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Maduro Arrives at New York Courthouse for First Appearance; Interview with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): Trump Says the U.S. was going to run Venezuela; Trump Threatens Military Action in Colombia. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 05, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Maria Machado, she not only has the support and respect of the Venezuelan people, they proved so when they went out and voted. Defying the terror and oppression of this dictatorship and voted massively for the standing because she had been banned from running by Maduro. And she is -- she's got the support of the international community.

But let us remember that the EU and many of the democratic countries never also recognized Maduro as the president because everybody knows he committed fraud. And as to why he's doing it now, look, I think part of this is Trump's ego. I think he loves being the big man on campus in the Western Hemisphere. I think it's part of pleasing the base, of, you know, the people in South Florida have been very unhappy with the deportations and the removals of TPS.

And these are people who supported him strongly. The Venezuelan community, the Cuban American community, the Nicaraguan American community, and they are overjoyed about this. And I think part of it is because he also saw Maduro goading him and mocking him in videos and dancing and singing kind of almost goading him to do this. I do think Trump thought getting rid of Maduro was going to be a lot easier than it proved to be. I thought -- I think he thought that Maduro was going to scare a lot easier.

It has been four plus months of military operations off the coast of Venezuela at a cost of, I am sure, over a billion dollars. Nobody has told us how much this has cost. So I think once he invested in this and once he moved a fourth of the naval assets off the coast of Venezuela, he was too invested to take his toys and go home without a trophy.

My worry is that now that he has this trophy of Maduro and he has this to show and show off, he will allow all those other Maduro accomplices and Chavistas to remain in power. The political prisoners have not been released in Venezuela. What are we waiting for?

If we are running the country, and if we are running the policy, what are we waiting for to tell those Maduro accomplices that they must release every political prisoner now? I don't get it.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and they had hold of Americans as well. Ana Navarro, thank you to you and Meghan Hayes. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we are on top and tracking the breaking news this morning. Just moments ago, the ousted and deposed leader of Venezuela was seen arriving in that armored vehicle you see right there, surrounded. Surrounded by agents, you see the ousted and deposed former leader of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arriving to a federal courthouse in New York. This is where they will be making a first court appearance on U.S. soil.

Maduro was transferred by helicopter from Brooklyn, where he'd been held in a detention facility since Saturday, and he's about to face charges on drug -- drugs charges, weapons charges, and narco- conspiracy charges as well. He and his wife were captured in that dramatic U.S. military operation in Venezuela early Saturday morning.

Huge questions still unanswered. Now, more than two days later, why did President Trump order this attack and why now this intervention? Was it legal? And who exactly is now running Venezuela?

Delcy Rodriguez, who was just being discussed with Sara and the others. Maduro's number two is now the acting president, though President Trump told reporters as he returned to Washington last night that the U.S. is in charge and will, quote, run everything.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is outside this federal courthouse in New York, where this is all about to take place. What is going to happen today? What have you seen so far, Omar?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, just a stunning change in circumstances for who was previously the leader of Venezuela just a little bit over 48 hours ago, leaving from Venezuela, now here in New York City with his wife in United States federal custody and at the federal complex behind me now, where we expect him to be in court at noon Eastern time today. Where he will be facing charges that include drug trafficking and weapons charges laid out in a more than 20-page indictment signed by the U.S. attorney here in the Southern District of New York.

It is part of the justification that the Trump administration used to capture and arrest Maduro in that stunning operation that brought him from the country through the Caribbean up here to New York City.

[08:05:00]

But also, it is going to really begin this legal process and give us insight to what this legal process will look like for what was previously a head of state, whether the U.S. government viewed that head of state as legitimate or not. He was sort of the de facto leader.

But now we actually see what these court proceedings will look like moving forward, what the defenses will be as well. And again, just a stunning change. And it will be interesting to see what this actually looks like, long line waiting to get in. A lot of eyes will be on this hearing, no matter how long it is, even though it's to be our preliminary one -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Omar, thank you so much for being there. Omar Jimenez is outside the courthouse for us in Manhattan -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, a presidential clarification on a clarification. Saturday, the president said the U.S. was going to run Venezuela. Sunday morning, the Secretary of State seemed to try to clean that up a bit, saying that what was meant was that the U.S. would use the oil embargo to keep pressure on Venezuela. But then last night, the president seemed to muddy it up once again.

