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Wolf

Mending Rift Between Mayor, Police, Public; Sony's "The Interview" Will Play at Limited Theaters; Senior Cuban Official Speaks Out on U.S. Thaw.

Aired December 23, 2014 - 13:30   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of the cops in New York think the mayor threw them under the bus, if you will. I don't remember ever seeing a sitting mayor walk through a corridor and police officers there, especially in a sensitive moment after two police officers were shot and killed, assassinated, murdered, they turned their backs on a sitting mayor. This is the largest city, New York City. Have you ever seen anything like that, Cedric?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES & PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR, DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA: I don't think any of us have. But here's the thing, without placing blame anywhere and on anyone, there are a lot of hurt police officers in that city who saw two of their brothers go down in an assassination. And it's hurtful to all of us across this country as well. You have a mayor who's working hard to work with his police department, to work with his community. And I think what we have to ask of the police there and of the leadership in the city there, all of us, is that they will find a way to work through this. I am very certain and confident of that. New York is a very smart city. It has great leadership with Commissioner Bratton there in the police department. You have a mayor who's going to do a great job and help the city mourn and get through this mourning period as well. Over time, what we're going to see -- all of us need to be there to support New York and its leadership -- the to see they move through this so that all of us move in a direction that's going to demonstrate to the rest of the country, we have issues in our criminal justice system we need to continue to talk about but we can only resolve these issues through positive communication and reaching some consensus as well, too. That's going to happen. I'm certain about that.

BLITZER: When you hear -- it's a tiny number but it's awful to hear some of those protesters. 99.9 percent are excellent. But you have a small number who are shouting, "what do you want, dead cops, when do you want it, now." You see "NYPD" scrawled on the sidewalk outside NYPD headquarters with the letters "KKK" over it. How do you deal with that?

ALEXANDER: The majority of police officers in New York and across this country are doing a fantastic job. They really are. They're putting their lives at risk. And when we're able to exercise our first amendment rights, we still need to be respectful of each other, respectful in the sense that you have police there to make sure that they have a peaceful march. But we don't need to attack our police. Not using that type of language. It is unacceptable and it should not be condoned by anyone. If people want to exercise their first amendment right which we all agree to, the fact of the matter is that police in that community and across this country want them to do it, want them to exercise that right. But let's not attack our police because here's one thing that we do know, Wolf. This country, every community in this country needs a good police department. And police departments need community support as well, too. We have to figure out -- and we will. And it's going to take some dialogue. There's a lot of hurt and pain that's out there. But the death of these two officers, the assassination of them and the way that they died, none of us are going to stand around and accept that from anyone because as Americans, being a police veteran myself, being in this business over 37 years now, it's hurtful, it's painful. For the men and women who are there with their brothers and sisters in that city every day, my heart goes out to them. What I ask of people in that community and across this country, let's come together, find some resolve as we move into the New Year.

BLITZER: Well said indeed.

Cedric Alexander, appreciate it very much.

ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: On behalf of all of our viewers, our deepest condolences to the families of these two police officers --

ALEXANDER: Absolutely. Absolutely.

BLITZER: -- Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

Thank you.

ALEXANDER: Thank you, sir.

BLITZER: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Let's get back to the breaking news. Sony pictures now saying it will release the controversial movie "The Interview" for authorized screenings on Christmas day, ignoring threats from the hackers. Sony CEO Michael Lynton said, quote, "We have never given up on releasing 'The Interview' and we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas day."

Let's bring in Michael, the owner of the Plaza Theater in Atlanta, one of the theaters that's going to be screening this film on Thursday.

How did this come about, the decision to go ahead, get the film, permission to get the film, and to go ahead and screen it, Michael?

MICHAEL FURLINGER, OWNER, PLAZA THEATER (voice-over): Well, we originally were scheduled on the first go-round before it was pulled. And last night around 11:00 p.m., our time, we got a call from Sony saying that they were ready to go. And I have sent them e-mails over the last couple of days saying if they ever change their mind, we were in 100 percent. And lo and behold, it happened last night around 11:00.

BLITZER: And you have a historic theater there in midtown Atlanta, right?

FURLINGER: It is. It's the oldest historic running movie theater in the state of Georgia.

BLITZER: It's a beautiful theater. Let's talk about security. Are you worried? Are you going to beef it up? People going through metal detectors when they come in to watch "The Interview"?

FURLINGER: We'll certainly take certain precautions. When you have something like this, you take different precautions. Exactly what we're going to do, I won't announce on air. But over the years, after 9/11, "The Last Temptation of Christ," all films with controversial stories and things behind it, you have to be smart about it. I'm not expecting anything of a major concern.

BLITZER: Are you excited -- have you seen the film, by the way?

