Return to Transcripts main page
The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Embattled British PM Tells Cabinet He Will Not Resign; President Trump Heads to Beijing; A.I. Race Between U.S. and China; The Shadowy Network of Chinese Oil Refineries Funding Iran; CIA Expands Covert Lethal Ops on Cartels in Mexico; Russian Ship Sinks in Mysterious Circumstances. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired May 12, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Jim
Sciutto is off. You are watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refuses to resign as four ministers quit over his leadership. President Trump heads to
Beijing to meet Xi Jinping saying he'll be having a long talk with the Chinese leader about Iran. And a Russian ship sinks in mysterious
circumstances off the coast of Spain. The CNN investigation finds it may have been carrying nuclear reactors bound for North Korea.
Keir Starmer is fighting for his political life at this hour. The British Prime Minister is facing growing demands to step aside, many coming from
within his own party. Last week's local elections, in which Labour was trounced, seemed to have been the last straw for so many. Since then, four
members of Mr. Starmer's cabinet have resigned in protest over his leadership. His one card left to play? Refused to resign.
Now, his critics need to find their own alternative leader. This is where it stands. At least 81 of the current 403 Labour members of Parliament
would need to unite behind one person. That would be to issue a formal leadership challenge. And that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.
Now, earlier, some members of the cabinet reaffirmed their support for Mr. Starmer. Take a listen to Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LAMMY, DEPUTY BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's been 24 hours now, and nobody has come forward to put themselves forward in the processes that
exist in the party. Let's get on with the business of running this country and government. That's what I've been doing today. That's what the prime
minister's been doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And we do have some more information on this just in. Britain's PA Media reporting that Starmer will meet Wednesday with West Streeting, his
health secretary and potential rival. Isa Soares joins us now from Downing Street. So good to have you there on the ground.
And, Isa, can you help us sort out what has been really such a chaotic few days? Where do things stand? I know you have been doing a deep dive on this
for several hours. Is it now inevitable that in the long term, at least, Keir Starmer is out?
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We have seen throughout the day so much chaos, haven't we? And it's been such a febrile environment here,
although you can't tell today, as so many cameramen start packing. It was just outside 10 Downing Street. It is not clear. But what we are seeing is
that that coup that we saw early in the day is starting to fizz out.
As we have been reporting, we've had more than 100 statements of support backing Prime Minister Starmer. That's on one side. On the other, we have
had 80-plus MPs calling on Prime Minister Starmer to either step aside or lay out a timeline for his departure.
What we are hearing, what we are seeing is that the prime minister is sticking by, staying here, staying at Downing Street, fighting to live on
another day. And that coup from those calling for him to step aside has fizzled. It's fizzled for one particular reason, because no contender has
come through, has thrown down the gauntlet to say, I am going to challenge you.
Under Labour rules, what is clear is that you need to have, one contender needs to have 81 members of Parliament backing you. So far, neither Wes
Streeting, who you were talking about there just now, neither Wes Streeting, nor Angela Rayner, nor even Andy Burnham, who is not an MP, but
it could be down the road, none of them have come out and said, I'm putting my hand up, I'm facing you off, I'm facing off against you.
[18:05:00]
So that's what we're seeing now, is that fizzing out of those who were against the prime minister, who want to see him out of the job. And the
prime minister tomorrow, we've heard him today, you played that clip just now, from the deputy prime minister. We must continue on with the job at
hand, given, of course, the crises that we are following, that we are seeing in the Strait of Hormuz and in Ukraine. And the concerns that this
has, this instability, will have, of course, on guilts up and across the country.
NEWTON: Yes, certainly a lot at stake here. Never a dull moment from 10 Downing Street. All right. Isa Soares, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now, Bell Ribeiro-Addy is a Labour member of the British Parliament, and she joins us now. And I want to put on the record that you believe it is
time for Prime Minister Starmer to go. But can you push this through? Is there a plan among like-minded MPs to make this happen in the short-term?
BELL RIBEIRO-ADDY, MEMBER OF BRITISH PARLIAMENT, LABOUR PARTY: Well, I don't see how it doesn't happen. This is the issue. We have seen something
that's quite extraordinary, in that it appears that the prime minister doesn't have the confidence of the country, but also the confidence of his
own MPs. And that makes it very difficult to govern. And it is a very, very serious thing for us to ask for our leader to go, and especially as he's a
sitting prime minister. But I don't see how, with all of the noise around this, with the constant distractions by him staying in office, he stays.
