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Russia's Support for Wagner Forces in Bakhmut "Appears to Be Dwindling"; Protests in Georgia Turn Violent over "Foreign Agents" Bill; Israeli Air Force Pilots Boycott Training Exercises; Interview with Polish President Andrzej Duda on His UAE Visit; The Hunt for Drug Labs in Mexico; Elon Musk Apologizes after Insulting Disabled Employee. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired March 08, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson, live from Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Coming up this hour, we speak with the Polish president on Ukraine, on Iran and on the Middle East.
Protests erupt in Georgia over a proposed foreign agent bill.
Exclusive reporting on fentanyl's flow from China to the United States.
And later this hour, Elon Musk tries to backtrack after publicly mocking a disabled Twitter employee.
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ANDERSON: Earlier today, the president of Poland, Ukraine's neighbor and ardent supporter, sat down with me to discuss the Russian invasion and the
beefed-up security on his own border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRZEJ DUDA, POLISH PRESIDENT (through translator): I do not have any big fear that Russian aggression could happen in Poland right now. Of course, a
potential danger is always there. We can also speak about the other countries in central Europe.
Of course, if we allow Russia to win, if Russia defeats Ukraine, the danger, further aggression, aggression against another state, is not big;
it is huge, even because we are speaking about Russia's imperial ambitions, which have been revived.
We are speaking about Russian neocolonial policy. In this part of the world, people know these notions. Here, unfortunately, everybody knows what
colonialism is and everybody knows what -- how hugely destructive it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Polish president, President Duda speaking to me earlier. More on that later this hour.
And Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is warning that if Bakhmut falls to Russia, that could spark a catastrophic domino effect. There is
still heavy fighting in the battered Eastern Ukraine town. Ukraine's military says it has killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in just the last
day there.
In a video message from inside Bakhmut, the head of Russia's Wagner group disputed that and claimed his fighters control the east of the town. In an
exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, President Zelenskyy warned the Russian would have an open road if they seize that city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is tactical for us. We understand that, after Bakhmut, they could go further.
They could go to Kramatorsk, to Slovyansk. It would be an open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction,
in the east of Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN's Melissa Bell is in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. She joins me now.
We have just heard from President Duda. We've heard from Zelenskyy. We have also heard from the head of the Wagner group. That is the rhetoric.
What is the very latest on the situation on the ground in Bakhmut?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think, Becky, that's an important distinction, the rhetoric warning of these flood gates that would
be opened by all of them. President Zelenskyy but also, Yevgeny Prigozhin, warning the world had not seen the Russian army yet.
The fall of Bakhmut would likely lead to it moving beyond that and fairly quickly. That is the rhetoric on all sides. That is the fear, no doubt as
well. In fact, what Western officials say, speaking to CNN, Becky, is the picture is far different than that.
The huge Russian casualties we've seen in Bakhmut have largely been Wagner soldiers. They've been speaking about the important role that the
mercenaries have played. Occasionally, supported by Russian artillery, although not often as much as they would like.
Hence what we have seen regularly, Yevgeny Prigozhin's statements and sometimes frustration expressed at the lack of support his men have been
getting as they try and give it their all to take Bakhmut.
We are seeing them inch toward the center of town. That chilling video that you alluded to from Yevgeny Prigozhin shot in front of that World War II
monument, that does confirm that it is toward the center of town that they are heading.
What does it mean for the wider battle?
That is where I think there are differences of view. With Western officials explaining, beyond Bakhmut, once it has fallen, once the Ukrainians decide
to stage that tactical retreat there for the time being, they have not announced. But they will be expected to come at some point.
What happens next?
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BELL: What Western officials believe is that there simply are not the reserves of Russian soldiers, either in Luhansk or Donetsk, beyond Bakhmut
to mount any substantial offensive action.
I think that is where there is a significant disconnect between some of the rhetoric you are hearing around Bakhmut and its potential fall and what is
likely to happen next and what may actually be the situation on the ground for Russian forces, both regular and mercenary. Becky.
ANDERSON: Our viewers -- thank you.
Our viewers will likely remember the explosion, the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline last year. This is a pipeline that diverts or certainly,
did, the idea was that it would divert Russian gas around Ukraine but not through into Europe.
This was a project between Russia and Germany. The investigation into that pipeline explosion continues. Fill us in on the latest, if you will.
BELL: This is a story that has fascinated, and for good reason, Becky. It has taken another extraordinary twist. The reporting there by "The New York
Times" suggesting that those responsible for this explosion may, in fact, have been not so much a group backed by Kyiv but in line with Kyiv.