(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'll be very controversial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does that mean?

TRUMP: It means we're in charge. We're going to run everything. We're going to run it, fix it. We're in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful and where the oil is allowed to freely come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, nice to see you this morning, who do you think is running Venezuela?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, John, it's good to be with you. We really don't know who's running Venezuela, other than the fact that the vice president, Maduro's number two, is currently in charge, as is the Maduro Secretary of Defense and Interior Minister. So Donald Trump says we're running Venezuela. He wants to run Venezuela, even though we have all these challenges here at home.

And he wants to do it, John, for one purpose. And he said it again. He wants U.S. oil companies to be able to grab Venezuela oil.

At the end of the day, that's what this is all about. In Donald Trump's mind, I would just remind people that when he was talking about Iraq, Donald Trump said the big mistake we made was we didn't grab Iraq's oil. And so he has put our troops, who perform magnificently, he's put their lives at risk so that more American oil companies can make profits in Venezuela and his billionaire buddies on Wall Street can benefit.

BERMAN: Of course, both Democrats and Republicans agree that Maduro was an illegitimate leader in Venezuela, the loser of the last election. Let me put it to you this way. Are Venezuelans better off with Nicholas Maduro in a federal courthouse in Manhattan today?

HOLLEN: Well, the issue, John, is about the United States, right? What is in our interest? And it is not in our interest to use the United States military to go all over the world as the world's policeman going after bad leaders. There are lots of them.

And in fact, Donald Trump cozies up every day to many of them. He defers to Putin. He sits down with terrible authoritarian leaders every day around the world. So the question is, what's best for the people of the United States?

And I will say that Donald Trump clearly doesn't care about the people of Venezuela either, because he's not talking about trying to bring democracy back. to Venezuela. You heard him say that he did not want the opposition leader back in. What he wants, he's telling us he wants Venezuelan oil for U.S. oil companies.

BERMAN: Well, what I asked you was, are Venezuelans better off with Maduro in a federal courthouse? I'll ask you about Americans. Are Americans, do you think, better off this morning with the men we're seeing on our screen right now? Nicholas Maduro out of power in Venezuela inside a Manhattan courthouse.

HOLLEN: No, Americans are not better off, because we now have a situation where, while we're trying to deal with all these issues here at home, including rising healthcare costs, because Donald Trump and Republicans allowed those tax credits to lapse for middle-class families, instead of focusing on those issues that are important to the American people, Donald Trump says he wants to run Venezuela. And now he's also talking about going after Colombia, Cuba, and Greenland. The American people are not better off with all of that.

And on top of that, John, what he is signaling, what Donald Trump is signaling to people like Putin and Xi is that we're going to do whatever we want in our neighborhood, in our sphere of influence. And the implication is you go ahead and do whatever you want in your neighborhoods, which shows us why he's been -- why Trump's been so weak when it comes to Putin. He thinks, you know, Ukraine is maybe Putin's to grab.

And it also sends this terrible message to President Xi that, you know, Taiwan's in your backyard, go for it. So, no, this is really harming the interests of the American people.

[08:10:00]

BERMAN: There are some Democrats who, not on the record, unnamed Democrats who are telling news outlets that they're unhappy with the somewhat universal condemnation by Democratic Party leaders of this action. Axios has some blind quotes from people they say are Democratic lawmakers.

One who said, quote, "Nuance is dead in politics." This person was complaining that all Democrats were just condemning this. "Everything Trump touches must be bad, according to the base." This person continued, "I think it looks this weak ... If you don't acknowledge when there is a win for our country, then you lose all credibility."

The implication here that in a way we're doing removing Maduro is a win. What do you think of this criticism apparently coming from a Democrat?

