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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Now: Maduro Back In NY Prison, Pleads Not Guilty In Court Appearance; Soon: Admin Officials Brief Key Lawmakers On Venezuela Strike; Source: Senate Likely To Vote Thursday On Trump War Powers; Trump Warns Other Countries After U.S. Strike On Venezuela. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 05, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Happy New Year.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Happy New Year to you. It's never a quiet news day.

SANCHEZ: No, no shortage of news. Even as we start a new year. We're grateful for you joining us as well.

"THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT" starts in about 10 seconds.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to THE ARENA. It's wonderful to have you with us on this Monday.

As we come on the air, the ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is back in a federal prison after pleading not guilty to drugs and weapons charges. Maduro insisting to the judge that he is still the president of Venezuela after President Donald Trump said this last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't ask me who's in charge, because I'll give you an answer and it will be very controversial.

REPORTER: What does that mean?

TRUMP: It means we're in charge.

(END VIDOE CLIP)

HUNT: We're in charge.

Maduro is not yet seeking release on bail. He and his wife are set to appear in court next on March 17th. As that all happens, we are just minutes away from the first congressional briefing on this weekend's military operation that resulted in Maduro's capture in Venezuela.

The defense secretary, the secretary of state, the CIA director, the attorney general and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff all set to meet with a bipartisan group that will include the Gang of Eight and some others.

The question now, what comes next? This afternoon, Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as acting president. Last night, she offered to work with President Trump on a, quote, agenda of cooperation.

President Trump, though, doesn't really sound like he's in a mood to share.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to run everything. We're going to run it, fix it. We'll have elections at the right time. But the main thing you have to fix is a broken country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Let's get off the sidelines, head into THE ARENA.

My panel is here.

We're also joined by CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes and our chief legal analyst and anchor, Laura Coates. She was inside court today for Maduro's arraignment.

Laura, can you take us inside the court? I mean, I'm particularly interested in what the president of Venezuela's demeanor was like, how he presented himself before this judge?

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Let me take you inside the extraordinary moment when Nicolas Maduro and what he calls his first lady were inside of this courtroom. He was very self-confident. He stood tall. He's a large man. He has quite the stature.

He had his hands down on the desk, fingertips touching while he spoke very loudly but clearly through a translator. At one point, the very first moment, he had a chance to speak, he declared that he was still the president of Venezuela, that he had been captured. He was a prisoner of war.

The judge actually stopped him, Kasie, and said, there'll be plenty of time to talk about the legalities of your capture. And of course, any motions about immunity. But for now, I just want to know if you are, in fact, Nicolas Maduro Moros. He then said Nicolas Maduro Moros, and began to listen to the judge holding in his hands the indictment that he said he had seen for the very first time did not want to have it read publicly, wanted to read it personally, took copious notes.

This was a man in control. His voice assured, counter to what his wife was like, far more demure, far more reserved, her voice more soft spoken. They would exchange glances occasionally at the actual table, her hands and fists on the desk, but her head was bobbing quite a bit.

Her counsel alluded to injuries she had sustained, saying that she had severe bruised ribs also on her face, bandages over her temple and near her eye as well, and they both professed their absolute innocence. They had not committed any of these crimes. Asked for the counselor visits to come in, and interestingly enough, Kasie, they did not request bail. Of course, pending an upcoming trial, that would likely not be until 2027. That's forthcoming. Why? Two words voluminous and complex.

That is how the counsel for Maduro, who I should tell you is also Julian Assange's attorney, said would be the type of motions, including the immunity as a head of state and, of course, international law.

But I cannot overstate this enough. In his steed and in his position, Maduro was confident and almost corresponding and choreographing what was going on, talking to his counsel, also leaning over to his wife's attorney, writing notes, touching different things the entire time. He had some difficulty, however, trying to stand and sit, bracing himself on the arms of his chair as he raised himself up and down.

If you remember him walking in that scene earlier today and the helipad, he appeared to have something on his left leg that appeared to be bothering him, walking with a slight limp while in the side of that courtroom, he was lowering himself and extending that leg out as he sat down, as if he was dealing with some sort of either an injury or just way his body was.

[16:05:09]

I also tell you what they had on -- his clothing almost seemed to be snug on his body. His wife in her really sort of more demure, seemed to have these baggy prison garb on her. I point that out, only to suggest this extraordinary contrast. But I should also tell you that he was so self-assured in the moment that he seemed to be in control and asked but one thing. He said, I want my notes that I'm taking to be respected and to be able to retain them for the duration of my holding. The judge agreed to that.