So an independent group that acted in its name but without its support or knowledge. That has been pretty well pushed back on on a number of people.
Not just the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, but German authorities who are in charge of this investigation.
Remember they have now found the boat that they believe may have taken the six people on it, who were believed to be behind that sabotage of the Nord
Stream pipeline. It is an ongoing investigation. We still don't know exactly who was behind it.
I think one of the most extraordinary things to come out since "The New York Times" reporting is the fact that both Moscow and Kyiv have pushed
back on it. This is surely one area on which the two capitals agree. There aren't many of them, that neither believe that that independent pro
Ukrainian group might have been responsible.
So we await the results of the investigation but the story seems to get more extraordinary by the day, Becky.
ANDERSON: Melissa Bell is in Kyiv. Thank you.
Well, in Georgia, a Russian styled bill that many say would curtail basic freedoms advanced in parliament. This was the response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Protesters clashing in the capital, Tbilisi. The bill would require some organizations that receive funding from outside of
the country to register as a foreign agent.
Proponents worry this is a step back for democracy in the country. They are back on the streets today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz monitoring this from London for. You
Break down for us or exactly is in this proposed legislation that is causing these protests and these clashes between demonstrators and police
on the streets of Tbilisi.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky. Very much outrage and passion on the streets of Tbilisi today. I know we have footage to show
you, just from a couple of hours ago, of these protesters. It was supposed to be a woman's march but these women say they have another focus now.
They need to focus on voicing their anger toward the government for this bill, that many believe, rights groups believe and those protesters
believe, will essentially weaken civil society and the media.
This is a bill that requires any NGO, civil society group, media organization to register with the government if it receives at least 20
percent of its funding from foreign groups. Now here's the catch. Many feel that this is essentially a Kremlin style bill. It's taken straight out of
Russia's playbook for dissent.
It will create an onerous burden on these civil society groups, crushed dissent and make it more difficult for these independent bodies to do their
work, where they are often the checks and balances for the central government.
Now these protesters, so angry, that even the president of Georgia is on their side, pointing out that freedom and democracy are at stake. Take a
listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALOME ZOURABICHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA (through translator): I'm standing here in New York and behind me is the Statue of Liberty. This is a
symbol for which Georgia has always fought and for which we have come to this day. I'm with you, because, today, you represent free Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: There's another thing to point out. Here yes, the president of Georgia, who you heard there, siding with protesters, can veto this bill.
But there is enough of a parliamentary majority that they could overturn -- parliamentarians could overturn her veto. So very likely this bill will
come through.
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ABDELAZIZ: Part of the anger you hear there on those streets in Tbilisi is this could impact Georgia's relationships with the West. Right after the
invasion, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Georgia was one of the countries that immediately applied for E.U. membership.
The E.U. has said that this bill could violate E.U. rules. It could be a suppression of free media and civil society. You also have the United
States that has spoken out on this. Also condemning the bill, calling it a Kremlin style rule that could, again, bring Russian influence into a
country that is trying to pull itself away from exactly that.
It's important to remember here, when you're talking about Georgia, this is the fault line, where Russia influence is trying to push through in the
country, activists say, and the West is trying to stand up against that aggression.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
Later, my colleague, Isa Soares, will be speaking with Georgia's president. You can catch that, 7 pm London time. That is 11 pm here in Abu Dhabi.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin touched down in Egypt today, a day after visiting Iraq. He met his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi. He said the Middle East tour is meant to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to regional stability.
Austin was originally scheduled to go to Israel today but is instead spending the night in Jordan.
Well, that news coming as the U.N. envoy for Middle East peace says he is alarmed by another deadly Israeli military raid in the West Bank. Israeli
forces entered a refugee camp in Jenin and killed a Hamas militant, suspected of killing two Jewish settler brothers. Five other Palestinians
were killed.
This was the third daylight raid by Israel in the West Bank this year, all of those raids resulting in multiple deaths. Elliott Gotkine is connecting
us this hour from Jerusalem.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: This, one would hope, would be the last episode of violence in this cycle, Elliott.
But is there any evidence to suggest that?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, that's the short answer, Becky. Israel has said that, to quote prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after
praising this raid, he said that "whoever hurts us will pay the price."
In other words, if there are any attacks, anyone planning attacks that Israel's intelligence gets wind of, then they will go after those people.
That's what we've seen in multiple incursions into the West Bank, including, as you say, this daytime raid into Jenin.
