Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

How U.S. Planned And Carried Out Capture Of Nicolas Maduro; Opposition Leader Machado: Venezuela Will Be "Main Ally Of U.S."; Who Is Cilia Flores, Venezuela's "First Combatant?"; Minnesota Governor Will Not Seek Third Term After GOP Attacks; Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 06, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Military following the mission to capture Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Nicolas Maduro got to meet some great Americans wearing night vision goggles three nights ago. He didn't know they were coming till three minutes before they arrived.

In fact, his wife said, I think that your aircraft is outside. They didn't know. You know why? Because every single part of that chain did their job. And they did it flawlessly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Defense Secretary also confirmed me that nearly 200 U.S. personnel were on the ground in Caracas during Operation Absolute Resolve.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh breaks down the timeline of how Saturday's raid unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): With Nicolas Maduro unbound, President Trump gave the order at 10:46 P.M. Eastern Time.

Later, U.S. forces flew into Venezuela from the sea, 150 aircraft, drones, jets, the helicopters visible over Caracas, where blackouts from U.S. electronic warfare and blasts eased their path.

GEN. DAN CAINE, U.S. CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: As the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water.

As they approached Venezuelan shores, the United States began layering different effects provided by SPACECOM, CYBERCOM and other members of the interagency to create a pathway. WALSH (voice-over): Multiple locations were hit in and around the capital, including what appeared to be an air defense missile system east of Caracas and Higuerote. And La Carlota air base in the capital and the port of La Guaira.

Fire was otherwise concentrated on the Fuerte Tiuna military stronghold. And at 1:01 A.M. U.S. forces landed at Maduro's location.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was a force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas.

WALSH (voice-over): Images from outside Fortress Tiuna show troops and people fleeing in the dead of night. It lasted 30 minutes, said General Dan Caine and tore part Venezuela's defenses in the regional order, leaving a gap of two hours and many clashes, he said, until they were over the sea.

CAINE: And the force was over the water at 3:29 A.M. Eastern Standard Time.

WALSH: The multi-million dollar alleged narco-terrorist on the USS Iwo Jima in a $120 jogging suit.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's go live down to Buenos Aires and Andrei Serbin Pont, who is the director of the regional think tank CRIES. Andre, appreciate you being here with us this morning.

As someone who studies and focuses on governance, what are you hoping for in the weeks and the months to come in Venezuela? What are you watching?

ANDREI SERBIN PONT, DIRECTOR OF THE REGIONAL THINK TANK CRIES: Well, thank you for the invite. And I think that the first thing we have to watch out for. And I think this is part of the intent by the Trump administration is being very careful with the Maduro power in Venezuela. And it continues to control that they're supposed still has over organizations in general, whether within the state or outside of the state, right?

So the idea of this transition needing to be closely handled and controlled and possibly led to some extent by (INAUDIBLE) has to do with how you deal with that specific void and stop putting and avoid putting Edmundo or Maria Corina Machado or the leadership of the opposition in general in a situation in which they find themselves trying to administer a lot of expectations and are not able to because all these groups start to actively engage them on the violent front, of course.

SOLOMON: Well -- well, yes, let's -- I mean, let's stay there. I mean, we were just looking at video of the interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, being sworn in. I want to get your top on reaction to that. I mean, this is Maduro's handpicked vice president. Your thoughts now about what -- what her at the helm means for Venezuela.

PONT: Well, Delcy, of course, is part of this -- this large structure that has control of Chavismo, along with her order brother, they're key figures inside Chavismo.

But at the same time, she's one that has relative capacity to engage with the United States at a different level, especially because there's not a huge amount of money on her head. There's no active request to -- to capture her via the U.S. justice system.

So this conditions the relationship and the dialogue between the forces differently. And, of course, she has had -- she is sustaining the narrative, the Chavismo holds regarding, you know, the -- the supposed kidnapping of Maduro, but at the same time has the possibility to try and gauge probably on the back channels with the United States and have a role in that transition.

A transition that from Chavismo perspective could occur in the instance of (INAUDIBLE) power and recurring to the Constitution, which establishes that if that happens, because the president is no longer available, that at some moment, elections have to be called upon.

[04:35:10]

And that's a good opportunity for the international community to come on in and try to ensure that those elections are fair and inclusive of all the candidates and maybe even provide an opportunity for Maria Corina Machado to win that election and have that legitimacy from the votes onto herself.

SOLOMON: I mean to that point though, Andre, I mean there were elections last year. Opposition leader Maria Machado overwhelmingly, you know, did well among Venezuelans. Trump has said that she doesn't have the support or the respect within the country.