FURLINGER: I have not seen the film. I am excited. I'm excited because I think the consumer, the movie theaters, we won. The people of the United States won. There's nothing worse than censorship or blackmail, especially when it comes to the arts. You don't have to like it. You have to pay to come see a film. So that's why I'm excited.

BLITZER: Michael, we'll stay in close touch. I want to hear how many people show up. I assume it's going to be a big, big crowd on Christmas day.

Thanks very much for what you're doing.

The owner of the Plaza Theater in midtown Atlanta.

Good luck.

FURLINGER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

Still ahead, the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says normal relations with Cuba should be off the table until that country returns a convicted American cop killer. We'll hear from a top Cuban official in Havana. We'll get her response to what Chris Christie is demanding. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Obama has reaffirmed his commitment to normalize relations in Cuba but is facing opposition from some lawmakers here in Washington. The New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, calling the president's new policy, quote, "an awful idea" until Cuba returns a U.S. fugitive who was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper. So how will the two countries get all of this done?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Joining us from Havana is Josefina Vidal, Cuba's director general for U.S. Affairs. She'll be leading the discussions on normalizing U.S./Cuban relations.

Josefina Vidal, thank you very much for joining us.

You weren't part of necessarily the secret talks that the White House and Cuba had in Canada, but tell us a little bit about how this came together, the process of thawing this relationship and agreeing to establish full diplomatic ties, exchange of ambassadors, a normal relationship between the United States and Cuba?

JOSEFINA VIDAL, CUBA'S DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR U.S. AFFAIRS: Good afternoon, Wolf. You know, I prefer not to get into any details about the process of negotiations that took place. The most important is that we showed, both of us, Cuba and the United States, that through a process of negotiation, respectful on equal basis, we can solve many of the problems that we have, even sensitive problems between Cuba and the United States.

BLITZER: What's the next step in this process, this effort to normalize the relationship? What happens next?

VIDAL: The next step is that we were planning to have, by the way, in January the biannual migration talks. So we will take the opportunity of the migration talks -- that will take place in Havana this time -- to begin the conversation about the process of re-establishing diplomatic relations.

BLITZER: And who will represent the United States? Who are you inviting to Havana to begin this dialogue? I assume you'll be leading the Cuban delegation, is that right?

VIDAL: We already know that Secretary of State John Kerry has designated Roberto Jacobsen to head the American delegate to begin that process.

BLITZER: You'll be leading the Cuban delegation?

VIDAL: I am expecting to be part of the Cuban delegation that will participate in that process.

BLITZER: So I assume there will be talks in Havana and then there will be subsequent talks in Washington, you'll rotate between Washington and Havana, is that right?

VIDAL: I don't exclude that possibility. What we are going to do in Havana is to make the first step in that process. I imagine that we will begin discussing the basis for the reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States after 54 years.

BLITZER: Could you see sometime soon the secretary of state John Kerry coming to Havana?

VIDAL: What I heard is that he said publicly that he expects to be the first secretary of state in almost 60 years to visit Havana but I haven't heard anything concrete after that.

BLITZER: What about the president of the United States? He's got two years left in the White House. Would you be surprised if he makes it to Havana over the next two years or you think that's realistic?

VIDAL: He said himself when he was asked a few days ago that he's not looking rapidly, immediately to that possibility. So you should ask him.

BLITZER: We'll ask him. But what about President Raul Castro? Is he looking forward to coming to the United States?

VIDAL: I don't have any information so far in that regards.

BLITZER: What about his brother, Fidel Castro? How's he doing? How's his health?

VIDAL: I don't have information about him. But he seems to be well.

BLITZER: Does he still meet with people? If journalists come, is he ready to do interviews, Fidel Castro?

VIDAL: Sometimes.

BLITZER: I'm sure Raul Castro would be ready to do that as well, right?

VIDAL: I know sometimes he receives visitors who come to Havana and want to see him.

BLITZER: Let's get through some specifics, specifically the New Jersey governor Chris Christie, he says that Cuba must return to the United States a convicted killer of a state trooper in his state of New Jersey before any progress can be made between these two countries, the United States and Cuba. Here's the question -- are you ready to extradite her, to send her back to the United States?

VIDAL: What I can tell you in that regard is that the U.S. government knows Cuba's position about this issue. Has also been made public by Cuba sometime ago. We have a certain number of people, American citizens, in Cuba, who live in Cuba, have been given political asylum by the Cuban government. And there is no extradition treaty in force right now between Cuba and the United States. We had two extradition treaties but the United States decided in 1959 not to honor those agreements, those treaties when Cuba requested to send back to Cuba people associated with the Batista regime accused of horrible crimes here in Cuba.

BLITZER: So you will not return this woman to a United States even though a court in New Jersey convicted her of killing a state trooper?

VIDAL: You know, governments and states have the legitimate right to concede and to give political asylum. And this is what we have done legitimately in the past for a certain number of American citizens.