There was another one in Nablus on Tuesday as well, in order both to target the person, the Hamas member -- Hamas has since claimed him responsible for
killing those two Israeli settler brothers in the village of Huwara on February the 25th.
And in Nablus, to arrest his sons, who they say or they suspect of being involved in helping to plan that attack. So (INAUDIBLE) any sense that
there's going to be any de-escalation in violence, despite the Palestinians and Israelis meeting in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba just the other
week, in a bid to try to de-escalate.
You mentioned the U.N.'s special coordinator for peace in the Middle East. He also condemned both Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and
Palestinian violence against Israelis as well.
We've also heard from U.S. State Department spokesman, Ned Price, saying that Israel has a legitimate right to defend its people and its territory
against all forms of aggression, including from terrorist groups -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Outgoing spokesman at this point, Ned Price, of, course, is -- will be staying with the secretary of state, Antony Blinken. But outgoing
from that position.
Elliott, Netanyahu praising the IDF raid yesterday. But perhaps a more immediate concern to him is the continued or are they (ph) continued
protests against his judicial overhaul plans, not least because, now, some of the very people he relies on to protect the country are also up in arms,
demonstrating their discontent about these potential changes.
GOTKINE: Very much so, Becky. And this demonstration of discontent in particular is by Squadron 69. This is an elite squadron in the Israeli Air
Force; 37 out of its 40 pilots, all of them reservists, all of them volunteers, 37 out of 40 skipped training today.
Now at this, point they're not saying they wouldn't take part in missions if they were called upon. But this is, as one former air force pilot put it
to me, a kind of yellow card for the government, to warn them that this is something they are taking very seriously.
Ultimately, if this judicial overhaul goes through, there could be very severe consequences.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOTKINE (voice-over): They bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and regularly hit Iranian targets in Syria. Even some of Israel's combat pilots
are now firing warning shots, with reservists from one squadron skipping a training session, suggesting they may not heed the call of duty if the
government rams through its judicial overhaul.
In this country, that's a very big deal.
NERI YARKONI, FORMER IAF PILOT: The mere existence of Israel is based on the Israeli air force. Simple as that.
(CROSSTALK)
GOTKINE (voice-over): Neri Yarkoni was an Israeli combat pilot for 30 years. He is also a lawyer, who warns that if the government continues with
plans to neuter the supreme court and give itself sweeping powers, the country may be in trouble.
YARKONI: Since we are talking only about few hundreds of people, then if you lose some of them, the mere existence of Israel is essentially
degraded. That is why the government and all the people in Israel are very concerned about the protest of the Israeli fighter pilots.
GOTKINE (voice-over): Israel's defense minister, seen here meeting reservist commanders from the combined services on Tuesday, says he is
listening.
GOTKINE: (INAUDIBLE) protest in Israel have so far failed to persuade the government to even pause its judicial reform plans.
Could this warning from some of Israel's air force pilots, the very people whose job it is to defend Israel's existence, could they have any more
luck?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given the current situation, I --
GOTKINE (voice-over): This analyst thinks they will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what we're seeing now from the fighter pilots is a new ball game altogether. It's an escalation of the protest. It comes
alongside with other measures of escalation. And it seems like a snowball that is just gaining more and more momentum. I think that it will bring the
government to the table.
GOTKINE (voice-over): On the ground, though, little appears to be changing. The government's judicial overhaul remains on track. Another day
of mass protests, perhaps with a few pilots among the crowd, is planned for Thursday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOTKINE: Another thing to watch out for on Thursday, prime minister Netanyahu and his wife due to fly to Rome. But because of the protests,
they may have to take a helicopter to the airport to avoid being snarled up by protesters -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Interesting. All right, thank you very much. Important stuff.
Just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, a message of gratitude to this region, from the Polish president. Andrzej Duda tells me
about that and how he would like to keep any more Iranian drones out of Russian hands. That is coming up after this.
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ANDERSON: You are back with me on CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Becky Anderson.
Poland and Ukraine share a long history and a long border. But the relationship between Warsaw and Kyiv is more than just geography. Poland
has welcomed more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees since the Russian invasion began more than a year ago.
The president of Poland has been visiting this region, applauding the UAE's economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, even though it stopped short of
cutting ties with Moscow. I sat down with the Polish president here in Abu Dhabi and started by asking him, what worries him most?
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DUDA (through translator): I do not have any big fear that Russian aggression could happen in Poland right now. Of course, a potential danger
is always there. We can also speak about the other countries in central Europe.
