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Maduro Defiant amid Escalating Showdown with U.S.; Trump Hints at Possible Ground Action in Venezuela; Witkoff Expected to Meet with Zelenskyy and European Leaders; Taylor Swift's "End of an Era" Series Now on Disney+; King Charles III Gives Rare Update on Cancer Journey; Richard Quest Learns to Manage Boarding, Prevent "Gate Lice". Aired 3- 4a ET
Aired December 13, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hey, everybody, I'm Polo Sandoval, joining you live from New York. This is CNN NEWSROOM and here's coming your way, the next 30 minutes of news.
A defiant president Nicolas Maduro warning the United States not to take further action against Venezuela but signals from the White House indicate that the U.S. is not finished.
President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, heads to Berlin to meet with Ukrainian and European leaders and this ahead of what could be a decisive week in the negotiations to end the war with Russia.
And navigating boarding nightmares ahead of the holiday travel rush, our Richard Quest sees firsthand how airlines try -- keyword is try -- to keep passengers calm and everyone on board.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.
SANDOVAL: All right. So let's begin with a new message of defiance coming from Venezuela amid an escalating standoff with the United States. President Nicolas Maduro spoke on Friday and said, pretty much, you don't know who you're dealing with.
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NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): Our historic rebelliousness, the deep fusion of that rebelliousness, that some in the world still do not understand because we are who we are and because their formula of lies, pressure, blackmail and threats does not work with us. It does not work and it never will.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: U.S. President Donald Trump also spoke on Friday and did not rule out seizing more Venezuelan oil assets. He also hinted again at possible military action on land, suggesting that the U.S. could go after drug traffickers there.
And Mr. Trump spoke after the U.S. seized this oil tanker near Venezuela. The ship was reportedly carrying almost 2 million barrels of oil bound for Cuba, which says that the seizure will worsen their energy crisis there.
And that seizure, it is part of the U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuela that has been going on for months now. But as Kevin Liptak reports, president Trump is still struggling to come up with a clear justification for it.
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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's pressure campaign on the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro, opened a new front this week with the seizure of that oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
The president, looking to target Caracas' number one foreign export as he increases the pressure on that country. And it is now on top of that massive military buildup in the region, 15,000 American troops now poised in the Caribbean Sea as the president determines a path forward.
Now this week, the president added an additional rationale for the pressure, saying that the seizure of that tanker was also due in part to a flow of undocumented migrants from Venezuela to the United States, saying that Venezuela had allowed millions of people to come into our country.
And so you have multiple pieces of rationale here that the president has cited, whether it's the flow of drugs, as the president targets those alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, or sanctions enforcement when it comes to that oil tanker.
Now the president, citing migration, it all leads to a somewhat muddled picture of what the president's goals here are in Venezuela. Now late this week, the administration also announced new sanctions, including on three nephews of the wife of Maduro, as well as six energy companies associated with Venezuelan oil exports.
But the president hasn't so far ordered up those strikes on land in Venezuela that he says will be happening soon. And I do think that that speaks to some of the reservations that the president has here.
You know, he has stopped short of ordering up a ground invasion. He's stopped short of ordering actions to actively try and oust Maduro.
And what we've heard from officials is that the president has voiced reservations about miring the United States in a prolonged conflict, about what would happen if some of these efforts backfired. And certainly he is also of the era who will remember failed U.S. interventions in Latin America, whether it's in Nicaragua or Cuba or Panama.
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So the president remained -- remains somewhat unsure about which path to take forward. I think his best case scenario would be that Maduro leaves voluntarily and that the U.S. finds him somewhere to live, essentially in exile.
But so far, it does not appear as if that is something that Maduro is considering. And it all leaves the president to ratchet up the pressure and ratchet up the threats without any clear picture of where this all might be headed -- Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.
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SANDOVAL: This standoff is now jeopardizing one of the very few areas where Washington and Caracas see, at least partly, eye to eye. Stefano Pozzebon reports from Caracas.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The pressure against the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is indeed growing, especially here in Caracas, where, on Friday, a regular flight that would have brought back hundreds of undocumented Venezuelan migrants to their homeland did not take place.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement, accusing Washington of unilaterally suspending these flights, which occurred fairly regularly about twice a week as part of an agreement that would have allowed Washington to deport many undocumented migrants, especially Venezuelan migrants, back to their homeland.
