Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Judge Orders Release Of Five-Year-Old And Father From Texas Facility; Jeffries: Democrats Won't Help GOP Pass Funding Bill; Interview With Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA); Bomb Cyclone Slamming Parts Of East Coast, Southeastern U.S.; Justice Department Releases 3 Million Jeffrey Epstein-Related Files; Uncertainty In Cuba As Top Ally, Venezuela, Influenced By U.S.; Cuba's Reliance On Venezuela Oil Dashed Amid Maduro's Ouster. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 31, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:01]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I am Jessica Dean here in New York, and new tonight, a federal judge has ordered the release of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from a South Texas detention center. The two were taken into custody by federal agents in Minneapolis more than a week ago, and photos like this one of Liam in his winter hat and his backpack with agents around him led to widespread outrage and concern about how families are being treated, both in these raids and at that facility south of San Antonio.

CNN spoke with Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro this week after he visited Liam and his father. Here is part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): I had a chance to visit with he and his father for about 30 minutes in the courtroom they have there, and Liam didn't wake up the whole time. And, you know, his father said that he had been sleeping a lot, that he has been very depressed, that he is asking for his mom.

I am very concerned about his health, about his well-being.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Also tonight, another federal judge has declined to immediately halt an immigration operation that's currently underway there in Minnesota. The administration saying the operation is targeting undocumented Somali immigrants, dispatching thousands of agents to both Minneapolis and St. Paul.

And of course, since then, two U.S. citizens have died after being shot by federal agents, triggering weeks of protests and heated confrontations.

Let's bring in CNN's Julia Vargas Jones who joins us now from Los Angeles, where an anti-ICE protest is in full swing there.

Julia, going back to that news at the top there about Liam, the five- year-old and his father, that judge being very specific in his ruling on this case and saying Liam and his father should be released no later than Tuesday.

What else did they say?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not only no later than Tuesday, Jessica, he also said that he wanted a report from the government -- the government by the following day, by Wednesday to update the court that indeed those steps had been taken to release Liam and his father.

The whole decision reads like a scathing really, review, of the government's actions. I want to read to you just one part of this judge's decision. He said: "The ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently, even if it requires traumatizing children." Judge Fred Biery from the Western District of Texas, and the decision, I will add, that decision can still be appealed by the federal government at this point.

Going back to just Liam's story, you know, there is a few questions that I think a lot of people have been asking about why Liam was taken to a facility with his father, 1,300 miles away from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to begin with, to be in that West Texas facility in Dilley.

At the time of his father's arrest by federal agents, his mother was just inside that house. Agents said to Liam to knock on the door to see if anybody was home. His mother was, though -- was instructed both by neighbors and by his father to not open the door. Then later, a family friend, Jessica, told CNN that she was terrified of what would happen if she did open the door.

DHS said that they were just following instructions of the father, that he wanted Liam to be taken with him to wherever he was going to be processed, and eventually to Texas, said that Liam's mom refused to take her son at that time.

[18:05:01]

Now, an attorney for the family also said that the family came to the United States from Ecuador in 2024, asking for asylum. They had followed all of the procedures necessary to request that asylum, even though DHS did refer to him as an illegal alien.

That story, though, has resonated here in Los Angeles.

We've seen so many signs that say "Bring Liam home." Signs that show his bunny hat, now iconic, Jessica.

I want you to hear from just one of these protesters and why she said she had to come out here today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HELEN RUBINSTEIN, LOS ANGELES PROTESTER: Along with all the other judges that have told this administration what they need to do, they do not do any of it and nobody stops them. Nobody. And this is just a catastrophe for our country and our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now the reaction has been here, at least, Jessica, that this judge's order is just too little, too late, that so many other children are being swept up in immigration raids like this one.

The idea for today's protest is supposed to be peaceful and for there not to be any confrontations with police. So far, that is how it has been -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Julia Vargas Jones in Los Angeles, thank you so much. We appreciate that.

