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Trial Begins for Former Officer Over Uvalde School Massacre; Trump Issues Warnings to Multiple Countries After Venezuela Strike; Trump Says U.S. Needs Greenland from Standpoint of National Security; Anxiety Around Globe After U.S. Operation In Venezuela. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 05, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: CNN has learned that Adrian Gonzalez, the first officer to arrive, was on scene for more than a minute before the gunman entered the building. For years now, the community has accused law enforcement of failing to intervene sooner, and now for the first time, we're getting a clearer picture of how some crucial opportunities to stop him may have been lost.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is part of the team breaking down these details. He's in Corpus Christi, where the trial is being held. Shimon, first, walk us through what happened in court. Looks like we're having some issues there with Shimon Prokupecz's shot. We will work to get it back online as soon as possible and bring you an update on what will be a difficult chapter for the folks in that community.

Plenty more news to come, including the subsequent actions after the daring operation in Venezuela over the weekend. President Trump now threatening military action in other countries. We'll discuss in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00]

SANCHEZ: We want to go back out to Shimon Prokupecz live in Corpus Christi, Texas, where a former Uvalde school officer is on trial for allegations that he failed to respond to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Shimon, do you have new details about jury selection and what happened?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, so far we know that this has been going on all morning. We've seen hundreds of people filing in -- prospective jurors.

Several have been dismissed. We don't have a jury yet, but we're told from the pool inside that the judge said he intends to try and get a jury together today. And as they're going through the questioning of these potential jurors, they're asking them obvious questions about how much exposure have they had to this case, how much they have heard and whether or not they could be impartial at this point. You know, there's a lot that the prosecutors are going to present in this case. And one of the key pieces of evidence that they're going to present is Adrian Gonzalez, that former school police officer, his own words in a statement, in a video recorded statement that he gave to investigators just the day after the shooting, describing what was happening, what he was doing. And there was this one moment where an investigator asks him about why the officers didn't go after the gunman.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you guys made that entry into the hallway, there was four of you. Did anyone in that group of four say, hey, we need to go down this hallway and we need to find this shooter?

ADRIAN GONZALES, FORMER UVALDE SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE OFFICER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No?

GONZALES: No. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you think about that or did it ever cross your mind?

GONZALES: It did cross our mind, you know, but we just never, nobody ever made, you know, we were just covering each other, you know, that's what basically we were doing in a hall of the ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And that's the key there, Boris. What he's talking about is cover, is the officers in so many ways protecting themselves. Now this video has not been made public.

We've been able to obtain it through sources. And as part of our preparation for this trial, we use this video, body camera footage and surveillance footage that has not been made public to put together this analysis. And certainly we found in our analysis that perhaps critical moments that could have stopped the shooter were missed.

SANCHEZ: Shimon Prokupecz and Corpus Christi for us. Thank you so much.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Returning to our top story this hour, emboldened by the successful military strikes in Venezuela and by the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, President Trump has since issued a barrage of threats, you might say, against various countries around the globe.

SANCHEZ: Yes, those warnings targeted Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Iran, even Greenland. CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now. Kristen, President Trump has talked openly about his ambitions for Greenland, but obviously it is a territory that is governed by Denmark.

How are they responding?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And part of the European Union and this idea of getting Greenland seems like something that would be almost almost impossible to do. Now, President Trump has talked about this extensively, as you mentioned, talking about how it's a national security issue. That's why the United States needs to control Greenland.

He brought it up again last night. So he does seem to be somewhat emboldened by this capture of Maduro as he is talking about places that he would like the U.S. to essentially take over. And just a note on Greenland, we do have a strategic military base, an American military base in Greenland that works on missiles.

We have -- it is located in a very important place, naval corridor between the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. But again, there is no indication that Greenland is for the taking. And this is what we heard from the prime minister of Denmark, said, "It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland. I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale."

In addition to that, there were a lot of European leaders who took issue with the fact that President Trump was looping Greenland in with Venezuela at all, particularly given the fact that the capture of Maduro was based on an indictment and what the United States says, the fact that he was a fugitive from American justice, which has nothing to do with Greenland.

SANCHEZ: Nothing at all. Kristen Holmes, live from the White House. Thank you so much.

Let's discuss more with Rufus Gifford. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Greenland under President Obama. Ambassador, thank you for being with us.

One of the claims from President Trump is that Greenland is swarming with Russian and Chinese ships, that that is a grave national security concern. How accurate is that portrayal?