The White House told CNN that that was not true. However, they did not elaborate any further.
And these flights in the last few weeks and months have been one of the very few areas of cooperation between the two governments to coordinate the arrival of these flights, which are taking place directly from the United States and landing directly here in Venezuela.
An area of cooperation that had been occurring despite the intense standoff between Donald Trump, in particular the U.S. president, and Venezuelan authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro.
On Friday afternoon this standoff was all too visible when the Venezuelan defense minister took to the airwaves to issue this statement in response to what he called provocative flights from the U.S. Air Force.
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VLADIMIR PADRINO LOPEZ, VENEZUELAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Let's not fool ourselves around Venezuela. We've seen efforts to intimidate us, sending United States armed aircraft close to our coasts. I -- we with great humility, we say, don't fool yourselves. We're ready to defend this country.
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POZZEBON: Over the last few weeks and days, we've seen more and more U.S. aircraft flying very close to the Venezuelan coastline. In some cases, it's fighter jets like F-18 or F-35 or also bombers like the B- 52s.
These are seen by analysts either as a provocation and a show of force to put further pressure on Maduro but also as a tactic to gather further intelligence on Venezuelan facilities and air defense structures.
Especially as the U.S. president Donald Trump, even on Friday night, said that direct actions inside Venezuelan soil, which could well be strikes, could happen indeed very, very soon -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.
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SANDOVAL: And then there's the harrowing escape of Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Machado, which -- she left Venezuela to receive that Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
U.S. Special Forces veteran Bryan Stern helps run Grey Bull Rescue, which helps extract people from dangerous situations involved in this latest case. Here's what he told CNN about the efforts to get Machado safely to Norway
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BRYAN STERN, FOUNDER, GREY BULL RESCUE FOUNDATION: This week in particular, because of the Nobel Prize, made this operation significantly more high-risk than we've ever done before. Overwhelmingly, this is the hardest, most high-profile, most delicate operation we've conducted.
Maria is known as the Iron Lady and she absolutely lives up to that name. She is a very, very, very resolute and tough -- just tough leader and tough woman. When we were on the boat together, we talked about this and I begged her not to go back.
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SANDOVAL: Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi has reportedly been arrested by Iranian authorities. Her foundation citing her brother, saying that Mohammadi was violently detained by security and police forces.
The arrest came during a memorial ceremony for a lawyer recently found dead in his office. Mohammadi won the Peace Prize in 2023 for her work as a human rights activist. She has spent most of the last two decades in prison due to her criticism of the Iranian government.
The White House says its special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend. The gathering will be coming as president Donald Trump seeks to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine before the end of the year.
The leaders of France, the U.K. and Germany are also expected to be in Berlin for this meeting. The German chancellor says that the same leaders told president Trump earlier this week that only the Ukrainians can decide whether to concede territory as part of their peace deal with Russia.
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And a source within Ukrainian security services says that they attacked two Russian oil platforms in the Caspian Sea. The agency used long-range drones in the attack on Friday. One of the targets is this large deposit with substantial oil and gas reserves and it was struck by Ukraine earlier this week.
Both facilities are owned by the same Russian oil extraction company. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure in recent months.
Reuters reporting Thailand is vowing to keep fighting Cambodia just hours after a call with U.S. president Donald Trump, where he allegedly brokered a ceasefire. And now that's a claim that the Thai prime minister is disputing.
You remember the last ceasefire between the two neighbors was signed in this ceremony back in October. It was touted by president Trump as a key win in his foreign policy.
While the fighting continues, however, aid donations are flooding into camps like this one in northern Cambodia, where displaced people have had to find temporary shelter.
And winter storms are bringing heavy rains and flooding to large parts of Gaza. And that includes many of the tent cities that are currently sheltering the families who have been displaced by this conflict.
U.N. agencies say that roughly 800,000 people are at heightened risk of exposure because of the weather. And this as concerns grow over the potential spread of disease amid worsening living conditions at these camps.
Drainage infrastructure in Gaza, that is barely functioning after years of war. And also aid groups are warning of shortages of fuel, equipment and shelter, which are hampering their emergency response there.