Of course, if we allow Russia to win, if Russia defeats Ukraine, the danger, further aggression, aggression against another state, is not big;
it is huge, even because we are speaking about Russia's imperial ambitions, which have been revived.
We are speaking about Russian neocolonial policy. In this part of the world, people know these notions. Here, unfortunately, everybody knows what
colonialism is and everybody knows what -- how hugely destructive it is for all the countries.
And now Russia wants to subjugate Ukraine. It wants to subjugate the state that society -- it wants to profit from the work of the people. It wants to
benefit from the natural resources. So in a nutshell, it wants to enslave Ukraine. And we could not agree to this in the 21st century. Russia will
want to do that with other states if it defeats Ukraine.
ANDERSON: You have thanked the United Arab Emirates for its support in humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine and those countries like your own
that have been affected. The UAE has stopped short of cutting ties with Russia over this war.
Did you ask the president here to go further, to take a position, to condemn Russia's war?
DUDA (through translator): I talked indeed yesterday with his highness, with Mr. President and I also had a conversation with other (ph) leaders. I
talked also to the emir of Qatar a couple of days ago. I talked to the leaders of the African states, whom I met during that conference, dedicated
to the least developed countries.
I gave them my testimony as a neighbor of Ukraine. I was saying what is really happening there on the ground and how the situation looks from this
close perspective that we have.
The Russian propaganda distorts the reality, absolutely. It expects (ph) about an invocation as it picks (ph) about some kind of Ukrainian Nazism.
But this total rubbish, it is totally untrue.
And I am saying this with full responsibility, being a neighbor of Ukraine. This is a totally unprovoked Russian aggression. This is a brutal act of
international violence. I also expressed gratitude here in the Middle East and during my meetings; also here in the United Arab Emirates.
I'm hugely grateful for the aid, for example $100 million was spent to date by the United Arab Emirates to purchase power generators. This is huge
level (ph) assistance. These are wonderful gestures from those who are able to support and I'm hugely grateful for those gestures (ph) and I thank, as
the neighbor to Ukraine.
ANDERSON: Poland has until now, at least, had a good relationship with Tehran.
Should that change and should the European position, with regard Iran, significantly harden at this point?
DUDA (through translator): I personally talked to the president of Iran. I had appealed in that conversation not to sell armaments to Russia, not to
support the Russian militarily, because Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine.
But it is a fact that Iranian drones, Iranian drones are used to bombard (INAUDIBLE) by the Russians, to bombard the targets in Ukraine. And of
course, we have to do everything to make sure that this process is stopped.
ANDERSON: Many in this region have been warning Europe for years about Iran's position, not least its malign behavior in this region and its
missile system programs. Those are now evident in the battlefield in Ukraine.
[10:25:00]
ANDERSON: Did the Europeans make a mistake in pushing as hard as they did for the JCPOA, given where we see Iran today, with its support for Russia
in this conflict?
DUDA (through translator): Well, it's hard for me to assess it in such a clear-cut way. There are many different circumstances. We, as neighbors of
Ukraine, looking at the Russian aggression, one thinks should happen, please stop business-as-usual with Russia.
Absolutely, there is no "usual" any longer. There is no "usual" any longer and there should be no business whatsoever. And one needs to stop those
relations. Russians not be allowed to make money, because the money that Russia makes is instantly translated into aggression against Ukraine.
It is Russia who is financing the war with this money. So, please, adopt a sanctions system, constrain it. These are our appeals. But there are very
different circumstances.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That is the Polish president speaking to me earlier today. And more from that interview, coming up in the second hour of CONNECT THE
WORLD.
China's new foreign minister has directly warned Washington to back off or risk a confrontation in a wide ranging rebuke of U.S. policies. The
bellicose remarks were issued on the sidelines of the National People's Congress. Selina Wang shows us what it's like to cover this event.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of government delegates across China are gathering for the biggest annual
political meeting known as the Two Sessions. It's the first since China abandoned its zero-COVID policy.
But reporters covering the event are still stuck in a COVID bubble, required to stay overnight at a quarantine hotel and get an on-site PCR
test.
WANG: We just left the quarantine hotel. We're now headed to the venue. Everything is highly controlled.
WANG (voice-over): The foreign media bus gets dropped off at Tiananmen Square.
WANG: It is very rare for journalists to get access to this. As you can see, though, there's heavy security. There are guards everywhere.
Normally, the Two Sessions is the rare chance for media to get up and close to China's top leadership.