HUNT: Fascinating on all.

So, Kristen Holmes, you know, what are we hearing? What are you hearing from your sources from the White House in the aftermath of the strike, especially ahead of this briefing?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's still celebrating. They are arguing that one, when you're talking about the briefing, that this wasn't necessarily a military extraction, although, of course, the United States used military forces, but instead a legal one, arguing that Maduro had been under indictment since 2020 and that they were bringing criminal charges against him, so they didn't need to authorize they didn't need to ask Congress for permission.

You can also hear from President Trump's tone that he's grown even more bullish since they actually took this action to capture Maduro, but that doesn't answer the basic questions that I'm sure many on the hill have, because many across the country and world have the same ones, which is what does it mean when President Trump says that he wants to run, or that he is the United States is running Venezuela. We've heard a variety of different kind of explanations of that. You heard the secretary of state saying, well, no, it's not the U.S. actually running the country. They're instead running policy, trying to come up with policies, work with the now acting president of Venezuela to come up with policies that benefit the U.S.

But you have President Trump kind of saying that the U.S. is pulling the strings and in fact, going as far at one point to say that if the vice president now acting president doesn't do what America wants, that she'll face a fate worse than what we saw happen to Nicolas Maduro. But that still doesn't answer any of the questions as to what exactly the U.S. is planning to do long term. We are told by U.S. officials that right now they are putting together this kind of interim government behind the scenes. They are working to quickly establish that.

And on top of that, they're focused on two things which are administrative stability, which is why they're saying they're going to work with the now acting president, as well as rebuilding the oil infrastructure in that country.

HUNT: All right. Kristen Holmes and Laura Coates, thank you very much for starting us off with your reporting. And of course, Laura is going to be back later tonight with her show, "LAURA COATES LIVE" at 11:00 Eastern tonight, right here on CNN.

All right. Our panel is here, CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams; national political reporter for "Axios", CNN political analyst Alex Thompson; plus, CNN global affairs commentator, former Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh; and Republican strategist, former RNC communications director Doug Heye.

Thank you all very much for being here. This is my first day back after the New Year. Never a dull moment, shall we say.

Elliot Williams, let's start with the legalities here and what's at play. And I'm just -- I know you've been kind of doing analysis and talking through our viewers, our viewers, through this all day long. But what are your kind of big picture takeaways from, like, the astonishing scenes that we saw in that courtroom, as well as what it means on a global scale?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, there's two separate very big but very important issues going on here. One, the whole geopolitical and global questions and the legalities around them, but also what's happening in court, right? And they're very, very different. They're getting muddied together a little bit.

There are important legal questions about whether the United States would have had the authority to go on to Venezuelan soil, whether the United States properly apprehended him, whether the -- whether the way in which he was brought to the United States was lawful and legal. And that will be litigated in court.

It's very complex legally. And criminal defense attorneys can't do it. It's pointy headed constitutional lawyers that are going to be working out all those national security questions.

HUNT: My head isn't pointy.

WILLIAMS: My head is not. It's bald, but not pointy. It's shiny but not pointy. So, let's set those aside.

Now, what happened in court is quite ministerial and quite straightforward. Someone goes in, they're advised of the charges against them like anybody else, whether you're the head of a of a foreign country or not. And the charges are actually relatively straightforward in the grand scheme of what you can be charged with in the United States, drug trafficking conspiracies can be hard to prove, but you really just have to prove that, number one, there's people selling or dealing drugs. Number two, that an individual knows about that and is helping to facilitate it. And number three is just taking steps to move things along.

So, the moment, he, as alleged, pays someone for a diplomatic passport right there, he's engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy if those guys are engaged in trafficking.

[16:10:01]

HUNT: Can I pause you for a second? I just look at this video because obviously we've been -- we've been seeing it all, all morning. And this is him moving from the jail to the courthouse and all the agents are wearing DEA on their backs, right? Is this a normal thing? Like, is this something we normally see when people are moved around like this? And would it be DEA agents doing it, or are they trying to make a political point?

WILLIAMS: Oh, I don't know about that. It could be DEA agents, just based on the nature of the charges. There are drug enforcement equities to this. And DEA agents play a role in that.