Liam's picture, as I noted, and his story really captured a lot of attention across the country. It sparked a lot of conversations about how the actions of these federal agents are impacting children's mental health, children like Liam, who are being held in that Texas Detention Center, children who are -- you know, the children of illegal immigrants or people who might be targeted, people who are here legally but might still be targeted, and children who are watching their friends be targeted.

Teargas has been deployed many times, including in residential neighborhoods around families with children. Many schools throughout the Twin Cities have been closed or have had to move to remote learning due to safety concerns.

I want to bring in Dr. PJ Striker, a psychiatrist with Children's Minnesota. Dr. Striker, thank you for being here with us. We really appreciate it.

We got this ruling from this judge specific to five-year-old Liam's case and his father, and the judge really didn't hold back.

Julia, our colleague, just reading a piece of that, saying that there was traumatizing of children. He also said, "Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and imposition of cruelty in its quest knows no bounds and are bereft of human decency." Again, this is coming from the judge in that case.

From your perspective as an expert on children and their little minds and -- their little minds, there are big emotions in a lot of cases. What are you most concerned about when it comes to the impact this can have?

DR. PJ STRIKER, PSYCHIATRIST WITH CHILDREN'S MINNESOTA. Well, thanks for having me, Jessica.

I am most concerned about the fact that these are just images that no kids or even adults should be seeing on a daily basis. This is really scary for a lot of people. And I think, you know, it is just saturated. We are seeing this every day. We are seeing it on social media, on the news, and I think it is going to be really hard for all of us to recover.

You know, we see kids asking a lot of questions, right, being scared. Being scared to go to school, and so the more we can do to hear them out and give them the reassurance that they need from us, that their feelings are okay, the better we will be as adults.

DEAN: And, you know, thinking specifically about five-year-old Liam and other children that have been held or are currently being held at that -- what the government says is a Family Detention Center. We heard from a Congressman that said he was told by Liam's father that he wasn't eating well. He wasn't sleeping well. He is asking a lot of questions about his classmates and his mom.

When you're five years old and you are taken from your home in Minneapolis, thousands of miles away to Texas, to a detention center, what does that do to a five-year-old?

STRIKER: Well, anytime a five-year-old goes through anything traumatic, whether it is a separation from their parents, obviously, what has happened to Liam, there is a risk of having something called posttraumatic stress disorder. And often how we see that in little kids is sleep changes, behavior changes, mood changes.

You know, kids may sleep more, they may sleep less. They may not eat. They may just kind of not have that typical five-year-old joy that we love to see in little ones, right?

And so we, you know, certainly concerned about Liam, but all kids that are really seeing this and you know, I think it is -- there is going to be a lot of questions and scared beliefs and we want to just make sure that we are checking in with them and giving them whatever they need to feel better.

[18:10:13]

DEAN: Because I think any parent out there at their core, they want to make sure their kids feel safe and kids look to their parents to feel safe, especially when they are little, but even when they are, you know, bigger kids, when they're 12, when they're 13 or 14, they still look to parents to reinforce that they are safe.

And you know, you think about some of these families that can't say with certitude that nothing is going to happen, that it is all going to be okay, and what that might be doing to these families, and again, specifically to these children.

STRIKER: I think that's a really good point. We don't want to minimize or invalidate the fears, right? Because we don't know what is going to happen. I think the best thing we can do is really approach our kids from the calmest place we can be and model for them that it is okay to talk about their feelings, to bring up the questions that they have, and that we will work together to keep ourselves safe. And some of that sometimes might include creating a safety plan. Who are the adults in our life? Where are safe places you can go? Whether that's neighbors or school or you know, community members that they may have help -- we want to help our kids know kind of what to do in case of an emergency.

DEAN: And so when they are talking -- when parents are talking through this with their kids, how do you explain this? And obviously it is going to differ if you're talking to a four-year-old or a five-year- old versus a 14-year-old.

