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Isa Soares Tonight

Jamaica Braces For Hurricane Melissa; Washington Ratchets Pressure On Venezuela; Estonia Pledges $10M Plus For U.S.-NATO Weapons Programs; U.S. Unveils New Sanctions Against Russian Oil Producers; U.S. Warships Move Closer To Venezuela; Louvre Jewel Heist Suspects Arrested. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 27, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Jamaica prepares for what could be its

worst storm ever as a Category 5 hurricane edges closer to shore. We'll be on the ground in Jamaica's capital. Plus, President Trump tells Putin to

focus on ending the Ukraine war, instead of testing a new nuclear-capable missile.

I'll ask Estonia's Foreign Minister what more Europe can do to support Ukraine. And Washington ratchets up the pressure on Venezuela, docking U.S.

warships in Trinidad and Tobago. We'll be live with the latest developments from Caracas, Venezuela with much more ahead for you this hour.

Well, we do begin tonight in Kingston, Jamaica, where in just a matter of hours from now, Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall. It's not

only the strongest storm on the planet this year, this Category 5 storm could be the worst ever to hit Jamaica.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All residents, all residents of Annotto Bay(ph), you are asked to evacuate to higher ground. The shelter is --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Calling for residents there to go to higher ground. That is, of course, a call, a heed for people to evacuate as people prepare for high

winds, a huge storm surge and massive amounts of rain. Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued as well for venerable -- for vulnerable coastline

areas, other residents are trying to prepare against potential structural damage.

And take a look at this satellite image, and really the lightning flashes within the hurricanes, as you can see they're powerful eye-wall. One local

government official spoke to CNN just a short time ago. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESMOND MCKENZIE, MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JAMAICA: We have been doing some intense work over the last couple of weeks to educate and to engage

our communities. We have seen some steady response in terms of evacuation taking place. We are expecting in excess of 50,000 or more Jamaicans in

these areas that we have targeted to be evacuated to safe grounds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, we'll take you to Kingston, Jamaica, in just a moment. But first, I want to go to meteorologist Chris Warren who joins us now from the

CNN Weather Center. Great to have you on the show, Chris. Just looking really at the eye of the storm and those little flashes just behind you,

that is absolutely terrifying. Just give us a sense of what we can expect in the hours ahead.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Isa, I can tell you as of the latest update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, this is now up

10 miles an hour from where it was just last hour or so, with the latest update, 175 mile per hour Category 5 hurricane. And when you look at this

and you see what is almost a perfect circle and surrounding it, the more symmetrical that these systems are, the more dangerous they are, because it

means they're better organized.

Now, the worst of the winds are going to be kind of right in here, right close to that eye. So, you can imagine this moving up here. That's where

the catastrophic impacts are expected. But the entire island of Jamaica going to see tropical storm force winds and an unbelievable amount of rain,

and it is going to last a very long time.

Here's the Category 5 as it is now. By tomorrow morning, still a Category 5 hurricane possibly at landfall around daybreak or so. What this is showing

us is that Jamaica will see tropical storm force winds, the entire island. There is a 100 percent chance that is going to happen as far as the worst

of the worst of the winds, that's going to be here in the red and closer to the center, where that orange comes on shore and then moves off, is that

about around 60-mile an hour with hurricane force winds around 70-75 miles an hour.

That's going to last for first several hours, maybe about 18, 19, even 20 hours moving across the island, that's long enough to drive from New York

to Miami, or about taking a flight from New York to Australia. So, this is a long duration event.

[14:05:00]

And even ahead of those winds will come the rain. And this rain is also life threatening, posing a catastrophic situation for pretty much the

entire island, and this will come with mudslides and landslides. And you can see the duration of this. Here's 1 O'clock in the morning here local

time, and it has not quite made landfall yet.

But the winds are extremely strong, and landfall essentially is like half- time. So, you've got hours and hours of agony ahead, a nightmare of a night, morning and much of the day for tomorrow. The mountains make it

worse, rain is enhanced because of the mountains that rain wants to drain out of the mountains to the Caribbean.

But Isa, this storm, Melissa, will be pushing seawater inland, which could be a couple to a few meters above high tide. So, this is a dangerous

situation, not only with the saltwater coming in, but the fresh water trying to get out and not able to do so and spreading out. So, a disaster

in the making tonight will be one of little sleep and lots of prayers in Jamaica.

SOARES: Indeed, I hope everyone is heeding those calls to stay safe, to go to higher ground. Chris, I know you'll be following it closely. Thank you

very much indeed. Now, I want to take you to Asia. U.S. President Donald Trump is now in Japan on his tour of Asia, but it's his planned visit with

China's leader that is looming large.

Just hours from now, Mr. Trump will meet with Japan's first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for trade talks. That will follow an earlier visit

with Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Later this week, a critical meeting between Mr. Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. American and Chinese negotiators

say they've reached a framework on a new trade deal with a 100 percent tariffs threatened by President Trump now set to be off the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have China coming, and it's going to be very interesting. I have a lot of respect for President

Xi, and we are going to -- I think we're going to come away with a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, let's get some perspective now from Asia. And CNN's Mike Valerio joins us from Beijing. Mike, appreciate you being with us at this

time of the morning. Give us a sense -- for our viewers, a sense of what, first of all, is in this substantial framework. I know we have very little,

but what do you understand is in this?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have four essential points with the caveat, Isa, that these points, these details so far are

coming from the American side. The Chinese side of the equation is a little more taciturn, a little more circumspect and cautious with the details. So,

this is what we have as we understand them.