Now, it gets complicated because the FBI has also has authority over narcotics enforcement and terrorism. So, the FBI has a role in it. Yes. There are drugs the DEA does. But let's be clear, Kasie, these guys are constantly at war with each other over who gets to slap the cuffs on, who gets to lead the investigation.

It's just -- it's a tale as old as time that law enforcement agencies, even though on the same team, are kind of at odds. But that doesn't shock me that much.

HUNT: Yeah. So, Alex Thompson, I want to put up this "Washington Post" poll about how Americans feel about us taking control of Venezuela, so distinct from taking out Maduro. Right. But 45 percent of Americans say they oppose the United States taking control of Venezuela and having -- choosing a new government. Only 24 percent support this.

And I'm just interested to know what you're hearing from your sources about the politics of all of this, because in many ways, Donald Trump ran explicitly against the idea that we would adventure into a foreign country and try to run it.

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. When he said America first, they didn't realize that he meant Americas first. And what? Thank you.

And then, and what you are seeing is that there are at the same time, a lot of the people in the MAGA base, especially the MAGA intellectuals, were always in denial about how hawkish Trump was. If you go back in the first term, he also or the assassination of Soleimani. He did, you know, use these huge bunker busting bombs in Afghanistan that drew a lot of controversy.

So, Trump has never been as dovish even though he used dovish rhetoric. But his actions from the first term, he's never been as dovish as some people in the MAGA movement want him to be.

HUNT: I want to play a little bit, Sabrina, of what Marco Rubio had to say yesterday on the Sunday shows, because he has been and of course, Marco Rubio has a deep history with the region, right? Deep knowledge of Latin and South America. And he talked about that in the context of America's other recent military adventures, many of which took place in the Middle East.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've got this phobia built up and this sort of thing that's -- it's like number one, most of the experts that people have on -- I watch these experts and it's clown hour, okay? These are people that have focused their entire career on the Middle East or some other part of the world, because that's where all the action was. They very few of them know anything about Venezuela or the Western Hemisphere.

Venezuela looks nothing like Libya. It looks nothing like Iraq. It looks nothing like Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Sabrina, I mean, you've worked in foreign policy in Democratic administrations. Obviously, many Democrats ended up arguing strenuously against what was going on in Iraq after the Bush administration went in there. Do you think that Rubio has a point here about the difference between what we're seeing in Venezuela and some of those adventures, or does he not?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yeah, no, I actually think he does have a point. Venezuela looks nothing like Libya and Iraq or Afghanistan, but the lessons learned from each of those failed sort of nation building adventures that we took, should shed light on what the administration is doing now. I mean, if you look at Venezuela, the terrain as well, Venezuela is twice the size of Iraq. It has 30 million people there. So, I think the real question is, if we take Trump at his word and we

should because he's the president and were running the country, what does that look like? How is the U.S. going to run the country? Are we going to oversee their elections? Are we going to oversee their courts? How are we going to secure the oil fields for these, you know, companies that are going to have to go in?

Because Venezuela is going to now work with the U.S. and just I don't see them just turning over the oil fields to American companies. That's going to require U.S. military presence. So, I think he does have a point. But I think what he's missing is that we have a lot of lessons learned from Iraq. And, frankly -- and from Afghanistan.

And frankly, what we are seeing in Venezuela is a celebration of Maduro being gone. And that's what we saw in Libya, and that's what we saw in Iraq, and that's what we saw in Afghanistan. And then what happens after is really what we need to be paying attention to, because right now, also, the president is saying Colombia, Cuba, Greenland is obviously still on the table. I mean, when does it end and where does it stop?

HUNT: Doug Heye, one of the things about this that we learned was that they didn't let congress know, right? Specifically the Gang of Eight which is the top echelon of the intelligence committees that are charged with oversight are our friends and our text chain are talking about what that what that means.

Do you think that should have happened? I mean, how angry are the presidents allies on capitol hill that they didn't get a heads up about this?

[16:15:03]

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yeah. Every member of Congress or certainly every member of that gang of eight, they want to be informed. Any politician wants to know what's going on. That's -- some of that is normal.

HUNT: Knowledge is power.

HEYE: But this is also about protecting turf as well. But what's interesting to me potentially isn't the briefing that's going to happen tonight. It's when members of congress come back tomorrow. And let's face it, every member of Congress, every senator, thinks that they\re an expert on everything.