STRIKER: Yes, I think that's exactly right. Right. So, with younger kids, we want to be really concrete and simple, right? People are being treated differently because of fear. It is really hard to see and watch. I have feelings, too. I am here for you, you can ask me questions. We will talk about it.

As kids get older, we want to give them more of an opportunity to really ask really open-ended questions, express what they are feeling, what their beliefs are and how can we help them use that kind of curiosity and fear to whatever positive end we could, right?

So, there are a lot of kids that are doing walkouts. Theres kids that are, you know, doing bakes. How do we raise money? Things like that. I think, it has been really amazing to see the community come together.

DEAN: All right, Dr. PJ Striker, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

STRIKER: Thank you so much.

DEAN: Still to come, the first partial government shutdown of 2026 is here. It could be short lived, it might not be. There are a lot of things hanging in the balance. We are going to talk with Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean about the funding fight over DHS and what Democrats are saying tonight.

Plus, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein blasting the latest release of the files as outrageous. They are accusing the Justice Department of protecting powerful men while exposing victims.

And dangerous conditions as a bomb cyclone brings the biggest snowfall in more than 20 years for parts of the Southeastern United States. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:42]

DEAN: New tonight, sources telling CNN House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries has told the House Speaker, Republicans cannot rely on Democrats to help pass a critical funding bill. The government right now partially shut down over the issue of ICE funding. A deal was passed by the Senate last night that would fund all remaining agencies, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security.

Let's bring in CNN's Camila DeChalus who joins us now. This measure needs to be passed by the House. That's how it all works. It goes to the Senate, now it goes to the house. But it sounds like it could be a bit tricky.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's right, Jessica. It really looks like at this point in time that the House could have a tougher time than they anticipated to try to pass the remaining spending packages on their end in order to end this partial government shutdown.

Now, CNN is reporting that the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, told the House Speaker Mike Johnson, just today that Democrats will not help fast track the upcoming spending bills and sign on to their support. Now, that's a very big deal, because just yesterday, the Senate reached an agreement on their end to pass the spending bills, and that included funding different parts of the government as well as a short-term funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

But some House Democrats say that that even the short-term spending bill for the DHS is just too much, especially in light of the recent events of what was happening in Minneapolis and they really feel like the federal agencies under that department really need to be held accountable.

So, that what we are hearing at this point in time is that this partial government shutdown could last longer than what has been anticipated because, as we reported, was that House lawmakers were considering coming back on Monday in order to pass spending bills, but it is very clear that House Democrats are now saying that their support is not going to be guaranteed, and they actually have a problem with just how fast this is moving.

Now, to be clear, Johnson can try to move and pass these spending bills alone with just House Republican support, but even that is not guaranteed because some conservative members of his party really do have a lot of problems with some of the provisions in the spending packages.

And now, really, at this point in time, one of the big questions in people's mind now that we are in day one of a partial government shutdown, is who is exactly being impacted by this? And here is what we know at this time.

We know that travelers could face major delays at airports as many federal workers, including air traffic controllers and TSA employees, might miss paychecks.

[18:20:10]

We also know that some Americans will also be unable to secure federal loans and the bigger picture here is just the fact that now, it really does seem that as the government shutdown continues and goes longer, the impact is going to be greater.

Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: All right, Camila, thank you so much for that reporting. We appreciate it. And we are joined now by Democratic Congresswoman Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. She serves on the House Appropriations and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for your time tonight. We really appreciate you being here on a Saturday evening, where we are getting a little bit of news from your leader there in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, telling the House Speaker that the Democrats are not going to help get this funding bill passed, that Republicans are going to have to do this on their own.

I just would like to know where you stand on that and where you think this goes from here?

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Well, good to be with you, Jessica and I have been talking with Rosa DeLauro, who is our Ranking Member on Appropriations. I am fortunate to serve on the Appropriations Committee this term, and, of course, have been in touch with Hakeem Jeffries and our leadership, our Caucus will be talking again tomorrow.