Is that -- is that true though when the elections were just last year?

PONT: Of course. And I mean, the elections in 2024, there's widespread consensus that, you know, Edmundo Gonzalez won that election and, of course, he has the capacity to delegate that legitimacy to Maria Corina Machado to a certain extent who was not able to participate.

And -- and I think that that's part of the -- the situation which you want to share to put it into some terms and would you want to make sure that Maria Corina Machado, at some moment, has not delegated legitimacy but earned legitimacy through the actual votes herself.

One thing doesn't mean that you have to question the other, and I think that, again, I will emphasize this. There's a wide spread consensus that those elections were won by Edmundo Gonzalez in representation of the unified opposition with -- and in the representation of Maria Corina Machado. But right now, the dynamics are changing very drastically. And also, you have to be very pragmatic in this process. And I'd love to see Maria Corina Machado take office right away as they should be. But at the same time, I'm very concerned on how Chavismo is playing out its game for the medium to long-term.

SOLOMON: Yes. I take your point about being pragmatic moving forward. Can you give us a sense of what the appetite among Venezuelans is for a new election entirely?

PONT: I'm not sure Venezuelans are as positive on having a new election. I think that part of the frustration that a lot of Venezuelans have had is that they've seen continuous efforts to push for -- for change through institutional processes. And those institutional processes have always been frustrated by Chavismo.

They've always collapsed under that pressure, that the repression, the -- just simply not acknowledging the results.

So I think that a lot of Venezuelans might be like, oh, are we going again into this process when we're ready to figure it out that, you know, it's not going to be through the votes?

But at the same time, I think that it would provide that opportunity for Maria Corina Machado to be leading that campaign. And she could have excellent results and ensure that there's no questions regarding her legitimacy into the future.

SOLOMON: Yes. What concerns -- before I let you go, what -- what concerns do you have as someone who studies space and expert in that part of the world as the dust settles on what happens next, the -- the day after, the so-called day after? What concerns do you have?

PONT: My main concern is a bit more on the security side. And I do think that Chavismo, for a long time, has prepared the narrative regarding U.S. intervention in Venezuela as not one that they can face directly, but rather in -- in the aftermath.

And this discussion on, you know, a prolonged popular resistance against the United States which, of course, they're going to translate into the opposition as well. So trying to mobilize all these parastate armed actors that are already present in Venezuela that already have a huge amount of weapons, mobilizing those actors, knowing that the new government does not have full control or support of the military can create a very chaotic scene.

And that's going to frustrate Venezuelans really fast if it does occur. So the first priority has to be on the security realm right along with the economy which is something that has been hitting every (INAUDIBLE) and really hard for the last 15 years.

SOLOMON: Yes. Yes, absolutely. We'll leave it here. Andrei Serbin Pont, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

PONT: Thank you.

SOLOMON: And still to come for us, Venezuela's now former first lady is standing trial in the U.S. beside her husband.

Coming up, we'll hear how she rose to political prominence on her own after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:50]

SOLOMON: Venezuela's First Lady, or rather First Combatant, as she's called, was targeted along with her husband in the U.S. military operation.

But Cilia Flores didn't rise to importance because of her marriage to Nicolas Maduro.

CNN's Isa Soares has more on her political career, and how she came known to be called the most powerful woman in Venezuela.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of Nicolas Maduro's many moments of praise for his wife Cilia Flores, who was always by the Venezuelan president's side, but don't be fooled by her soft manner.

For years, Flores has wielded power behind the scenes as a shrewd political strategist.

In fact, instead of First Lady, she likes to go by First Combatant, a title that speaks volumes about her lifelong belief in Chavismo, the socialist movement that has dominated Venezuela for decades.

As a lawyer, she helps secure Hugo Chavez' release from prison after his failed coup attempt in the '90s. That's when she first crossed paths with Maduro, a moment she recalled on her husband's podcast.

CILIA FLORES, DEPOSED VENEZUELAN FIRST LADY (through text translation): When a young man asked to speak, he spoke, and I just stared at him.

It's true. And I said, look, how intelligent.

[04:45:09]

SOARES (voice-over): Chavez later became president, as well as Maduro's mentor and predecessor, all the while, Flores was busy carving her own political path.

In 2006, she became the first woman to preside over Venezuela's national assembly. She was criticized for batting journalists from the legislative chamber and for hiring dozens of relatives as employees. Moved, she defended.