NEWTON: We've just outlined, though, how difficult this is in terms of Labour Party rules. Who would you back as the next Labour leader? And can
you tell us more about whether or not those like you would meet that threshold to actually force this kind of a leadership challenge?
RIBEIRO-ADDY: Well, do you know what? I think we'd have to wait and see who it is that puts themselves forward. But the reality of the situation
is, I do believe there are individuals that could get themselves over the line.
The issue is that because of the situation we're in, and because he's not merely the leader of the party, he's also the prime minister, people are
trying to handle it in a very stable way. They want to be nice. They want him to draw a timetable as to when he's going to leave, so that we can have
a proper and democratic situation in which we elect the next person. So, I think that is the issue. It's less that people can't do it. It's just that
they're trying to do it in an orderly fashion.
NEWTON: And I take it you support that. And if you support that, again, let us know, who would you favor in that position?
RIBEIRO-ADDY: Again, there are many options if people want to put themselves forward. I don't want to call any names of someone who hasn't
declared because that puts them under a lot of scrutiny. But, you know, we're going to see in good time. But the one thing I think so many of us
are agreed on, and that's more than have come out to say it publicly, is that we cannot continue like this. Our last set of local election results
were so damning.
And, you know, what finally did it for me is on the day of the election, instead of the message from number 10, talking about how great our local
candidates were and all the good reasons that you should be voting Labour today, the message was, I'm the prime minister and I'm not going anywhere.
It has become a complete distraction. And I don't think it's worth us spending all of this time talking about whether one man keeps his job
instead of going about governing the country.
NEWTON: You're making just absolutely some startling comments that we had heard from others in the party and we've had people resign. This really is
an extraordinary situation. But it remains that if you are in Britain today, you are wondering about this chaos and when it will end. I'm not
sure that you have a lot of confidence that the Labour Party can actually get this done. And I think they would also ask, and I ask you, then who
should lead Britain to come? I mean, we are -- go ahead.
RIBEIRO-ADDY: I do have confidence that the Labour -- that this can be done. And above all, I'm very clear that I do not think he can continue.
Keir Starmer being the prime minister has become a huge, huge distraction. And it's taking away from all of the discussions we're meant to have about
policy, all of the things we're meant to do to move the country forward. There has been scandal after scandal, U-turn after U-turn. It's just all
become too much.
And I understand that people are keen to see who it's going to be. But the reality is we have a very proud democratic tradition in our Labour Party
and we do that, but they're having a proper process. So, I couldn't say who it's going to be, because one, the person has to get onto a ballot paper
and two, they then have to go to our membership for election.
NEWTON: I think you're evading the question. I think you can certainly say one, two or three people and I'll tell you why. If you were in Britain
right now, you are wondering who is going to lead your country. And it is at issue -- sorry, just allow me for a second. Look, this will still be a
Labour prime minister no matter what. The majority was huge. This person will be prime minister as far as Britain is concerns for a while.
[18:10:00]
So, who would you put -- who are -- you said there are several people, who would you back, but more importantly, why would they be any different than
Keir Starmer?
RIBEIRO-ADDY: Well, firstly, they wouldn't have -- whoever it is, and quite frankly at this point, whilst, as I said, I cannot say who it would
be, because I'm not sure who's putting themselves forward, anybody would not have the baggage that he currently has.
When we went to campaign in our local elections, and bearing in mind these were people that are local representatives, everything that was coming up
on the door had to do with national issues, had to do with the national failures, had to do with people's general dislike and lack of confidence in
our prime minister. So, I am quite literally saying that whoever it is, would just not have his baggage. And so, we'll do a better job and at least
take away from this distraction where we're talking about an individual, rather than talking about the needs of our country.
NEWTON: OK. We appreciate your candor. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, thanks so much. We'll continue to watch this.
RIBEIRO-ADDY: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is on his way to Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before leaving Washington. Mr. Trump told
reporters he expects to have a quote, long talk with Mr. Xi about the Iran war. But despite saying yesterday that the ceasefire is on massive life
support, President Trump is now downplaying the need for help in reaching a deal with Tehran. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think President Xi can help and contribute to a deal with Iran?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He could. I mean, it might be. I don't think we need any help with Iran, to be honest with you. They're defeated
militarily and they'll either do the right thing or we'll finish the job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes already ahead of the President there in Beijing for his arrival. It's so good to have you on
the ground there to witness all of this. You know, the president has been quite upbeat about this trip. He's not even trying really to tamp down
expectations. What are we likely to see in terms of deals done of what's on the President's checklist here?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that he's traveling with a number of America's top CEOs. Tim Cook is going. Elon
Musk is going. So, there will be some private sector deals that we expect to come out of this.