And so, I am with Rosa on this. I am with Hakeem Jeffries on this. The Republicans need to do the right thing about funding our government and understanding that more support for DHS in its abominable behavior, killing two American citizens in cold blood as filmed by other members of the communities.

Something has got to change here. The administration, the Homeland Security is out-of-control.

DEAN: And I know you all -- you are scheduled to speak tomorrow as a Caucus tomorrow evening. What are you expecting to hear during that? What are you hearing from your colleagues as well?

M. DEAN: Our caucus is pretty clear. If you take a look and I wonder if people understand or remember this, in all the chaos of this administration, which is their point, chaos and cruelty. Do you know that Homeland Security went from about a $6 billion budget -- that's a lot of money in the past -- and under the Big Beautiful Bill, they added $75 billion. That's a whole lot of money for these thugs to be running around unsupervised, untrained, unknown in their masks and in their anonymity and in their grotesque behavior.

What my colleagues are saying is no more. No more additional money. In fact, freeze whatever the heck is going on with the operations in Minneapolis, it needs to stop immediately and they need to withdraw from Minneapolis and any other city.

I actually have legislation that I am going to be introducing to try to curb this President's appetite for flooding cities like Minneapolis. Minneapolis has a police force of about 600 people. Do you know how many officers have come in as a result of this immigration crackdown? Three thousand.

No city should be swarmed like that with just out-of-control agents. So, I will be introducing legislation to limit that number to no more than 10 percent of the municipal force unless asked for by the governor.

DEAN: Okay, so we will see how Republicans fare on Monday when they need to work to pass this on their own. On your last point there, I do want to ask you about something we heard from President Trump today on Truth Social.

He posted saying that the federal government and these are his words, wouldn't intervene in protests or in unrest in democratically-led cities unless they asked for help. It was a rather lengthy post. There was a little bit more to it, but that was the meat of it there. What did you think about this?

M. DEAN: I think he must have noticed that I talked to my ledge team a couple of days ago and said, he has got to get out, unless a governor asks for the help. So I guess the President was channeling what I was thinking about in terms of legislation.

What I want to highlight for you and it is hard, Jessica, because every day there are so many grotesque offenses by this President who is unhinged and unwell and quite reckless. Did you see what he tweeted? I think it maybe was yesterday about Alex Pretti. Just think of these words. He called him and I am just writing -- I wrote it down, an agitator, an insurrectionist -- that's rich coming from this President -- and that his stock, Alex Pretti's stock has gone way down.

What in God's name does that mean? What in God's name does that community, the parents of this ICU Veteran's Administration nurse think of a statement like that from the very President of the United States?

I am angry at that kind of behavior.

[18:25:15]

DEAN: And I hear the anger in your voice, and I hear your clear, deep disgust and frustration at all of this. Democrats, of course, I don't have to tell you in the Minority, both in the Senate and the House. The Republican -- there just hasn't been a tremendous amount of oversight on this administration. Do you think, though, in this moment, that Congress might start having more oversight when it comes to specifically DHS and ICE?

M. DEAN: I do think so and what encourages me is two weekends ago, I had the chance to travel with Senator Coons and Senator Tillis on a Codell to Denmark and also to Switzerland.

And you know, where we were in those days, on the crisis of the President threatening a NATO ally, Denmark and Greenland, with military action to take Greenland. That whole sentence sounds insane and we are now 10 days past that insanity.

But what I heard in Senator Tillis and also on the trip with Senator Murkowski in a powerful voice saying that Republicans in the Senate recognize the President has gone too far in many of these issues. So, I think there is a change both in the House and in the Senate. I don't hear enough from Republican members of the House. I call out their appalling silence.

But what I am super encouraged by, our citizens. You see these protests in the streets, in the cold, freezing, frigid streets of Minneapolis, yesterday or today -- yesterday, in Philadelphia. I have real faith in the fact that American citizens recognize the grotesque nature of this administration.

Kristi Noem has to go. Stephen Miller has to go. Bondi has to go. All of those who are so grotesquely enamored of their power against the rights of citizens, against our constitutional rights, the right of free speech, the First Amendment rights.