And you don't have to be on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on South America to have concerns about this, or to support it, and to have questions. And it's where I think Marco Rubio is going to have a real role to play here, not just because he's secretary of state and former intel chair, but because he knows these members. He knows the House members from Florida. He knows all the senators on both sides of the aisle. He's going to have a very real and important role to play here, almost lobbying for the administration's position on Capitol Hill.

(CROSSTALK)

THOMPSON: And a lot was -- a lot of those lawmakers feel that Marco Rubio, at very best, misled them in a private briefing just a month ago and at worst, lied to them outright. And so, he's going to really actually be subject to a lot of extra scrutiny on that.

HUNT: Was this the briefing on the boats that sort of took the temperature down among Republicans?

THOMPSON: Yes. Yes, exactly.

HUNT: Okay.

SINGH: Can I also add that, you know, Marco Rubio saying that this is not the type of operation you would brief to members of Congress? He was a member of the Gang of Eight. That's just absolutely not true. This is something that members can be briefed in a secure way or at least notified in, in a way.

It doesn't, you know, you're not going to give all the details as the operation is ongoing, but you can certainly let members of the Gang of Eight know that something is under underway and briefed them. And he I mean, he should know that.

WILLIAMS: Just to end one fine point on that, a part of his rationale was that this was a law enforcement operation and any explosions that might have been heard were for the protection of law enforcement, not military action. Now, look, that kind of strange logic in many ways, but --

SINGH: A law enforcement action that we are now running the country.

THOMPSON: Something a lawyer would come up.

SINGH: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: Somebody would come up with.

And to be clear around the globe, you know, military can be implemented to protect law enforcement. So, for instance, if the FBI is carrying out an operation, you know, if bullets are flying. But this whole idea --

SINGH: This was the most expensive law enforcement operation, I think, in history, with 150 aircraft used to seize two individuals. So, you know, I think this administration is going to have a lot of explaining to do to members of Congress.

HUNT: Well, a lot of its going to depend on what actually happens on the ground in Venezuela and whether or not we actually have to send boots onto the ground, which the president has again said he's not afraid of.

All right. Coming up next here, we've got two key members of Congress here live. The House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan will be here. Democratic congresswoman, former Navy intelligence officer Maggie Goodlander will also join us.

Plus, we've got new reporting coming in on a Senate vote that would limit the president's war powers inside Venezuela. We'll discuss just who's expected to support it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I'm glad the president didn't just take Maduro and walk away. I'm glad that he is committed. He is committed to freedom and democracy in Venezuela. Now, I've talked to -- I've talked to Marco Rubio about it. I've talked to the president about it. They're committed to freedom and liberty.

Now, I can't tell you how they're going to get there, but I believe we're going to get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:37]

HUNT: All right. Welcome back.

We continue to follow the breaking news out of Venezuela. A source now tells CNN the Senate will vote this week on a measure to limit President Trump's war powers in the South American country. Democrats have the support of at least one Republican, Senator Rand Paul. They also expect to get the backing of Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. That vote likely to be Thursday of this week.

Joining us now in THE ARENA to discuss, Republican congressman of Ohio, Jim Jordan.

He is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Congressman, thanks very much for being here.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): You bet. Happy New Year. Good to be with you.

HUNT: Mr. Chairman, happy New Year.

So, let's -- I mean, start with this vote in the Senate. No surprise that Rand Paul, I don't think would be considering supporting this, but is this a place where Congress ought to have a say in what happens next?

JORDAN: Well, I think the presidents completely within his constitutional authority under Article Two. I think he's consistent with the War Powers Act. And frankly, I think historically.

I mean, this is -- this is, you know, President Monroe, Teddy Roosevelt, JFK, President Trump making sure things here in our, our hemisphere are done in a way that benefit the United States. And so, I think he's completely within the authority he has constitutionally, historically, legislatively, statutorily with the War Powers Act. So, I don't think this bill that this war powers resolution is coming up. I don't think it's going to pass.

HUNT: Are there historical examples of American adventurism in Latin and South America that you feel point in the direction that would send this one in -- that it -- could this actually end up with a good outcome? I mean, are there any examples that you would cite?

JORDAN: I mean, I would look at this president taking decisive action that made a difference for, I think, for Americans, for allies. I mean, I look most recently, the action he took in Iran, keeping Iran from getting nuclear capabilities. I know that's not -- that's the Middle East. That's not in our hemisphere. But step back and think about it for a second.