Additionally, we believe that the two sides will talk about the price of soybeans, trying to negotiate a deal there, as well as the buying of
commercial jetliners. The U.S. actually selling those jetliners to China. Now, that's just some of what's on the agenda. They also are going to have
conversations about trade, tariffs, how to keep this kind of relationship that they've built on from October when they met in person back in Korea,
going the same direction.
But there is still this looming issue of the war on Iran that is really hovering over this entire meeting. And that's why you saw President Trump
try to push this meeting six weeks. He believed the war in Iran would be over by then and they wouldn't have this kind of hanging over the trip. And
you heard President Trump talking about how he's going to have a long talk about Iran, but also saying he wasn't sure that he needed President Xi's
help.
We have been told by a number of officials that President Trump and his team are expected to push President Xi and the Chinese officials to try and
push Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or at least come to a deal. And of course, we know that just before this trip, one of Iran's chief negotiators
came here and was meeting with their counterparts in China, likely laying out what their bottom line is on negotiations.
And there are many analysts, particularly in the U.S., who believe that this war on Iran has put President Trump at a weaker position than he was
back in October because of the fact that he's going to likely need to ask for help. And that weaker position could impact those business deals.
Now, we do expect some business deals to still come out of this. That is what President Trump is touting. And we really know that the person who's
been kind of leading this trip and the conversations around this trip ahead of the actual departure to China has been the Treasury Secretary, Scott
Bessent. He has said time and time again that he's been in touch with his counterparts. They've been talking about trade. They've been talking about
deals. And he, of course, will be on this trip.
Now, surprisingly, in addition to Scott Bessent, the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, is going to be making an appearance, which is not generally
common for this kind of trip. But it also goes to show you where we are in this particular moment in time as the United States is getting more and
more frustrated. President Trump is getting frustrated. This idea of contemplating potential combat missions, restarting them in Iran, and, of
course, the fact that this is going to be a topic of discussion.
NEWTON: Yes. Good to have you on the ground there and reporting. And as you said, the fact that this is going on in the middle of this Iranian
conflict, again, an extraordinary moment for this summit to take place. Kristen Holmes for us on the ground in Beijing. Thanks so much.
We do want to bring in Michael Froman now. He is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations who served as U.S. trade representative under
the -- under President Barack Obama. Good to have you as we try and really play out, game out what is to come.
[18:15:00]
You've done so much of the background work for us on this visit. You've written a clear-eyed and insightful roadmap on how this visit is likely to
go. In terms of framing, you say gone is any pretense of solving the major structural issues at the heart of the world's most important bilateral
relationship. How so?
MICHAEL FROMAN, FORMER U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE UNDER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, if you think back
about the last time President Trump saw President Xi in Korea, the agenda was soybeans, fentanyl, and TikTok, a vegetable, a drug, and a social media
platform. This is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and we're not talking about Taiwan, about the South China Sea, about North
Korea, about nonproliferation, and very fundamentally about the strategic - - or excuse me, the imbalances, the structural imbalances that China is running with the rest of the world, which is causing a lot of the push
towards protectionism.
Instead, we're focused on quite pragmatic transactional issues like selling airplanes and selling soybeans. I get the Trump administration's
frustration with not being able to change China's long-term economic strategy, but these underlying issues do need to be addressed at some
stage, or they could be the roots of a major crisis.
NEWTON: I will get to that in a moment. Just going on to those commercial deals, though, you say one thing that will definitely happen here likely is
this new U.S.-China Board of Trade. You argue it could be the most substantive achievement. What would it look like, and how would it align
with what you describe as the mutual self-interest, of course, between what are two economic rivals at the end of the day?
FROMAN: Now, I think what we're finding is that the administration is pursuing a very pragmatic transactional approach of saying, let's create a
Board of Trade that discusses what 30 or $40 billion of products they're going to buy from the United States and what products of an equal amount
we're going to buy from China.
I think the good news about that is it gives us an opportunity to say what's strategic and what's non-strategic, and can we lower tariffs on non-
strategic goods that are raising the costs that are facing American families on T-shirts or shoes or the basics of everyday living.
On the other hand, it really is managed trade. It's not really dealing with the underlying imbalances, which Secretary Bessent has rightfully said is
the most serious issue facing the global economy. So, at some point, we've got to get to those major issues about China moving away from excess
capacity, export-led growth, and doing the domestic reforms necessary to have a more balanced growth strategy around services, domestic demand,
consumer demand. That's what they've been avoiding for decades, and I think it's really coming back to roost.