Imagine this President had Don Lemon and another African-American woman journalist jailed over the weekend? What does he think he's going for? Where does he think he is going? I hope the Speaker of the House someday turns around and recognizes this is un-American, and it is out-of-control.

DEAN: All right, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, we will see where this story goes when you all head back to the House next week. Thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

M. DEAN: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come here, Charlotte, North Carolina just covered in snow right now. This is a live look at Charlotte. That city experiencing about seven inches so far. More snow as you see still falling. We will have an update on the bomb cyclone. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:32:26]

DEAN: Right now, the sun is going down in the southeastern and mid- Atlantic regions, but the snow continues to fall in a lot of areas as a massive bomb cyclone brings powerful winds and sub-freezing temperatures. That means more than 27 people in some 29 states are under some sort of winter weather alert, with parts of Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas forecast to see about a foot of snow before the system moves on. We've got team coverage for you with our Dianne Gallagher there in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are slated to get their heaviest snowfall in more than two decades. We also have meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who is there in Virginia Beach.

And Derek, let's start first with you, because when we last talked to you last hour, you were still waiting for it to snow there. It had not made its way there yet. What's the situation now?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Jessica, snowflakes are falling from the sky, finally. I cannot believe it. I mean, the Arctic air arrived well before the snow did. It encased this water fountain in a thick layer of ice, so that just shows you how brutally cold it is. But it took a really long time, longer than anticipated, for the snow to actually fall from the sky here in Virginia Beach. But the storm's not over here, and what's going to follow behind it is going to be the big part of this story as well. So, we've been looking at the radar, kind of analyzing two different

areas of heavy snow. One throughout the Outer Banks, the coastal areas of North and South Carolina, and then one across the interior as well. The I-85 corridor between Greensboro and Charlotte, there have been multiple reports of double-digit snowfall. So, we saw the snow bands that we had talked about over the past couple of days set up in that particular trajectory, where I-85 is pretty much a complete mess right now, especially north and east of Atlanta.

So, what's -- what's to come?

Well, the winds are going to pick up. They've already been howling today, but they could reach tropical storm force and approach hurricane force gusts today across, or tonight, across the Virginia Beach area into the Outer Banks. And when you combine that with snowfall, it will reduce visibilities to near whiteout conditions. So, they're talking about the potential of blizzard conditions tonight, where we're standing. We'll see if that materializes.

One thing we're concerned about, too, on the beach is this potential for coastal flooding, because we're coinciding the strongest part of the storm and its passage here in Virginia Beach with a -- astronomically high tide. So that means the tides are kind of exaggerated because of the full moon cycle. So, we'll watch out for the Atlantic seaboard to bring some -- some moderate coastal flooding impacts. But, I mean, I'll leave you with this, Jessica. That's cold.

DEAN: Yes.

VAN DAM: And this is what we're dealing with. Back to you.

[18:35:04]

DEAN: That's cold. We can feel it through the screen. All right, Derek, thank you so much for that.

Another cold place, Charlotte, North Carolina, that's where Dianne Gallagher has been really all day.

And Dianne, this comes after we saw you right there about a week ago when the city was getting really hit hard by ice and snow. So, how is it this go around?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's been snowing for about 15 or more hours at this point. We have more snow on the ground right now than we have seen in more than two decades. 2004, the last time we saw snow like this. And it's beautiful snow. It's nice and powdery. This is the kind of stuff you see out west. Usually not here. The problem is exactly what you said there, Jessica.

Last weekend, I was here talking about ice storms and freezing rain, and a lot of that still had not melted in the area. And so, we're seeing snow pack on top of that. And the major concern remains. This is beautiful, but there is so -- such a thing is too much of a good thing, and we might be getting to that point right now. The conditions are deteriorating around the roads here in the

Charlotte area in the West, even out in the east, where they're seeing some whiteout conditions. This road that we're on is probably one of the better ones. We've seen plows come through a couple times here, but there are still far too many cars on the road for government officials liking them. That's because it's just not safe.