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SAED NABHAN, PALESTINIAN (through translator): The war that has been ongoing for two years, people have no shelter, except for this house, which was already burnt, weakened and previously shelled.
People had shelter but to stay in this house, which collapsed down on them due to the destruction it had suffered before and also because of the rain. The rain brought down this house on the people living in it.
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SANDOVAL: I want to share some newly released video that shows a group of Israeli hostages celebrating Hanukkah inside a tunnel in Gaza during their captivity. The footage was released by the families of the hostages and it captures moments of hope and resilience during a time of unspeakable trauma.
Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond sharing that story from Tel Aviv.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN REPORTER: From the depths of captivity, these six Israeli hostages celebrated the miracle of Hanukkah and prayed for their own but that miracle never came.
The Beautiful Six, as they have come to be known, were executed by Hamas in August of 2024 as Israeli troops closed in on their location. These never-before-seen videos appear to have been filmed about eight months earlier, lighting candles on the first and second nights of Hanukkah, using a makeshift menorah made of paper cups.
"With the help of miracles associated with this holiday, may we go home in a big miracle and may we return to normal, happy and good lives. And may we always be happy, all of us," says hostage Almog Sarusi.
The videos were filmed by Hamas and later obtained by the Israeli military. Now their families say they want the world to see them. Hamas filmed these videos as propaganda but the humanity of the Beautiful Six shines through this footage.
The footage released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum offers a new, albeit partially staged, glimpse into their captivity, playing cards, cutting each other's hair. And in this clip, pressing their captors for medical attention.
"He needs treatment," hostage Carmel Gat tells a guard, "professional."
American Israeli hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose left hand was blown off by a Hamas grenade, is seen repeatedly, often trying to reassure his family.
"We're here, healthy and alive. We are being taken care of. We are all right and we want to return home."
HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN, ISRAELI HOSTAGE: Happy New Year to everyone and all my family.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Hersh would not live to see another year. He was killed the next August -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SANDOVAL: On the way here on CNN NEWSROOM, King Charles sharing a message of hope for people who are fighting cancer. We'll tell you how the king is using his own personal story to help those with similar struggles.
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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to NEWSROOM.
The Eras tour may be over but Taylor Swift is giving her fans an encore. "The End of an Era," it's part of a six-part documentary. In it, the pop star gives fans a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the world-conquering tour.
It shows some very personal moments for Swift, including the tragic July stabbings in England of young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event
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TAYLOR SWIFT, 14-TIME GRAMMY WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER: There was this horrible attack in Liverpool at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party. And it was little kids that --
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SANDOVAL: Swift went on to meet privately with the families affected by those attacks that she mentions. The documentary also features some happier moments, such as the beginning of her relationship with her now fiance Travis Kelce. The first two episodes are out now on Disney+.
King Charles, he is sharing a positive update on his own health battle, as well as giving encouraging words for those that are fighting cancer battles of their own. The British monarch spoke about his cancer journey in a video message on Friday night.
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And he revealed his treatment plans for the upcoming year. Here's CNN's Max Foster with more.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: King Charles breaking his silence on his cancer treatment and it's relatively good news.
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CHARLES III, KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: Indeed, today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors' orders.
My own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year. This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years. Testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50 percent of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.
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FOSTER: The King also talking about the blessing of early diagnosis. He has medical treatment that isn't afforded to most people, which enabled him to get that early diagnosis. And he's using his experience to encourage others to try to do the same to go out and get screenings.
The palace, a spokesperson there telling CNN, his majesty has responded exceptionally well to treatment and his doctors advise that ongoing measures will now move into a precautionary phase.
This position will be continuously monitored and reviewed to protect and prioritize his continued recovery. So the treatment does continue. We're not being told exactly what treatment that is or indeed what type of cancer he has.
But the king has also explained why he's protecting that part of his privacy as well, because, according to the palace and his spokesperson, they've been speaking to medical experts and this is what they say.
The advice from cancer experts is that, in his determination to support the whole cancer community, it's preferable that His Majesty does not address his own specific condition but rather speaks to those affected by all forms of the disease.
So if he spoke about one particular type of cancer, one part of the community, then he wouldn't be speaking as widely to everyone that suffered from cancer but also their family members and friends, which is a large part of the population.