NEWTON: You know, again, I mentioned that given the laundry list that you just pointed out there, all of it high stakes, and yet now we have this
Middle East conflict. On Iran, are you hopeful China can and is willing to play a constructive role, or do you get a sense that really it is in their
best interest if this is prolonged the next few months? And that might sound counterintuitive given how much energy comes out of the Strait of
Hormuz and goes directly into China.
FROMAN: Well, no country has a greater interest in seeing oil flow more freely through the Straits of Hormuz than China. On the other hand, I think
they're taking some comfort in seeing the U.S. get bogged down there and significant military assets being moved, including from the Indo-Pacific to
the Middle East. And so, I think the Trump administration will try and press them.
And to a certain degree, the Trump administration has some leverage because it's one thing for the Iranians to control the Straits, but we're also
blockading. And so, we're preventing those tankers that could go to China from getting through. And there seems to be some kind of deal to be had
there if China ultimately views it in its interest to do so. It's got a lot of oil stockpiled, it's prepared for this kind of moment, but ultimately it
needs that oil out of the Middle East to power its economy and to power its growth.
NEWTON: Are they a key to a deal right now? And do you think we'll see the fruit of that in the next few weeks?
FROMAN: I have my doubts. I think they're willing to let things play out a little bit longer and see whether the U.S. has the staying power to remain
in the Middle East, or whether the U.S. cuts a deal with Iran and allows Iran to go back to its corner and without a fundamental resolution of the
underlying issues.
NEWTON: Given you were at the table on so many of these issues with China, in terms of those long-term disputes that you were discussing, they will
linger beyond this summit. You say there is a difference between measured cynicism and complacency.
You know, you keep talking about the fact that this is going to continue to fester. If it continues to fester, it's going to boil over. What could that
look like? Do you really think the Trump administration is going to take this on?
FROMAN: Well, I think they'd like to try and maintain stability as long as possible. And the Chinese would, too.
[18:20:00]
I think stability is the watchword of this summit. Neither side wants to have a major conflict at the moment. But in doing so, to a certain degree,
we're sweeping issues under the rug that we're going to have to deal with down the road.
If you just take the economic side of things, China is producing now somewhere north of 30 percent of all the global manufacturing product in
the world, and it's heading towards 50 percent. That's a huge amount, and it squeezes out the manufacturing aspirations not only of the United States
and Europe, but of major emerging economies who also want to have a manufacturing sector. That ultimately can't continue to grow along this
trajectory. They can't continue to grow manufactured exports so much faster than global demand without there ultimately being a problem.
NEWTON: Michael Froman, that was a worthy praise of exactly what is yet to come in the next few days. We'll continue to watch this visit closely.
Thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
FROMAN: Thanks for having me.
NEWTON: Now, coming up on "The Brief," the escalating A.I. rivalry, how China is catching up to the United States quickly, now nearly matching
America's best language models. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ closing lower after hotter than expected U.S. inflation data, the annual rate rose to 3.8 percent in April.
That is the highest since 2023. Now, consumer prices are also outpacing wage growth, and that's for the first time in three years. Earlier,
President Trump said the financial situations of Americans don't motivate him when he's negotiating with Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about America's financial situation. I
don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the A.I. rivalry between the U.S. and China is entering a new phase as the two superpowers race for dominance in artificial intelligence.
A new report finds that the gap between them has now nearly vanished, despite U.S. chip restrictions. Hadas Gold has our details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: And we're leading China in A.I., and I'm going to go see President Xi in two weeks. I look forward to that, but I'll say I'm leading. We have
very friendly competition.
[18:25:00]
HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was President Trump recently commenting on the A.I. race between the U.S. and China. But
according to Stanford's 2026 A.I. Index, produced by the university's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, the gap in A.I.
performance between the two nations has now effectively closed.
VANESSA PARLI, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, STANFORD HAI: The gap is very small, and then the U.S. model will release, and it'll perform a bit
better, and then the Chinese models will close. catch up. And that's the trend that we have been seeing over the past year.
GOLD (voice-over): Take a look at this chart. American and Chinese A.I. models are now effectively neck-and-neck on key performance benchmarks. The
report finds the U.S. still leads in top-tier model releases. But China leads in research publications and robotics deployment. Many experts are
closely monitoring the trend.