HOLLEN: Well, John, you know, I wish they would come out, you know, on the record. We can have a healthy debate. I think the American people. Whether they agree with you or disagree with you, they want to know where you stand. And so those Democrats really should come out and on the record, let's have a debate.

This is not a win for the American people. Running Venezuela and talking about putting American lives at risk to go into Colombia or Cuba or wherever it may be is not in our interests. This is why you have many Republicans who are on the record saying that this is a bad idea. Including people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who says, you know, Donald Trump, you promised to keep us out of these kind of conflicts. And now you are sinking us ever deeper into more and more conflicts when we've got all these challenges here at home.

I mean, Donald Trump has been talking about putting a health care plan on the table for over 15 years. He hasn't done so. Instead, what he's doing is going after, you know, foreign leaders, cozying up to some and going after others. We should be focused on these issues here at home.

BERMAN: Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland. This discussion, I think, will continue over the coming weeks. We've really entered a new uncharted era. Thank you -- Sara.

SIDNER: Indeed it will. And straight ahead, we continue to bring you our latest coverage of ousted Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro will soon make his first appearance before a judge this morning in Manhattan.

And 10 people now convicted of online harassment of France's First Lady Bridget Macron. The latest we're learning this morning on their sentences.

Plus, the weight loss drug Wegovy launches a one per day pill in the United States. A lot of interest in that too, all those stories and more ahead.

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Breaking news this morning, the ousted and deposed president of Venezuela and his wife are in New York City and were just transported, as we've been watching it all morning, transported to a federal courthouse in New York, about to face a judge for the first time. Nicolas Maduro is facing drug and weapons charges.

Joining us right now for what is going to happen inside that courtroom now, Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. So Elie, what will we know by the end of this appearance by the end of this day in court?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Sure Kate. So Maduro and his wife will be arraigned. They will surely enter pleas of not guilty. The court will make sure that they have lawyers appointed for them. So that's one new thing we will know.

Will Maduro and his wife go out and hire their own private defense counsel? Will there be temporary court-appointed counsel? So we'll get a sense of who exactly will handle this defense representation.

And then the most important thing I think we'll learn today, Kate, is what does the schedule look like moving forward? What types of defense motions does Maduro intend to bring? He surely has some motions that are quite unusual.

I'm sure that he will argue that his arrest violates international law, that he's entitled to immunity, and that this prosecution cannot proceed. So I think that by the end of the day today, we'll have a sense of both what types of defenses and motions Maduro intends to bring and what sort of a timeline are we like between now and trial.

BOLDUAN: And how much discretion does the judge have here on how fast or slow things will move?

HONIG: Almost complete discretion, Kate. So federal judges vary quite a bit in how quickly or slowly they tend to move cases. There's about 40 or so federal judges in that courthouse. This judge, Alvin Hellerstein, is a senior judge. He tends to be in sort of the middle of the pack with respect to how quickly he moves things.

There are some judges who would try to push a case like this to trial in, let's say, eight to 10 to 12 months. There are others who would allow a slower pace and allow it to drag on a year, a year and a half, maybe two years. So I think Judge Hellerstein is sort of in the middle of that group, but yes, enormous discretion sits with the federal judge with respect to how quickly things move.

BOLDUAN: The Trump administration has justified Maduro's capture, citing a legal opinion associated with Manuel Noriega. But what does this federal case look like, would you think?

HONIG: So there will be arguments over whether the capture of Maduro was legal or not. There is precedent. There is DOJ opinion.

There are court opinions that suggest or say that even if the capture itself was illegal in a foreign country, that does not mean that the federal United States indictment has to get dismissed. Once the prosecutors get past that hurdle, if they do, then they'll proceed to trial. And this case will look, in some senses, like other cases against massive international narcotics traffickers.

The allegations in the indictment are that Maduro and his wife essentially used their corrupt political power in Venezuela to move hundreds or thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. They used weaponry. They used money laundering. They partnered with other drug trafficking cartels.

All of that, according to the indictment. So this is going to be an enormous trial. When it does happen, it's going to be elaborate.

[08:20:00] It's going to require a lot of proof and count on Maduro and his wife up intense spirited defenses for themselves.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Elie, thanks for coming in. Lot more to learn today.

