you very, very much.

SANGER: Thank you.

BLITZER: David Sanger helping us appreciate the enormity of what's going on.

BROWN: He always does. Always puts it into context for us. All right. Coming up here in the Situation Room, reward increase. Savannah Guthrie announcing $1 million for tips leading to her mother, Nancy. Up next, we'll speak to a member of the Cajun Navy as they joined the search.

BLITZER: And dozens of Democrats, dozens are skipping President Trump's State of the Union speech tonight. I'll ask one of them why she decided to boycott. Stay with us. Lots going on right here in the Situation Room.

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