HENRY SHEVLIN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, LEVERHULME CENTER FOR FUTURE OF INTELLIGENCE: Robotics is an area where I think Chinese innovators have
been doing phenomenally impressive work. There are some areas in which I think China has also arguably been leading the way. So, in advanced video
generation, for example, several Chinese models have been absolutely state- of-the-art.
GOLD (voice-over): The Stanford report also says the U.S. still invests far more money in the field than any other country. Private investment in
the U.S. totaled more than $280 billion last year, about 23 times more than China's $12 billion.
PARLI: In between 2024 and 2025, we saw almost double the corporate investment global or the private investment globally around the world. That
is largely driven in the U.S., though other countries such as China do have more public investment.
GOLD (voice-over): China's DeepSeek recently unveiled its new model V4. The startup took the global A.I. industry by storm last year with its
groundbreaking release of the R1 model. It delivered near industry-leading performance at what DeepSeek said was a fraction of the cost. Unlike R1,
which used NVIDIA chips, V4 is running on domestically produced chips, following restrictions on China's access to cutting-edge American chips,
such as NVIDIA's Blackwell, under Washington's export controls.
JEFFREY DING, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: And they've developed efficiency innovations to try to squeeze
more performance out of less cutting-edge chips. And so, in some ways, the export control constraints have forced Chinese companies to innovate in a
unique way.
GOLD (voice-over): And unlike most American A.I. labs, many Chinese firms have also embraced an open-source strategy, making their internal model
weights available for anyone around the world.
DING: Their strategy is build up a community ecosystem and try to take advantage of the network effects that come from building that open-source
ecosystem as a way to catch up.
GOLD: Meanwhile, the White House is accusing Chinese A.I. firms of copying American models through what it calls industrial-scale campaigns. At the
center of the allegations is a process known as distillation, a technique used to transfer knowledge from one model to another.
But Beijing firmly rejecting the claims, saying such allegations are groundless and are deliberate attacks on China's development and progress
in the A.I. industry. As the world's two largest economies push to dominate AI, the competition is only intensifying.
Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Checking some of today's other business headlines now. Open A.I. CEO Sam Altman taking the witness stand in a trial brought by Elon Musk.
Altman testified today that Musk wanted total control of any for-profit open A.I. entity. He also said Musk eventually resigned because he lost
confidence in open AI. Musk is suing Altman for allegedly betraying the company's nonprofit mission.
In structure, the parent company of Canvas says it's reached an agreement with a hacking group after a major cyber-attack. The company says it's
stolen data has now been returned following the deal with the group Shiny Hunters. Canvas is a popular classroom platform used by more than 30
million active users. The company has not disclosed the details of any deal or if it amounted to a ransom.
Japanese snack maker Calbee announcing it will temporarily switch some of its packaging to black and white. The company says Middle East tensions
have disrupted supplies of certain raw materials. Now, the firm didn't say what it's missing, but some printing inks require petroleum byproducts.
OK. Coming up for us on "The Brief," a network of Chinese refineries allegedly processing sanctioned Iranian oil. We'll have those details after
the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
NEWTON: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration has resigned from the Trump administration. Martin Macari's departure means the U.S. only has interim
people in charge of the FDA and CDC. And the country still has no one serving as surgeon general.
The number of hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship has risen now to 11. The World Health Organization reports three of those cases
were the deaths reported early in the outbreak. That ship is now headed to the Netherlands to be disinfected after all remaining passengers
disembarked. The WHO says the risk to global health is low.
President Donald Trump says he doesn't need China's help in the standoff with Iran. The U.S. president is on his way to Beijing for a crucial
meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Before leaving Washington, he downplayed the idea that China could play a key role in peace talks, saying
the U.S. will win it peacefully or otherwise.
Now for some time now, a shadowy network of Chinese oil refineries has been allegedly working to pump billions of dollars into Iran's economy, despite
massive sanctions imposed by the U.S. government. That system is now coming into the spotlight as President Trump heads to Beijing. Simone McCarthy
went to a province in central China to find out more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER (voice-over): As we drove to this oil facility three hours south of Beijing, it was soon clear we
weren't welcome. These guys are just trying to block the camera basically. A black van pulled up, blocking our view of one of the many refineries
dotting China's coast.
MCCARTHY: Security here is really tight. This is a facility which is sanctioned by the U.S. government for allegedly importing Iranian oil.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): Iran sends most of its oil to China. That trade is in the spotlight ahead of President Trump's arrival in Beijing this week
with the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under strain. The day before Trump departed for China, Washington blacklisted a dozen people and entities it says are
linked to the trade of oil from Iran to China.