HONIG: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Ahead, sources telling CNN, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is reconsidering his reelection bid and is expected to make a decision later this morning. Governor Walz has faced increased scrutiny, as you know, over allegations of fraud at childcare centers in his state.

Plus, this morning, coastal flood watches are in effect across parts of California after downpours and high tides caused flooding, road closures, and rescues of people trapped in cars. We'll take you there.

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SIDNER: This morning, there is a massive military mobilization along the border between Colombia and Venezuela.

[08:25:00]

Colombia has moved 30,000 troops to the Venezuelan border following the U.S. strikes in Venezuela and capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife. But the rhetoric from President Trump also has the entire region on edge. President Trump is threatening Colombian President Gustavo Petro directly, calling him a, quote, sick man and not ruling out military action similar to what happened in Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Colombia is very sick, too, 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. He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories. He's not going to be doing it very long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So there will be an operation by the U.S.

TRUMP: It sounds good to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's David Culver is joining us now from the Colombian- Venezuelan border. Just give us a sense of what you are seeing there after these really stark words, threatening words, really, from the president to the Colombian president.

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sara, you can see this is the international bridge. This takes you from where we are, Columbia and just few feet that direction to Venezuela. In fact, everything that you see behind me past this river, that's Venezuela. And you see a lot of these folks -- I mean, this is a typical Monday

morning commute that they'll go back and forth. Some of them for business reasons, something to visit family. We've even seen folks who have come from Venezuela into Colombia just to visit their doctor. And then an hour later, we'll go back.

So right now, seemingly calm, But the uncertainty certainly exists. When you talk to folks who are coming from Venezuela, walking towards Colombia, it's really interesting because some don't really want to say much. They rather keep quiet and continue on with their lives, realizing there could be repercussions once they reenter Venezuela.

Others are more candid, saying that they're happy to see that Maduro is gone, that he's no longer there. At the same time they don't believe any change is going to be imminent for their daily lives.

And the same is said for the folks on the Colombian side. I mean, we spent a lot of yesterday in essentially migrant settlements in Colombia. And you've got the largest Venezuelan diaspora in Colombia, nearly 3 million Venezuelans. And many of them say, of course, they have hopes to go back. It's why they didn't continue along the way, all the way to the U.S., like so many migrants we've met in recent years.

Instead, they've stayed in the neighboring country, Colombia, hoping that one day there would be a change that would allow them back into Venezuela, their homeland. But again, they say this is a pause, a moment perhaps of some hope but skepticism as to what really will change, if anything. So that's why they're still in a holding pattern and that really making any setting moves.

Now, Sara, you mentioned that military mobilization. We spent several hours late for the night. going along with the Colombian army as they're patrolling the Venezuelan-Colombian border. And you say they have some 30,000 troops. That's something they're really trying to stress, if anything, to send a message to Washington.

Because as you point out, the rhetoric is very strong from the Trump administration towards the Colombian president, as well as a lot of the leaders here. But we spoke just a short time ago, our team to the Minister of Defense here in Colombia, And one of the things he's really trying to redirect is the messaging of saying, hey, this isn't about targeting nations so much as criminal groups, organizations that are trying to smuggle drugs.

And he said that's what he's hoping the U.S. will focus on, Sara, as they're ideally, as he says, working together with their longest ally in the fight against drugs, Colombia. But right now, they're also focused on a potential diaspora should things change in Venezuela.

SIDNER: Yes, certainly. Certainly that the president of the United States is focused on the president of Colombia having some harsh words to say there. We'll see how this all plays out. And I know you'll be bringing us the very latest from the border there with Colombia and Venezuela. Appreciate it, David Culver, to you and your team -- John.

BERMAN: Incredible having him there on that bridge.

All right, breaking overnight, a major development in the weight loss industry, a new once-a-day pill hits the market.

And the first criminal trial over the failed response to the Uvalde school shooting begins this morning. We've got new exclusive reporting on what the officer on trial was told minutes before the gunman entered the building.

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