Right here on the steps of the Great Hall of the People. This is normally where you will see media trying to doorstop the top leadership. But as you
can see, this year, we, the media, were completely separate from the rest of the leaders.
WANG (voice-over): The Two Sessions is a carefully choreographed event. The new government shakeups that the rubberstamp parliament will vote on
have one unifying goal: to strengthen Xi Jinping and the ruling Communist Party's power.
And the COVID restrictions are the perfect tool for Beijing to control the message.
WANG: So media has to apply to get access to specific events. We're not granted approval to all of them. And this is the media area inside the
Great Hall of the People. As you can see, it's pretty empty, so it's clearly not an issue of capacity.
WANG (voice-over): Some of the events during the weeklong meeting allow select reporter questions, including Qin Gang's first press conference as
China's new foreign minister.
He said that conflict with the U.S. is inevitable, if Washington does not change course. Qin Gang called Washington's approach a reckless gamble;
accused the U.S. of creating a crisis over Taiwan; defended China's partnership with Russia as imperative; and said it has not supplied weapons
to Russia or Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you at the Two Sessions.
WANG (voice-over): Meanwhile, Chinese state media is portraying the legislative meeting as an open event where journalists can freely operate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sri Lanka.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Luke (ph) News. It's an amazing country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The assemblies also offer journalists opportunity to put questions to the Chinese premier and ministers.
WANG (voice-over): But under these controls, spontaneous run-ins with top leaders, like the premier and ministers, are out of reach.
But after today's meeting ended, we had a few minutes to approach some delegates, which are a curated group of local representatives. This
delegate is part of its Zhuang ethnic minority from the southwestern Guangxi province. She says this is her first time attending the Congress
and she feels happy to see her motherland becoming stronger.
The rest of the delegates quickly rush out before we have a chance to approach them. The question is how much of these COVID controls will remain
in post pandemic China. It limits access, even more, to China's already extremely opaque political machine.
This much is clear. The Communist leadership only wants the world to see one narrative from China. That is the image of unity, strength and victory
-- Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Still ahead from China, to Mexico, to the United States.
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ANDERSON: Authorities say the flow of fentanyl is complex and challenging to stop. We look at how the Mexican army (INAUDIBLE) the cartels selling
what is this deadly and readily available drug. More on that, after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
According to U.S. officials, the illegal sale of fentanyl is a booming business for Mexico's drug cartels, worth billions of dollars a year. And
with many of the chemicals used to make fentanyl coming from China, stopping the flow of the drug is complicated, to say the least. CNN's David
Culver reports from Mexico's state of Sinaloa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Culiacan in the state of Sinaloa, cartel country, as some see it.
Here the Mexican army is on the hunt for drug labs. With 50 soldiers and in a convoy of six armored vehicles. We travel out of Culiacan into a rural
and mountainous landscape. U.S. officials estimate fentanyl makes Mexico's criminal organizations, billions of dollars each year.
The cartels determined to eliminate anyone or anything that might threaten their profit. Colonel Alfredo Gonzalez Cuevas, our guide. Taking us to the
scene of their latest fentanyl bust. They're securing the perimeter right now.
Days earlier, he says cartel members opened fire on him and his soldiers. He said they started shooting at them hitting the vehicles. And then the
four guys started running. The Army's Intel led them to this unassuming home. In a quiet family-friendly neighborhood. That white building right
there. That's the fentanyl lab.
The army says they seized 270,000 pills here all containing fentanyl. This is about all sorts of machines to make the pills.
In his nearly 35 years in the Army working to dismantle drug operations. The colonel tells me fentanyl has been far more devastating and difficult
to control than cocaine, heroin and meth.
They test substances to know what exactly they're seizing. So it shows it here, it's a breakdown of what the chemical is and what makes it up and
then David hands here listed the hazmat component to it.
[10:35:00]
CULVER (voice-over): Crucial in understanding how fentanyl is made is knowing where the chemicals are sourced. A lot of them he says come from
the port, which came in from Asia. Higher-ranking military officials have told us, most of them come from China.
China's vast chemical industry is where experts say many of the ingredients to manufacture fentanyl known as precursors are sourced. And with worsening
U.S.-China relations, working with Chinese officials to stop the flow, increasingly challenging.
MATTHEW DONAHUE, FORMER DEA CHIEF OF FOREIGN OPERATIONS: With China. It's extremely difficult because you don't get information from them. You don't
get cooperation from them. So...
CULVER (voice-over): Matt Donahue, he worked for the DEA for more than three decades, retiring last year as its Deputy Chief of foreign
operations.