Five Chinese oil refineries and multiple port terminals have been sanctioned by the U.S. since last year for allegedly importing Iranian oil.
[18:35:00]
The company we visited, Hebei Xinhai, was sanctioned last May. It declined CNN's request to be interviewed.
It was hard to tell what kind of oil the plant was processing, but sanctions clearly hadn't shut it down. The U.S. has been increasingly
imposing sanctions on Chinese entities it believes are involved in the trade of oil from Iran.
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: They are the largest state sponsor of terrorism, and China has been financing them with their energy
purchases.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): For its part, China doesn't acknowledge importing Iranian oil. It also rejects U.S. sanctions and has been pushing back.
Earlier this month, Beijing ordered companies not to comply with sanctions on refineries.
MCCARTHY: Multiple ports south of me here, as well as across the ocean this direction, are believed to have continued to import Iranian oil
throughout the course of the war.
MCCARTHY (voice-over): This oil is carried by a network of vessels, including those known as the Shadow Fleet. The oil is loaded in Iran and
shipped out, often to a floating gas station off the coast of Malaysia, where dozens of boats loiter with their tracking devices turned off,
trading sanctioned oil and ferrying it to buyers, like those in China. CNN pinpointed one such transfer, where the Iranian-flagged vessel Herbie
transferred oil to a China-bound tanker just last month.
Weeks later, the Herbie was intercepted by the U.S. Navy on its way back to Iran. Once those ship-to-ship transfers are complete, ships heading for
China blend in with thousands of other vessels, regularly transiting through these waters.
For the U.S., that's a major problem. But for China, this oil flow is powering its economy and keeping a close partner afloat.
Simone McCarthy, CNN, Hebei Province, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And now to CNN exclusive reporting about an expanded CIA campaign inside Mexico to dismantle drug cartel networks. Sources say those CIA
operatives have taken part in deadly attacks on several mostly mid-level cartel members. National Security Correspondent Natasha Bertrand joins me
now.
I mean, Natasha, you've been working with a team of our reporters on this story. What have you learned? Because just the whole concept here sounds
extraordinary, and you underscore how unusual this is and what it still indicates about U.S. operations within Mexico, a reminder, a U.S. ally and
a sovereign one.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right, Paula, and what we're learning is that the CIA has essentially expanded its
ground operations inside Mexico to carry out lethal operations against suspected cartel members. They're essentially taking matters into their own
hands on an issue that President Trump has become rather fixated on, which is dismantling cartel networks inside Mexico, which he says the Mexican
government is not doing enough to confront.
Now, I just want to show you a video here which shows one of these CIA operations, we're told, that was conducted earlier this spring. On March
28th, you see a vehicle exploding there veering off the road. We're told that inside that vehicle was an alleged member of the Sinaloa cartel that
had been on the CIA and Mexican officials' radar. The state attorney general's office in Mexico said that a car bomb had been placed inside that
vehicle, and our sources told us that that assassination was, in fact, facilitated by CIA operations officers.
Now, this is just one of several, again, we're told, over the last several months of these kinds of targeted lethal attacks that the CIA has
participated in, and obviously it's going to cause some strain with the Mexican government, which insists that any operations being carried out by
foreign agents on Mexican soil, you know, A, not only shouldn't be happening, but, B, if foreign agents are operating at all on Mexican soil,
they need to be informing the Mexican government beforehand.
Just last month, we saw an incident where two CIA operatives, who were also U.S. embassy officials, came back from a raid on a meth lab in the state of
Chihuahua in Mexico, and Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said she knew nothing about that. And so, you know, this is part of a strategy by
the Trump administration to say, look, we're going to go at this alone if you are not going to do more to take on these cartel networks, Paula.
NEWTON: I don't have a lot of time left, but that video, really, I can't underscore. It just portrays a sort of recklessness, as well, because you
don't know if anyone else who was innocent could have been obviously harmed in some way. And there is no congressional oversight, right, Natasha? And
as you point out, these are mid-level players, not the kingpins.
[18:40:00]
BERTRAND: Exactly right. They want to take out kind of the cogs in the cartel machine, essentially, and also going after these mid-level guys
attracts less attention internationally than it would if you go after the most senior guys. But just about that car bomb, you know, it is very
interesting because, yes, it was reckless, it was in broad daylight, it was on a busy highway right outside of Mexico City, but the bomb was also
extremely precise. It killed only the two people inside that vehicle who were exactly the targets of this operation. It was very clean and very
professional, as one security analyst put it.