Seeing right now, Highway Patrol and interstate reporting that they're shutting it down because of a crash. We've seen other incidents, including a train hitting a semi-truck. Thankfully, nobody was injured in that, but very serious situations. And it's only, again, as Derek mentioned, going to get worse as these temperatures drop all of this freezes. They're asking people, please, if you do not have to drive, please stay off the roads here.

DEAN: All right. Dianne Gallagher there in Charlotte, thank you so much for that report. We appreciate it.

And coming up, there are more than three million pages released, 10s of thousands of new images and videos. What we're learning about the latest from these Epstein files and what the D.O.J. Says is the final release of these types of files. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:44]

DEAN: The Justice Department releasing more than three million pages of files related to the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the massive document dump comes after Congress passed that law late last year forcing DOJ to release all of its investigative documents into Epstein. Among the millions of pages are files containing references to several high-profile people including President Donald Trump, former Prince Andrew, Elon Musk, and former President Bill Clinton. They have all denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein's crimes. CNN Senior Reporter Marshall Cohen was part of the team that went through these documents. He has more for us. Marshall.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, Jessica, this was by far the biggest drop we've seen. About 3.5 million pages of material and there were also more than 182,000 images and videos. The Justice Department says this is the final batch and that they have now fully complied with the transparency law that Congress passed last year with near unanimous support, which of course is what forced all of these disclosures in the first place.

So, what did we learn? Well, according to our review, President Trump was mentioned more than 1,000 times in the new files. Now, remember we've known for years that Trump was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein in the '80s and '90s before Epstein's conviction on state sex crime charges in 2008.

But these documents added a ton of new details. We saw notes from an FBI interview in 2021 where one of Epstein's victims said that his longtime accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell brought her to a party in New York and quote presented her to Trump and that Maxwell later made clear that she was quote available. That woman did tell the FBI that nothing ever happened between her and Trump.

There was also a spreadsheet that we saw in the documents that the FBI actually put together just last year which contained uncorroborated and unverified sexual assault allegations against Trump.

Now, Jess, let me be totally clear, as we always are, that Trump says he cut ties with Epstein in the mid-2000s and Trump denies wrongdoing. He has never been accused by law enforcement of any involvement in any of Epstein's crimes.

Other prominent figures also came up in these new files. We saw emails that showed how tech billionaire Elon Musk tried coordinating with Epstein to visit him in the Virgin Islands. Other messages showed that Howard Lutnick who is now the Commerce Secretary planned some meetings with Epstein long after he claimed that they had stopped speaking. And there were also new pictures of the former Prince Andrew including a bizarre image of him on all fours leaning on top of a woman who herself was lying on the floor.

Now, all of those men deny wrongdoing. None of them have been accused by authorities of any crimes. And Jessica, the Trump administration said yesterday they did not protect Trump with any redactions in these files. The Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche pushed back when challenged on that front. But I got to say on Capitol Hill and among many of the Epstein survivors, they are still not satisfied with the redactions and the withholdings and they say they are not going to give up the fight. Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Marshall Cohen with the latest. Thanks so much for that and we'll be right back.

[18:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:31]

DEAN: As the future of Venezuela and its oil-rich land remains uncertain after tensions between the U.S. and Cuba are rising to levels not seen since the Cold War, CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Havana.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Jessica, Cuba is firing back at a White House plan to threaten countries that send oil to this island with punishing tariffs. It is just the latest escalation that we've seen as U.S. and Cuban relations really hit the lowest point in decades.

[18:50:02]

Tensions are very, very high as U.S. is claiming that Cuba represents a threat to the United States and as such that this constitutes a national emergency which would allow the U.S. to try and block all oil shipments to this island. We are already seeing the impacts of this policy as traditional allies like Venezuela and Mexico appear to be stopping down on oil shipments and so within weeks Cuba could run out of oil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPPMANN (voice over): In the U.S. attack on Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro, over 100 people were killed, among them 32 Cuban soldiers, including Maduro's closest bodyguards operating there in secret.