[14:40:00]

And how do those U.S. adversaries view Greenland? Are they vying for influence or access there?

RUFUS GIFFORD, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I guess, first of all, thank you, Boris. And just to it's a clarification, I was the U.S. ambassador to Denmark, which included Greenland, of course. So, look, one, the statement that Donald Trump said on Air Force One yesterday is patently false.

The idea that Greenland is swarming with Russian and Chinese naval ships is just inaccurate by every -- by every definition. That being said, look, Greenland, as your reporter just mentioned, is strategically located. It is important that we take the Arctic seriously, that we respond to what I believe are Russian threats in the Arctic. And that is real.

But the problem with Trump's entire argument, and this is what Americans need to understand, is that this is what NATO was built for. Remember, Greenland is part of NATO because Denmark was a founding member of NATO.

So just like Article 5 says to all of us, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. So even considering the unthinkable that, say, the Russians or the Chinese were to attack Greenland in some way, that is no different based on our NATO rules than an attack on the U.S. mainland or an attack on Canada or Norway or any of the other NATO countries. So the justification Trump uses is so inherently flawed.

And even connecting it to Venezuela, Boris, it's kind of an extraordinary thing to do. Because we have to remember that this is bigger than Denmark and Greenland, in my mind. This is about the world order that we know.

Remember, when he is talking about some sort of hostile takeover of Greenland, which he has certainly not taken off the table, this would be the first time in history that the United States would attack in some way a NATO ally. And by doing so, in my mind, and I think we need to be talking about this this way, undermining the rule of law and, frankly, the Western way of life that has governed us for the last 80 years. This is an unprecedented, extraordinarily irresponsible position that the Trump administration has taken vis-a-vis Denmark and Greenland.

And I want to see extraordinarily strong, equally strong responses, not just from congressional Democrats, the Republicans that still have a spine and can stand up to Donald Trump, and also European NATO leaders who understand that this is about them in the same way that this is about Denmark and Greenland. This is about what we have fought for and the societies that we have built for the last 80 years.

SANCHEZ: If that was my next question, how you view the response so far from the Europeans, the prime minister in Greenland calling Trump's rhetoric disrespectful. Do you imagine there's going to be a more forceful response than that to put this idea to bed for good?

GIFFORD: Listen, I hope so, Boris. And this is what I advocate for every day. I think we need to make it extraordinarily clear to the Trump administration that this is off the table.

Look, I am all for, and this is what I worked on as ambassador, a closer relationship between the United States and Greenland. Let's talk about mining minerals in Greenland. Let's talk about further military investment in Greenland.

But this should be off the table. And what I want to see are the Brits, the Canadians, the French, together, and the rest of NATO, together with the Danes and the Greenlanders saying that this is off the table. And just like Article 5 of NATO states, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

And that's how we should be talking about it. But the responsibility falls with us first, Boris. We need to ensure that Democrats and, again, folks who have stood up for the rule of law, for international law for as long as we've been a country, Democrats and like-minded Republicans need to stand up to the Trump administration on this.

It is absolutely vital because this, if he were to do this, if there was to be some sort of hostile takeover of Greenland, this would rewrite the rules that we have been governed by for the last 80 years. And I think that that is an extraordinarily tragic thing.

SANCHEZ: Former ambassador to Denmark, Rufus Gifford, thank you so much for the time.

There is worldwide concern over the situation in Venezuela. Up next, how Saturday's U.S. military operation could impact America's role and its relationships around the globe.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Numerous countries around the world are condemning the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolas Maduro. Several Latin American countries, along with Russia and China, are also demanding his release. During today's emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, the secretary general said he is deeply concerned about the impact of Washington's actions and that rules of international law have not been respected. Russia's envoy accused the U.S. of creating momentum for neocolonialism and imperialism.

Joining me now to discuss is Beth Sanner. She's CNN national security analyst and, of course, a former deputy director of national intelligence. So, Beth, when we look at where things stand in this moment, does this embolden American adversaries like Russia, like China, when it comes to perhaps Ukraine or Taiwan?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think it's kind of a double-edged sword in some ways. First, I think, you know, is it going to change what Russia or China actually does? This is somehow, you know, change their game plans.

I don't actually think it does. I think they're pretty clear on what they want to accomplish. What it really does change is perhaps the rhetoric around some of their activities and, you know, how they would justify things.

But I think it's really, really important to understand that China does not see Taiwan in the same way that we look at Venezuela or they look at Venezuela.