NEWTON: That is at least their opinion. I'll be willing to bet that President Sheinbaum does not say the same thing. Natasha Bertram, for us,
thank you for that exclusive reporting.
Now, a landmark new report is uncovering very disturbing details about the October 7th attacks by Hamas on Israel. In the most comprehensive study
yet, the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes Against Women and Children, an independent, non-governmental body, has gathered evidence and testimony
of sexual assault and torture by Hamas militants and their allies. Cochav Elkayam-Levy is the report's lead author and an expert on international
human rights law. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COCHAV ELKAYAM-LEVY, LEAD AUTHOR, "SILENCED NO MORE": The victims of October 7th came from all religions. One of the most difficult stories in
the report is actually of a pregnant woman, a Muslim pregnant woman, that was shot in her belly on the way to have her baby on her way while she was
in labor. And she was ambushed with her husband and his family member twice until she was shot in her belly. And the baby survived for 14 hours until
she died.
And I feel like it's important to say that although they had targeted Israelis and Jews in this attack, there were also Muslim victims and
Christian victims, and we have to remember them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, if you or someone you know needs help, in the U.S., the National Sexual Assault Hotline around the world, U.N. Women and the Pixel
Project have a list of resources for you. And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: We have some new reporting to bring you about the fate of a Russian cargo ship, which sank in mysterious circumstances off the coast of
Spain two years ago. A CNN investigation finds the ship may have been carrying nuclear reactors for North Korea. Here's Nick Paton Walsh with
this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A mystery in the Mediterranean; the possible torpedoing of a
Russian ship to stop the Kremlin handing submarine nuclear reactors to North Korea begins in a quiet Spanish port.
WALSH: This really is the craziest of stories about a Russian shadow fleet ship that sank off the coast here in the strangest of circumstances, whose
Russian captain confessed to investigators here that it was carrying two nuclear reactors, possibly for a submarine.
WALSH (voice-over): The incident is shrouded in silence but concerns the most serious of issues: weapons proliferation between two nuclear powers
and force being used to stop it.
The Ursa Major ship loaded up near St. Petersburg in early December 2024; on paper, bound for Vladivostok with a cargo of two huge cranes and over
100 empty containers. It made another stop, loading two large manhole covers. It set sail.
A shadow fleet ship used by Russia in Syria, the Portuguese navy followed it from above. You can see the blue covers here until just before it ran
into trouble in Spanish waters.
WALSH: It was way further out to sea when the Ursa Major on the 22nd of December, 2024, suddenly slowed and Spanish rescuers noticed this and they
radioed to ask if anything was wrong. The ship insisted it was fine and could deal with the situation.
WALSH (voice-over): But about 24 hours later, it made a sharp deviation and issued an urgent call for help. The boat was listing, this video shows,
filmed from a nearby tanker but probably not going to sink too fast.
The captain of the ship would later tell investigators he'd seen a 20-by- 20-inch hole in the hull, the damaged metal facing inwards. He said it had been followed by three explosions on the starboard side of the boat,
killing two of his crew.
WALSH: So, the Russian military arrive in force and they tell everyone to stay two nautical miles away from their ship, the Ursa Major. But the
Spanish know they need to conduct rescue operations, so they send this ship to pick up 14 Russian survivors who were brought back here. And that
includes the Russian captain, who, it seems, starts to help investigators piece together some of what's happened.
But it's hours later that day that the mood changes over the Ursa Major ship. And the Russian military fire flares over it. And then a series of
explosions follow, which Spanish seismic sensors picked up. And they send the ship to the seabed floor.
WALSH (voice-over): Moscow demanded their crew back but the Russian captain told Spanish investigators something remarkable, that the ship was
carrying components for two nuclear reactors, likely for a submarine, he said, adding he could not be sure if the reactors had fuel in them. There's
no evidence of contamination. He also told investigators he thought he would be diverted not to Vladivostok but to North Korea's port of Rason.
Russia was in North Korea's debt at that time after they sent 10,000 troops to help fight Ukraine two months earlier. And in December 2025, North Korea
would claim to have built this, their first nuclear-powered submarine.
WALSH: Everything may have been on the bottom of the sea but the Russians weren't done yet. And according to a source familiar with the
investigation, about a week after the incident, a Russian research vessel called the Yantar, linked in the past to all sorts of allegations against
Moscow, sat over the wreckage for about five days. And four more explosions followed, possibly the Russians destroying what was left of the wreckage.