Here's a guy who wasn't recognized as the head of state of Venezuela by the Trump administration or the Biden administration wasn't recognized as head of the state, ran a narco terrorist criminal operation, had a five year arrest warrant, was playing footsie with Iran and with China right here in our hemisphere and bringing him to justice that's a bad thing?

I think most Americans think that's a darn good thing, and they respect the president who takes who takes decisive action, who demonstrates strength as the commander in chief. I think they appreciate that. And it's certainly in the best interest of America keeping drugs off the streets.

I know the good folks I get to represent in the fourth district of Ohio, they think that's a good thing.

[16:25:02]

So, I'm not seeing the lefts critique of this. Now, we'll see what unfolds later. But I think what the president, the action he took again, such a contrast, I said this yesterday, such contrast between, you know, President Trump and the decisive action he took in Iran. He took here compared to Joe Biden.

And I used the example. He led a Chinese spy balloon fly clear across the country, for goodness sake, before he shot it down. You've got to be kidding me. So, I think the country appreciates that.

HUNT: Do you think the United States should run Venezuela?

JORDAN: Well, I think we're going to work on making sure there's a better outcome for America in our backyard and for the people of Venezuela. That's what --

HUNT: Would this not go south easily?

JORDAN: I -- I trust the president. Again, I think when the president has said he was going to do something, he gets results. I like I like what Secretary Rubio, how he's handled things, how he spoke at the press event on Saturday.

So, I trust these guys. We'll see how this shakes out. But I think right now the American people are saying, well done, Mr. President. And God bless the troops. I mean, the courage, the precision that they conducted this operation, that is that is phenomenal. What we heard from the -- General Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff, head of the Joint Chiefs, what he said, how this was prepared for how they executed this truly phenomenal.

HUNT: Do you support putting American boots on the ground in Venezuela for a long period of time?

JORDAN: Well, again, that's -- that's a question for later. I think most Americans are again, trust the president to do what's in the best interest of the American people and the best interest of the folks in Venezuela. I mean, you see the cheering in the streets for what happened here.

HUNT: Isn't this a question you have to think about before you do something like this?

JORDAN: And I'm sure they have. They want this transition to work out in a way that benefits America. President Trump, every decision he makes, I -- that's one thing I know about this. This -- this guy is I think he makes those decisions in the best interest of the American people, the best interest of our country. And they tend to have positive implications for the rest of the world.

What he did with Iran, I mean, we don't get the hostages back to Israel if President Trump, Hamas doesn't do that. If he doesn't first take out the nuclear capability in Iran.

We don't get the Abraham accords if he doesn't first put the embassy in Jerusalem. We don't get the European countries to ante up more for NATO if President Trump doesn't take the kind of actions that he has taken.

So, I think the country understands this is a guy who gets results. We trust him. I trust him, and we'll see how this plays out over the next 60 days.

HUNT: Is the president prioritizing foreign concerns over the concerns of Americans here at home?

JORDAN: No. I mean, he's had an amazing year. And I think it's -- I think this next year will be amazing as well.

HUNT: Should Venezuela go on the priority list? Like, what should the president be worried about, first and foremost?

(CROSSTALK)

JORDAN: Run down the list, Kasie. Run down the list. The president -- I always say we make this job too complicated. What did we tell the voters were going to do when we got elected? If you get elected, go do what you said. No one does it better than President Trump.

He said he cut taxes. He did. He said he secured the border. He did. He said he'd get men out of women's sports. He did. He said he'd make sure Iran didn't get nuclear capability. He did. He

said he would do things in the best interest of the country. As I pointed out, taking out Maduro, bringing him to justice is in the best interest of the United States, of the families.

I get the privilege of representing in the fourth district of Ohio and frankly, Americans all across, all across our country.

HUNT: Is it in the best interests of the United States to have America running Venezuela?

JORDAN: I think it's in the best interest of the United States holding someone to justice who we didn't recognize as the head of state, who runs a narco terrorist organization, who was cozying up and playing footsie with --

HUNT: I'm not asking you -- I'm not asking you about that. I understand where you are on the operation itself, the removal of Maduro. But what I don't understand is the president keeps saying we're going to run it. He says that if this new person that they've installed, who is Maduros number two, it's not like they're getting rid of the entire regime here, right? It's not the opposition leader that's coming in.

JORDAN: I think we'll see how that shakes out.

HUNT: And you're comfortable, like you don't have any concerns about that at all?