I think the king has really felt overwhelming support for the fact that he's spoken about his medical condition when, in the past, kings would never share any of that private medical detail because they feel they have a right to privacy, too.
But it's positive news. He is on the road to recovery, at least, even if the treatment does continue for now -- Max Foster, CNN London.
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SANDOVAL: So when flying, one of the most stressful points of a passenger's journey is often the boarding process. Now some people, they want to get on the plane as soon as it's their turn.
But passengers who gather in front of the gate before it's their time to board? Yes, we've all seen them before. Well, they're described in "The Wall Street Journal" as "gate lice" and they slow down the process. CNN's Richard Quest got a lesson on how these gate lice are being managed.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST AND CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: So where's the bit where you tell people don't -- business and those nice people at the front and the rest of you get to the back?
JACQUELINE HOOKS, GATE AGENT, DELTA AIR LINES: Well, I don't think we quite say it like that.
QUEST: This is one of the gate area and the boarding process is one of the most fraught and stressful times for you and the passenger. What's the goal here?
HOOKS: The goal is to get our passengers on board and to their final destination, just as quickly and safely as possible.
QUEST: But that sounds so simple.
HOOKS: It does.
QUEST: It does but --
HOOKS: It does.
QUEST: It all goes wrong when you've got people, no, I'm first. No, no, I'm boarding group six. No, no. So how do you do it?
Show them what you're
saying.
HOOKS: So this is basically a schedule. This tells us that we're going to do this particular announcement in this time frame.
QUEST: "It is my pleasure to welcome you on this flight today." Well, that's nice.
HOOKS: Yes, absolutely.
QUEST: "We are happy to share. We are expecting an on-time departure and we'll begin boarding in."
HOOKS: Right.
QUEST: "This flight will be full today. So to help make your travel easier, we kindly ask customers and specifically those in seven and eight." Sorry.
You don't laugh when you say that, do you?
Here we go. "Zone one. We now welcome zone one to board through the sky priority lane." HOOKS: Right.
QUEST: What do you do?
I used to be sky priority. And I'm entitled to sky. And I should be sky. And I think I must be sky. And I really would like to
board now.
HOOKS: OK, so at this point, if the person has reached this point in the line, not necessarily going to turn them around.
QUEST: You are good.
HOOKS: So at this point, they're already here.
QUEST: You are good. I would be saying back of the line. Here we go.
HOOKS: There you go.
QUEST: We now welcome zone five and zone six.
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HOOKS: So at this point, I'm opening this side of the boarding lane. We're keeping this side --
QUEST: For those of you who couldn't afford to pay at the front.
HOOKS: Not quite.
QUEST: How do you say that?
HOOKS: Just a different boarding zone.
QUEST: And then all being well, you haven't offended anybody. You haven't pissed anybody off and you've managed to get everybody on the plane.
HOOKS: Well done.
QUEST: Well done.
And now 20 passengers in the gate who are still waiting for this flight. Too late. Goodbye. You don't do that, either.
HOOKS: No, we don't do that.
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SANDOVAL: Well, U.S. president Donald Trump honored the Miracle on Ice U.S. Olympic hockey team at the White House on Friday. The team got the name in 1980 by beating the Soviet Union, the world's hockey superpower at the time.
Well, Mr. Trump signed a bill awarding congressional medals in the team's honor. He also said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is, quote, "a similar situation" to the famous U.S. sporting victory.
And football superstar Lionel Messi's tour in India, it's kicked off, too. You can call it a chaotic start and this with fans ripping up the seats and throwing off -- throwing them onto a pitch after the World Cup winner's brief appearance in a stadium in Kolkata.
He landed in India earlier for his highly anticipated GOAT tour of the country. Over three days, the World Cup winner will appear in multiple cities where fans are hoping for a rare, close-up glimpse of the global icon.
And to kick off the tour, the football star unveiled this massive 70- foot statue of himself. He'll also be meeting with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, over the weekend. This is his first return to the country in 14 years after his previous visit for a friendly match in Kolkata.
And we want to thank you so much for watching the last 30 minutes of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. "CONNECTING AFRICA" is next. But the news continues with me with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour.