WALSH (voice-over): In the months after, the U.S. may have shown interest in the site, twice sending a rare WC-135R Constant Phoenix, usually
secretly sniffing out traces of nuclear activity in Russia's Arctic or over Iran over the path of the Ursa Major, weaving low at 5,000 feet. One had
flown a similar route 13 months earlier, perhaps suggesting it's routine. The aircraft's U.S. base declined to provide any details. Spanish lawmakers
have urgently sought answers but got few.
JUAN ANTONIO ROJAS MANRIQUE (through translator): When someone doesn't clearly and fully provide the information that you request, you at least
suspect that they are hiding something, of course.
WALSH (voice-over): So, why did the ship sink? The Spanish investigation said the first impact was likely from a projectile called a supercavitating
torpedo that fires air in front of itself to reach very high speed. Others suggested something simpler.
MIKE PLUNKETT, SENIOR NAVAL PLATFORMS ANALYST, JANES: Sounds like a limpet mine. It sounds like a shaped charge explosive that was placed against the
hull by somebody or something.
WALSH (voice-over): The Russian owners immediately called the sinking a targeted terrorist attack. They, the Russian, Spanish and British
militaries, did not reply to a request for comment and the Pentagon declined to.
[18:50:00]
There are few Western militaries operating there, capable of noticing, tracking and stopping a cargo like this. All sides, it seems, happy for
this secret to stay on the sea floor.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Cartagena, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:50:00]
NEWTON: Straight ahead for us, Israel makes it into the Eurovision grand finals. We'll explain the controversies, plural, about the countries
participation this year and how the contest is evolving.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: A Southern California mayor has resigned and agreed to plead guilty to acting as an agent for the Chinese government. Eileen Wang has
served as Arcadia's city council since 2022, where she became mayor in February of this year. Wang has been accused of promoting pro-Beijing
propaganda in the US at the bidding of Chinese officials. CNN's Josh Campbell looks at some of the material that could send the former mayor to
prison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Your reaction to this sentence?
FMR. MAYOR EILEEN WANG, ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA: I don't have the comments right now.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Eileen Wang, who just stepped down as the mayor of Arcadia, California, previously acted as an illegal agent for the Chinese
government, according to her plea agreement released by the U.S. attorney's office. She's agreed to plead guilty and has resigned.
JUSTINE BRUNO, ARCADIA DEPUTY CITY MANAGER: These are serious charges. This is the conduct of one individual. So, no other city council members
are under investigation. The city's not under investigation.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Wang is accused of acting on behalf of the People's Republic of China officials from 2020 through 2022, before she ran for
Arcadia city council and later became mayor, sharing articles on a website called U.S. News Center that purported to be a news source for the local
Chinese American community. She acted without prior notification to U.S. officials as required by law. The charge against her carries a term of up
to 10 years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, Wang, along with their ex-fiance, exchanged encrypted messages with a Chinese government official who
instructed them on content to post and in one instance to correct an article published in the L.A. Times. The PRC official thanked them for
their reporting. Defendant responded, received, then sent the PRC official a screenshot showing the article had been viewed 15,128 times, to which he
responded, great. Defendant then responded, thank you, leader.
Wang's attorney said in a statement the conduct relates to a, quote, "media platform that she once operated with someone whom she believed to be her
fiance and not to her conduct as an elected public official." Prosecutors in the case say Wang's actions underscore a looming threat from the Chinese
government.
AMANDA ELBOGEN, ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, NATIONAL SECURITY DIVISION: The campaign that China is engaging in and enlisting agents here who are not
acting overtly really undermines our national security and it undermines the democratic fabric of our society.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Josh Campbell's CNN Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:55:00]
NEWTON: The Eurovision song contest kicked off earlier with its first semi-final starting just hours ago and Israel has made it into Saturday's
final, that's despite multiple controversies. It was allowed to compete again this year despite criticism of its military actions in Gaza. Five
countries are boycotting Eurovision in protest, includes Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Plus, Israel came second in last year's competition after an unusually high showing in public voting. An Israeli government agency reportedly showed
fans had a vote up to 20 times. As a result, this year's maximum number of votes per person has been brought down to 10.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN GREEN, DIRECTOR, EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: An agency which importantly has nothing to do and had no relationship with the public
service broadcaster, Khan, was carrying out what was viewed to be disproportionate promotional activity and that's why we put some new rules
in about that and we have seen no evidence of that this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: OK. I want to thank you for your company. I'm Paula Newton in New York. You've been watching "The Brief." Stay with CNN for more news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