BLITZER: In the negotiations that led to the release of the American Alan Gross and another spy that you released in exchange for those three members of the Cuban Five and other things that were involved in this negotiation, did the Obama administration raise the issue of this woman who was convicted in New Jersey? Was that ever put on the table as a demand in exchange for going forward with the normalization of relations?

VIDAL: I don't have details to tell at this moment on this specific issue. There is also, you know by now, a decision was made by President Obama to release the three members of the Cuban Five group who were still in prison. And Cuba decided to release a Cuban citizen who was a spy at the service of the United States, who was in prison in Cuba. In parallel, we decided to release Mr. Gross for humanitarian reasons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: President Obama's facing serious opposition from three very influential Cuban-American Senators. When my conversation with Josefina Vidal continues, I'll ask her what needs to be done to overcome the criticism of the Cuban regime and what her message is to these Cuban-Americans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There hasn't been an embassy in Havana since the early 1960s. No Cuban embassy here in Washington. But now President Obama is laying the groundwork for major change, but he'll have to overcome a lot of opposition from within the Cuban-American community, as well as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Here's part two of my conversation with Josefina Vidal, in Havana, Cuba's director general for U.S. affairs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: As you know, three American Senators, Marco Rubio, of Florida; Ted Cruz, of Texas; Robert Menendez, of New Jersey, they've been very critical of President Obama's decision to try to normalize relations with Cuba. Senator Rubio told me he'll use whatever power he has to block any funding for a newest embassy in Havana. What's your reaction when you hear these Cuban-Americans speak out against this effort to normalize the relationship?

VIDAL: I have heard, of course, and read about the critical voices in the United States on this announcement. But I have heard there's a majority of people, even inside Congress, that have supported the decision made by President Obama. And in Cuba it has been the same. The majority of the population has been in favor of what we have achieved.

BLITZER: Will you take steps to ease the conditions, the human rights problems that exist in Cuba right now. As you know, the State Department has documented and other international human rights organizations have documented an enormously long list of lack of democracy, lack of freedom for Cubans. Are you going to take steps now to reassure the United States, the American people that you're moving away from some of those totalitarian anti-Democratic positions of the past?

VIDAL: You know, the United States and Cuba have profound differences on a series of issues, including human rights, democracy, political models. Exercise of sovereignty and international relations. We have said our president has regulated that. That we are willing to discuss on the basis of respect. Any issues including the issues with the United States but without renouncing new of principles ideals about independence and self-determination. We are willing to discuss that the issue you just mentioned to me. Because we also have been promoting human rights -- and that regard.

BLITZER: If American companies businesses, hotel chains, others come in and start investing in Cuba. The people who do the work. The waiters, the drivers, the -- all the laborers, won't get the money, 95 percent will go to the Cuban government. Your response that.

VIDAL: So, I am -- I believe, the policy doesn't respond to the interest of the American people, the interests of the American business, and it doesn't serve the interests of the Cuban people itself. That's why this is what we have to do, continue our struggle, our efforts in order for the embargo to be lifted for the benefits of the Cuban people and the American government. And so, thank you very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Will the Cuban people be allowed to get some of that. And will all of it go to the government and the government will distribute it in any way it wants. In other words, is there a direct conduit for people who work? Will they get paid for their labor?

VIDAL: I'm sure you know we have always been against any sanctions, unilateral sanctions against Cuba. So far, any time that we have seen decisions by the United States government to eliminate some of the restrictions, which are part of the embargo, I'm sure you haven't seen the Cuban government taking any measures in order to oppose or in order to act against those decisions aimed at a lift in the embargo and the embargo regulations on Cuba.

BLITZER: One final question. When do you expect, from your perspective, the United States to have a full-scale embassy in Havana and an ambassador? And when will be the Cuban embassy in Washington with an ambassador, when will that reopen? What's your assessment right now?

VIDAL: I cannot certainly tell you. We will begin the process of discussing how to establish our relations. And then, I know this is something that has to be discussed in your country, in Congress. So I think it's up to you and Congress to decide when this can be done. We are open to that, and I don't see any problems coming from our side.

BLITZER: Josefina Vidal, we spoke two and a half years ago, and you were suggesting very clearly you hoped there would be an improvement in Cuban/U.S. relations. This president of the United States wants to see a normalized relationship. The Cuban president Raul Castro wants to see a normalized relationship. We'll see where this process goes from here.

Josefina Vidal, thank you very much for joining us from Havana.

VIDAL: Thank you very much. Thank you, Wolf. A pleasure to be with you again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Josefina Vidal is the director general for U.S. Cuban affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.

You heard her say, though, what Governor Christie wants, the return of that American citizen who was convicted in a New Jersey court of killing a state trooper. That is not happening. She says that don't hold your breath, Governor Christie.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is coming up next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go. Breaking news here on CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me.