In 2012, Chavez appointed Flores as the country's solicitor general, not long before he died. One year later, she tied the knot with then- president Maduro. NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through text translation): Cilia and I legalized our relationship under the country's laws.

SOARES (voice-over): All of this has earned her the description of the most powerful woman in Venezuela. That power and influence haven't gone unnoticed.

In 2018, the first Trump administration slapped sanctions on the first lady and others, alleging they were helping the Venezuelan leader plunder his nation's wealth.

MADURO (through text translation): If you want to attack me, attack me. Don't mess with Cilia. Don't mess with the family.

SOARES (voice-over): But the Trump administration disagreed. And when it took the extraordinary step of seizing the Venezuelan president from his bedroom over the weekend, it made sure to get Flores, too.

In the indictment, prosecutors accused the first couple and other members of the country's elite of working with narco-trafficking gangs to facilitate and protect their drug trafficking operation.

The 25-page document adds that they ordered kidnappings, beatings, and murders against those who owed them money, or interfered with their drug trafficking operation.

69-year-old Flores made her first appearance at a New York courthouse on Monday alongside her husband. Defiant, they both pleaded not guilty on what is fast becoming a blockbuster case.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Still to come, Minnesota's governor makes a major announcement and warns his state that the Trump administration is trying to divide them by preying on their fears, more on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:50:53]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says that the Pentagon will cut Senator Mark Kelly's retirement pay.

Kelly and six Democratic lawmakers took part in a video reminding U.S. service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders. Democrats were accused by both Hegseth and President Trump of, quote, seditious behavior.

Kelly is a retired Navy captain who served during Operation Desert Storm. Hegseth wants to cut his pay and reduce his retirement rank. But Kelly says that he plans to fight the action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Donald Trump, he deferred the draft five times because he had bone spurs. Four generations of service to this country earns me the right to speak. Five deferments earns nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Meantime, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says that he will not run for re-election. This comes after a blitz of Republican attacks blaming him for a welfare fraud scandal in the state, though he's not accused of any wrongdoing.

The governor says that he is ending his campaign to give his full attention to fight what he calls an organized group of criminals defrauding taxpayers, as well as those seeking to take political advantage of the crisis.

CNN's Whitney Wild has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Governor Tim Walz now saying he is not going to seek a third term as governor of Minnesota.

If he had sought a third term and he had won, that would have been unprecedented. This run was, again, simply an unprecedented attempt at a third term.

His stepping down comes amid a major fraud scandal in the state of Minnesota that has lasted years. The first round of indictments was announced in 2022 under the Biden administration. And since then, more indictments have been announced, more convictions have been announced.

There was the most recent round of indictments that was announced December 18th. And at that time, prosecutors said that the extent of the fraud and the extent of public funds that could have been stolen in the state of Minnesota could have been $9 billion or more.

And this was a problem that seemed to clearly invade the state of Minnesota and appeared to be uniquely acute there. And yet, the criticism of Governor Walz had been, for some time, that he wasn't taking it seriously enough.

And now we see that Governor Walz is stepping down. This is also in the wake of a YouTube video that was released in the days after Christmas, which purported to find fraud at Somali Run daycares in Minneapolis, state investigators sent investigators to those daycares and found that there were children inside. Four of them are going to undergo further investigation.

But that -- it was that YouTube video that took what was really a criticism that had been confined to Minnesota and thrust it on the national stage. It was a huge media firestorm for many, many days.

Now we know that the fallout includes Governor Tim Walz electing not to run for a third term. So the question becomes, who is going to take his place? Sources tell CNN's Jeff Zeleny that all eyes are on Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:55:03]

SOLOMON: U.S. officials have dramatically changed their recommendations for childhood vaccinations. The changes are similar to vaccine schedules in nations like Denmark. Shots to fight measles, mumps and rubella, as well as polio, chickenpox, and others are still recommended for all children. But those four hepatitis A and B and others are recommended for those at a higher risk of infection.

Under the new changes, vaccines for the flu and coronavirus are recommended only after consulting with a healthcare provider. Several public health experts who spoke to CNN warned that the changes could lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases.

The popular weight loss drug, Wegovy, is now available as a daily pill. Drug maker, Novo Nordisk says that the starter dose costs $149 a month for people paying cash and buying straight from the manufacturer. That is $200 cheaper than the injectable version, making the pill a more affordable option for people whose insurance plans don't cover the drug. Stronger doses will be soon available in pill form as well.

All right. That's going to do it for this hour of "Early Start." I'm Rahel Solomon, live in New York. We will be back with another hour of "Early Start right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:00]