[14:50:00]

It's really, really important to understand that China does not see Taiwan in the same way that we look at Venezuela or they look at Venezuela. Venezuela is a sovereign country.

China is not seen as a sovereign country by China, right? That's why they try to get everyone in the world to break off diplomatic relations with them. And so they wouldn't say that what we did in Venezuela justifies what they would do in Taiwan, because Taiwan is one China, part of one China.

So it doesn't really have an implication in that way. But maybe it opens up a little bit more in terms of how they describe what we do.

HILL: Does it in any way, when we look at the power or the influence that China, for example, has in Venezuela or the impact there, does it in any way diminish that or does it embolden that as well?

SANNER: Well, I think that, you know, this is a really good point. China has enormous investments in Venezuela. It's like the fourth biggest investment that they've made over time in the world.

And so they've sunk a lot of money in and Venezuela owes them a ton of money, you know, maybe around $100 billion, 60 billion. I don't know what it is, but it is a lot.

HILL: It is a lot.

SANNER: And so China, interestingly, has really softened in some way their rhetoric around the changes being made. And they're watching very closely what is actually happening here. Is it just Maduro out?

Because, well, you know, we can work with and we intend to work with the new whoever's in charge because we're going to protect our economic interests. And this is typical China, transactional, all about us, right? They're going to protect their money no matter who's in charge.

HILL: We've been talking a lot this hour about Greenland, right? And we heard some really strong language from Germany's foreign minister talking about it. He was saying if we need to strengthen NATO's response in some areas, we will.

Just talking about what this means to have the president threatening again in many ways to go to go after Greenland. How much is this sort of upsetting the world order and the way that the U.S. is perceived in that other nations will be dealing with the United States?

SANNER: Exactly. And I think that this is the most important point, right? What is being shown here is that, sure, we can sanction people.

Sure, we can go to the U.N. and complain. But what really matters? Hard power and having the most capable military force in the world.

And that's what we have. And so other countries now, either our adversaries building up our allies. Well, in Europe, they're actually thinking, gosh, you know, not only do we have to defend ourselves against Russia because maybe the United States isn't going to do that anymore.

Maybe we're going to let Russia have that sphere of influence. They don't know. So they have to spend more. We've spent more as the globe on military spending in 19, 19 -- in 2025 we spent more in that year than in the previous 10 years. And every year for the past decade, military spending in the globe has gone up and up and up.

And what will this do? More and more. And I think that this is a real question for a lot of governments and for people around the world.

Do you want your government to be spending this money on military things or do we want to spend it on health care and, you know, things that matter to people who are living in the country?

HILL: Yes.

SANNER: And I think that some of the MAGA base for Trump is they're asking that same question.

HILL: Yes.

SANNER: But this question about Greenland, maybe the question isn't so much how does it embolden China, but how does how much does it embolden this administration to go and against other countries? Cuba, Mexico, Colombia.

HILL: Yes.

SANNER: You name it.

HILL: We'll be watching. Beth, always good to talk to you. Thank you.

SANNER: Thanks.

HILL: Still ahead here, the Pentagon moving to punish retired war hero Senator Mark Kelly for participating in a video to U.S. troops. The latest move ahead.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Taking a look at some of the other headlines we are watching this hour.

President Trump says he can and will be sending National Guard forces to major cities again in the future. This, despite a Supreme Court ruling last month that blocked his administration from deploying troops to Chicago. Last week, the president announced he was withdrawing troops from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland.

But when asked specifically about redeploying troops to Portland, here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The crime will soon start because they now know that we're out. And at the appropriate time we'll go back in and we may, if we're allowed to, the most powerful thing we have, we haven't used, the Insurrection Act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy the military inside the U.S. to stop rebellion or domestic violence.

SANCHEZ: Also, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon is moving to cut Senator Mark Kelly's military retirement pay for participating in that illegal orders video. Hegseth says the former Navy captain's punishment will also include a letter of censure. Remember, Kelly was one of six Democratic lawmakers who took part in this video reminding U.S. service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders. Kelly says he plans to fight the action and will not be intimidated.

Meantime, in Paris, 10 people have been convicted of cyberbullying France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, by spreading false claims that she's a transgender woman who was born male. The eight men and two women were also found guilty of making multiple malicious comments, including equating the 24-year age gap between the first lady and her husband, the president, Emmanuel Macron, to pedophilia.

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