JORDAN: Well, they're going to brief certain members of congress, I think later today. I assume all members of congress will get briefed at some point in the near future. I trust the leadership of President Trump. I think his track record is unbelievable.

So, let's allow that to play out the way the war powers resolution works is 60 days that they can do. I think he's completely within his authority under that. And as I said, constitutionally and historically as well.

HUNT: And if there are Americans who are in danger for a long period of time because of this action in Venezuela -- I mean, I know, you know, you have family ties to people who serve. Your family has been in service. I mean, there are military families across the country watching this and thinking, okay, what does this mean for my family?

What do you say to those people?

JORDAN: I trust the commander in chief. I think the vast majority of Americans do as well. This guy projects strength.

Again, I -- you look at the track record, you can go to another adversary. You look at Russia. Russia takes Crimea. When President Obama's President Obama is president. And then they go into Ukraine when it's President Biden. Nothing happened when President Trump was there. I think the strength he projects as commander in chief, as the president in the oval office, is something the American people appreciate. And again, I think the facts and the track record point that out.

[16:30:01]

HUNT: Would you be comfortable if he took what happened, what he did in Venezuela, to Colombia and potentially to Greenland, for example?

JORDAN: Again, I'm confident in the president's decision, what he's going to do, that it will be in the best interest of the American people and of our great country. So that's -- those are questions down the road that's not -- that hasn't happened.

What I do know that's happened is a bad guy has been brought to justice. He will get a fair trial in our court system. The greatest justice system ever. He will get that trial in New York, in the southern district of New York. And he was arraigned today.

So that process has begun.

HUNT: All right. Congressman, Mr. Chairman, Jim Jordan, thank you very much for being here.

JORDAN: You got it. Thank you, Kasie.

HUNT: I appreciate it.

All right. Coming up next here in THE ARENA, Venezuela, the latest but maybe not the last. President Trump threatening other global leaders after the strike in Caracas. Our Clarissa Ward on the ground in Colombia. She'll bring us a live report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:27]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have to do something with Mexico.

We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.

REPORTER: Are you considering U.S. action in Cuba?

TRUMP: I think it's just going to fall. I don't think we need any action.

Colombia is very sick to run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: President Trump issuing repeated threats last night against Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, repeatedly claiming the U.S. could take over Greenland, a self-governing territory of a key NATO ally.

This all coming less than 48 hours after the stunning U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is in neighboring Colombia, the capital, Bogota.

Clarissa, how are these leaders responding, and how do you interpret and think about President Trump's words and frame? Considering what we saw over the weekend?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, it was certainly quite the barrage in the space of one evening, a series of threats and warnings to Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Iran, Greenland, as you mentioned. The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, really not mincing his words today in a lengthy and quite fiery post on X, essentially warning President Trump off of even contemplating the idea of some kind of U.S. military intervention here in Colombia.

He talked about the fact that despite his renouncing of weapons as part of his past, he was a former guerrilla, that he would be willing to pick up arms again to defend his homeland. And he warned President Trump that "if there was some kind of U.S. military intervention that you would see a large and fiery response on the streets throughout Colombia from ordinary people writing, if you arrest a president who a good part of my people want and respect, you will unleash a popular jaguar." So a very strong and frankly terse warning to president Trump.

But I would say, Kasie, we've been also talking to people in the presidential office, and CNN has also spoken to the defense minister, Pedro Sanchez, who are really trying to tamp down the rhetoric here, who are saying that the cooperation in terms of law enforcement continues between the U.S. and Colombia. Colombia continues to be the U.S.'s most important strategic ally in terms of its counter-narcotics strategy for the past four decades, and that cooperation is continuing.

We heard a sort of similar tone from Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who pretty much seemed to brush off President Trump's warning that Mexico should, quote, get its act together, saying, listen, that's just the way he talks.

But nonetheless, there is clearly very real concern throughout this region, because what we saw take place over the course of the last few days was very shocking to many. And U.S. meddling and military intervention is anathema to so many countries in this region because of the history of the last few decades. So, we also heard there was another post that I thought was interesting from President Petro, where he said, don't just think Latin America is a nest of criminals poisoning your people. Respect us and read your history.

Again, really issuing that warning to President Trump? Of course. What do we see today? A rather bombastic post from the U.S. State Department saying, quote, this is our and capital letters hemisphere. That is unlikely to calm anyone's anxieties in Latin America, Kasie.