Now, Cuba's closest ally and more importantly its biggest oil supplier appears to be under de facto American control. And this is sending a chill through Cuban society about what may be next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Cuba is really a nation that's very close to failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): It is a prediction many U.S. presidents have made. But the revolution founded by Fidel Castro has endured.

I've been a foreign correspondent in Cuba for 14 years, a country that suddenly feels very different to me. And I want to find out what the operation in Caracas means for the future of 9 million Cubans who live in this island nation.

The Cuban government received the remains of their fallen soldiers from Venezuela with a hero's welcome after decades of denying their presence there. Thousands of people lined the streets that day and waited hours to pay their respects.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (on camera): This direct confrontation between the U.S. and Cuban soldiers, that's not something we've seen for decades. And it's left many people here wondering, you know, the loss of their ally in Venezuela, how is that going to impact them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): Outside in the line, I meet Iliana Medrano.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (on camera): What would happen if there was an invasion of Cuba by U.S. troops?

ILIANA MEDRANO, CUBA RESIDENT (translated): We would confront whatever comes. We don't know what will happen, but we are willing to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): Cubans are no strangers to economic hardship. Since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, they have weathered America's embargo and their own government's disastrous economic missteps. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Venezuela emerged as Havana's lifeline.

Here's how the agreement worked. Cuba sent thousands of doctors, teachers, sports trainers, as well as military and intelligence officials to Venezuela in return for oil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (on camera): Now, with Maduro in jail and out of the picture, it's not clear if Venezuela can or will continue the oil shipments that the Trump administration has vowed to block.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): To make matters worse, Havana's second largest oil supplier, Mexico, has also reportedly suspended oil shipments. Already we are witnessing the impacts, it can take weeks to get a spot in a gas line using an online system. Gerardo (ph) tells me he's waited 29 days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERARDO: Things are going to get tough. I'm glad I was selected today, because I don't know if I will be next time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): As night falls, many here will be left in the dark. And so longer and longer apagones, blackouts, are becoming the new normal. In many parts of the island, the power is off more hours a day than it is on. Some people tell us they are fed up, but they're too scared to speak to us on camera. Others, like Angel (ph), who sells his coconut sweets on the street, say they are resigned to a worsening power situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL: We Cubans adapt to everything, to any circumstances. But one adapts. What else can we do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): The Trump administration vows the pressure will continue on Cuba. For now, the Cuban government is defiant, calling for one of the largest demonstrations outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana in years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): Cuba does not have to make any political concessions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): Even some of the younger people in the crowd, like Ivan, say they feel the mood in the country has changed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN: When you saw bombs falling on Caracas, how did that make you personally feel?

IVAN ERNESTO BARRETO LOPEZ, CUBA RESIDENT: In the 21st century, seeing these kind of actions violating totally the international law, acting unilaterally, that's -- that's something very worrying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (voice over): For those of us who cover the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Cuba under the Obama administration, there's a sense of whiplash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPPMANN (on camera): I've even heard from a U.S. Embassy source that diplomats there have been advised to, quote, "have their bags packed" as the Trump administration explores new ways to stabilize the Communist-run government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPMANN: Truly, day by day, the situation continues to change. It can take hours to get gas at a gas line when there is power.

[18:55:03]

Many people have power outages that last throughout the day. Sometimes, you know, through much of this island, there is simply power outages that last longer than the few hours a day. We receive power. So, the -- the concern is the longer and longer this goes on, the situation will get worse and worse.

Of course, the United States has said there is an offer for Cuba that they can engage in negotiations. But a lot of the concessions the U.S. is asking, including perhaps returning property to Cuban-Americans who fled this island after Fidel Castro's revolution, you know, those are things that previously the Cuban government says they simply would not negotiate. Jessica?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)