DONAHUE: Mexico goes intentionally making these drugs known to kill Americans and still shipping them up there, without putting anyone in jail,
without seizing any properties or going after all their drug assets.
CULVER (voice-over): High-ranking Mexican officials adamantly push back on that claim. Instead, they point to the U.S. to do more on its soil.
A sentiment echoed by China on Monday, the foreign ministry responding to our questions, saying in part, "The accusation by some people from the U.S.
that China is not further controlling the export of fentanyl precursors because of geopolitical influence is a desecration of the spirit of the
rule of law and is completely groundless."
Adding, "Using China as a scapegoat will not solve the drug crisis in the United States."
Back in Culiacan, the army keeps a presence at these busted labs 24/7, preserving the scenes for prosecutors and preventing cartel members from
restarting production. They also conduct random inspections at package facilities around Culiacan.
Searching for fentanyl and the precursor chemicals needed to make it, even setting up checkpoints, working to prevent the distribution of drugs made
here. Wow, he said in one of the searches, for example, it's not uncommon to find that fentanyl or other drugs will be stashed in places like the car
wheel or within the car but even in the gas tank.
DONAHUE: Fentanyl, it's sad, it's dirt cheap. You can take a life for probably five cents,10 cents what cost them to make a pill. But they're
charging $15.00 for, you know, what's your human life worth now?
CULVER (voice-over): Just days after our visit, Mexican army officials sent us this video from the back room of this small home. They seized
600,000 fentanyl pills. Countless lives potentially saved. But the cartel fueled production and seemingly endless and so to the devastation that
awaits.
CULVER: The biggest concern obviously for U.S. officials is the fentanyl that is not busted, like you saw in that lab, but the fentanyl that is able
to cross the border.
We are at one of the most trafficked borders here in the U.S. This is part of the San Diego field office. To give you some perspective, the San Diego
field office deals with more than 50 percent, more than half of all fentanyl that is seized.
So they are very busy. And this one here, in San Ysidro, in particular, is the most trafficked for that division. It is what they feel to be a very,
very difficult and seemingly endless cycle -- David Culver, CNN, San Ysidro, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Next on CONNECT THE WORLD, he just wanted to play with the ball. A four-legged dribbler brings an international football match to a halt.
That is just one of the stories you will get on "WORLD SPORT" there. That's just ahead.
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ANDERSON: Considering he is a mega billionaire and the CEO of multiple companies, Elon Musk sure seems to spend a lot of time getting into trouble
on Twitter, doesn't he?
This latest controversy is a series of insulting tweets directed at a disabled Twitter employee. He was confused about whether he had been laid
off or not. When people rushed to the employee's defense, Musk eventually apologized and said he was trying to retain the employee. CNN's Anna
Stewart is following this story for us.
Let's recap on this. There's a lot of back and forth between Elon Musk and this former Twitter employee. It wasn't like -- you know, Elon Musk was
quick to take back what he said. Just remind us of what happened.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, this was just a couple of days, a series of fairly explosive tweets between, as it turns out, a
former employee of Twitter. He wasn't quite sure if he still worked there; he had been locked out of accounts. This has happened to many former
employees of Twitter.
Yet, he asked, the head of HR, who didn't even know if he was employed. He took to Twitter to ask Elon Musk, hey, am I employed by Twitter? Do I still
have a job?
What followed was a series of pretty shocking tweets. Elon Musk asking what exactly he did for a job, essentially ridiculing that job, sending laughing
emojis, telling him, yes, he was fired and ridiculing him, frankly, in front of millions of people on Twitter.
But also saying this, this was the tweet that really caught the attention and caused quite the Twitter storm.
He says, the reality is, this guy, who is independently wealthy, did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented
him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm. Can't say I have a lot of respect for that.
Whereupon Halli actually went into great lengths on Twitter about his disability, explaining it again incredibly publicly, explaining he has
muscular dystrophy, he has been using a wheelchair for 20 years.
And increasingly, he is struggling to type for prolonged periods of time. Now, based on that, we did get an apology from Elon Musk, which in itself
is perhaps breaking news.
But was it remorse? Was it the threat of a lawsuit? Who knows. But an interesting part of the apology, Becky, is when he says it's better to talk
to people than communicate via tweet. Hallelujah.
ANDERSON: Honestly, when I read that, i didn't know what to say. And I certainly didn't know what to tweet. All right, thank you very much indeed.
(SPORTS)
[11:00:00]
END