HUNT: Some people referring to that as the Donroe doctrine.

Clarissa Ward in Bogota, Colombia -- Clarissa, thank you very much for that report. Really appreciate it.

And with us now is the retired Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO supreme allied commander. And he is now CNN's senior military analyst.

Admiral, I'm so grateful to have you here today. In the aftermath of all of this.

And, you know, I'd really, honestly like to start by getting your thoughts on what has been accomplished here and then what you view as the biggest risk going forward.

[16:40:02]

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: You started by saying I'm a former supreme allied commander of NATO, which, of course, correct. But, Kasie, for this conversation, I was born in south Florida. I speak Spanish, I've traveled the region extensively, and I was commander of U.S. Southern Command.

I've been to Colombia too many times to count, so I really know the region quite well. I look at what happened last night as a tactical success. My hat is off to chairman of the joint chiefs, Razin Caine, and his entire team's superb tactical execution.

Now, the hard part starts. I think that Marco Rubio is the right person to be running point on this. Like me, he's a South Floridian, Spanish speaking, native Spanish speaker, knows the region deeply, has been seized with this for a couple of decades. He's the right person.

He's got three options. One, he can run the Iraq playbook, bring in a couple of hundred thousand U.S. troops. Not going to happen. No one wants to do that.

Option two, he can work with the remainders from the Maduro group. Seems to be publicly at least. That's where this is trending. Work with the former vice president, now acting President Delcy Rodriguez.

Option three, he could put his shoulder, the U.S. shoulder behind the opposition. Edmundo Gonzalez, the rightfully elected leader, Maria Machado, leader of the opposition party.

I think he's going to go for option two in the short term, because you kind of have to go where the levers of power are. But I hope over time, he'll lean toward that democratically elected opposition.

Final thought, as we say in the Navy, he's going to have to sail a pretty narrow sea. This is a tough one. Between options two and three. It's going to be complicated to the degree anyone can do it. He's the right person.

HUNT: Admiral. Do you -- I mean, considering your deep knowledge of the region, both as you experienced it and also knowing the history of American military adventures in Latin America? Do they tend to work out well for the United States?

STAVRIDIS: It's a mixed bag, for sure. I can think of going back 100 years ago. We had some successful quick interventions in places like Nicaragua and Cuba pre-Castro, certainly Panama, I think, goes down as a success. Grenada, I think, was successful.

On the other hand, we've had a lot of failures in the region as well. When I look at my time just over a decade ago as commander of southern command, I look at Colombia. That was a success. We defeated a communist regime that was trying to take over the legitimate government. Now, Colombia is a free democracy. It hurts my heart to see the U.S. and Colombia drifting apart. I hope we don't go further in that regard, because the Colombians have a very capable military, the best in Latin America, and they will fight.

Let's -- let's hope we don't get to that point.

HUNT: What would you say to the president? I mean, we played kind of what he has had to say about, you know, the warning he had for Mexico. Obviously, what he said about the Colombian president. Then there's the matter of Greenland. I mean, if you're advising him about how far to take this, he clearly wants the world to think he will take it as far as he did with this Maduro seizure.

What do you think is the right course for him?

STAVRIDIS: First and foremost, focus on making Venezuela a success. Put your best people on the problem. Do everything you can to make that come out successfully.

Number two, each of these countries are different. In the United States. We tend to sort of think, hey, everybody south of us, they're all kind of the same. They just speak Spanish down there. None of that is true. Each country is different and unique. Have to respect that.

So with Colombia, my advice would be wait for the next election. You may very likely have someone much more to your liking coming in. In the case of Mexico, huge country, huge economy. Weve got to work with them. Don't go confrontational but push them to go after the drug problem. Provide them resources to do so.

On Greenland, completely different than any of the other circumstances, Kasie. But on Greenland, we should be working with the Danes, with the Greenlanders, and create a real special relationship for Greenland with the United States. We have that, for example, in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.

[16:45:01]

So, my fundamental advice is recognize each country's different, have a different approach in each of them. But job one is Venezuela.

HUNT: All right. Admiral James Stavridis, thank you very much for bringing your expertise to us today, sir. Always appreciate having you.

STAVRIDIS: Thanks, Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next here, a U.S. senator responds to Donald Trump after the Pentagon takes action to punish him for his role in that so-called illegal orders video. Another lawmaker in that video will be here live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK KELLY (R-AZ): Four generations of service to this country earns me the right to speak. Five deferments earns nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:05]

HUNT: All right. This is a live look inside the Capitol. Administration officials are arriving to brief lawmakers on the recent U.S. strike in Venezuela. Looks like it's outside the SCIF there.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, both expected to be there to brief.

Joining me now, Democratic congresswoman from New Hampshire, Maggie Goodlander. She sits on the Armed Services Committee and served as an intelligence officer in the Navy reserves -- naval reserves for over a decade.

Congresswoman, thank you very much for being here.

I'd like to start by asking you, was this operation by the Trump administration to seize Nicolas Maduro legitimate?

REP. MAGGIE GOODLANDER (D-NH): Well, Kasie, thanks for having me. Look, this operation is not something that we were briefed on in advance. And what the -- what the president has done, what the administration has done is to raise so many more questions than they've provided answers to. When the president was asked on Saturday, what comes next, which is the most urgent question in my mind, he said that the answer was that the United States would be running Venezuela.

That is an outrageous, dangerous, suggestion that is not what the people who I represent are looking for.

HUNT: Do you think it's a good thing that Maduro is no longer in power?

GOODLANDER: Maduro was a dictator. He is a thug. And he was a grave disservice to the Venezuelan people. But -- look, here in New Hampshire, we're celebrating today the 250th anniversary of our constitution, I believe what my state has shown the world is that a government of, by and for the people themselves is what we should be aiming towards.

The United States should not be running Venezuela. Anyone who has taken an oath and is in a position of public trust in this country, should be focused on doing their jobs, which is serving the American people.

HUNT: We just heard from the House speaker, Mike Johnson, a few moments ago, I want to play for you what he said. We'll talk about the other side. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It is an operation that did not require prior consent of Congress, prior authorization of Congress. It required notification of Congress. It's well within Article Two.

I know as many details as I can know before going to the SCIF for the classified briefing, but I spoke with the president of United States, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, within hours of the operation commencing. The first call was from Marco Rubio at about 4:00 a.m.

So, they've done everything that they were supposed to do. This was an appropriate action. And we'll get a lot more detail inside, but, they have been talking. All the administration officials have been talking to Senate and House members, on a constant basis since this happened. And this is a big part of their -- of their obligation there.

We'll have a further briefing for all members of Congress sometime by midweek. That's what we're planning. And we'll keep you posted. Thanks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Congresswoman, do you agree? Do you believe that the Trump administration has met its responsibility to congress in the course of these events?

GOODLANDER: Look, under our Constitution, the United States congress has war powers for very good reasons. We have the constitutional responsibility for declaring war. We've got the power of the purse.

And what we've seen at every turn is, is a president and an executive branch that is prepared to ignore, usurp and outright thwart the will of the Congress. And what we've seen from the speaker and unfortunately, from far too many of my Republican colleagues is unwillingness to actually stand up to do their jobs and to assert the essential role of Congress in questions of war and peace.

These are questions that go to the core -- the most profound questions that a government could ever have to answer, and decisions that we'd ever have to make. Questions about life or death, questions about American taxpayer dollars.

And we've got lessons that we should have already learned about wars that we've undertaken in recent years. And the cost of those wars in lives and in dollars. And this, this president apparently hasn't learned those lessons.

HUNT: Very briefly, before I let you go, what was your reaction to learning that the Pentagon was planning to dock the retirement pay of Mark Pelly, Senator Mark Kelly, for his participation in the video.

GOODLANDER: Senator Mark Kelly is an American patriot. He has devoted his life to our country. I am so proud to be working alongside him, and I've really loved working with him because he's a person who believes deeply in the oath that he's taken to our Constitution.

[16:55:04]

And he's a person who I was proud to stand with in stepping up and speaking up to say what the law says. And it is -- it speaks volumes of this administration that in response to that, they would -- in response to his lifetime of service to this country, they would use --

HUNT: Yeah.

GOODLANDER: -- the tools of government to punish him. This is about -- they're trying to intimidate and silence us, but one thing I know about Mark Kelly is he's never going to give up the ship.

HUNT: All right. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, thank you so much for taking some time with us today. I really appreciate it.

GOODLANDER: Thank you.

HUNT: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: All right. Thanks to my panel for being here today. Really appreciate all of you.

Thanks to you at home for watching as well. Always appreciate it. Happy New Year.

"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.