The deal, the agreement that's going to come into focus in four points. The first one, China agreeing to help stem the flow of fentanyl and fentanyl

precursor chemicals into the United States. That's been a huge concern of the Trump administration since the first days of the administration 1.0 in

2017. Point 2, China to buy substantial amounts of U.S. soybeans.

And that is hugely important to a wide contingent of Trump supporters and Trump voters. We're talking about farmers whose main customer is China.

Farmers from the American states of -- let's see, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, their primary customer, again China for these soybeans. And in

the middle of the trade war, China essentially said, well, forget it.

We're not going to buy soybeans from you anymore as we are locked in this trade dispute. The third one, this is a huge one, China could delay rare

earth export controls. And what we mean by that and that wonky terminology is, this was China saying to the United States and the world that if you

were selling a product, a gizmo, any kind of machine that had a trace less than 1 percent of a rare earth mineral from China, you would need to get a

license to export that product around the world.

And that could have -- if that went into effect, disrupted supply chains far and wide and potentially closed off the spigot of rare earth minerals

to the United States. And then point four, finally finalizing that TikTok deal, the drama that has been in the making for years, finally, perhaps

coming to an end. Isa.

SOARES: And what you've just outlined for us, Mike, with the exception perhaps of TikTok, is slightly more advantageous to the United States,

right? So, what is China looking to get out of this?

VALERIO: I think they absolutely want access to advanced chips that the United States manufacturers, that China does not have in its reach as of

yet. And we say as of yet, we want to stress that because, you know, as so much was happening around the world last week, really, there were -- there

were several dozen members of the Chinese Communist Party who converged here in Beijing to help formulate the latest five-year plan for China, with

an emphasis on leading the way in advanced technology. Becoming more self- sufficient to create these chips rivaling and surpassing the technological innovation of the United States.

[14:10:00]

And why we say that's so important is because these five-year plans that China has been making since 1953, they put the economic energy and the

human resources energy of this entire nation behind just a few goals. And we had the energy of this country helped supercharge the electric vehicle

innovation that China has ventured into over the past couple of years.

Now making myriad EV companies and leading the way in that industry. So, if China is now setting its sights on these chips that the U.S. has a monopoly

on with its new five-year plan, this is certainly a position that China does not want to be in. So, for the time being, it wants access to these

chips without the U.S. saying, oh, you know, all right, maybe we're going to put some restrictions on it in the near future.

They want access to this U.S. technology with fewer conditions, and they want to be able to rival it on its own, Isa.

SOARES: Mike Valerio for us in Beijing, a busy day for you, I know. President Trump also meeting with Japan's newly elected --

VALERIO: Thanks, Isa --

SOARES: Prime Minister later on today -- appreciate it, good to see you, Mike, thank you. And right now, we are keeping an eye on the court hearing

for the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson is expected to appear at the administrative hearing within the hour. Kirk, the Co-

founder of Turning Point USA was shot and killed on September 9th while speaking to students at Utah Valley -- at Utah Valley University.

We'll of course bring you any update on the hearing as soon as they come in to us. Now, Russia is boasting about a new missile test just days after

Russian jets were intercepted in Estonia's airspace. After the break, I'll speak to the country's Foreign Minister about the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: And I'll be live from Caracas, Venezuela, as U.S. Navy sends a destroyer of the Venezuelan coast, adding

even more pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will decide which countries can take part in the new international stabilization force for

Gaza. The force would handle security efforts in the enclave under the U.S.-backed ceasefire plan. And this comes as Red Cross officials met with

Hamas on Sunday to discuss finding the bodies of 13 deceased Israeli hostages whose remains have not yet been returned to Israel.

[14:15:00]

Sources are also telling CNN that Israel has approved a request to allow an Egyptian team with tools and equipment to enter Gaza and assist in the

efforts to locate the bodies. With the ceasefire in place, displaced Palestinians have been returning to their homes in Gaza, many are coming

back to find their communities unrecognizable and their homes destroyed after two years of war.

And as CNN's Jeremy Diamond now reports, some are left searching for closure with loved ones still lost beneath the rubble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This rubble stands as a testament to so much loss. For Rafiq Deeb(ph), it is also where

he feels closest to his family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DIAMOND: One by one, he greets his wife and four children, recalling how on this day, a Friday, they would be sitting down together for lunch. "I came

to unburden myself to you", Rafiq(ph) says. But he hasn't just come here because this is where they were killed nearly two years after Israel bombed

their home, this is where their bodies are still buried.

"i want to take you out and bury you in graves and come visit you", Rafiq(ph) says, instead of visiting you while you are under the rubble.

Rafiq's(ph) wife and children are among more than 10,000 people whose bodies are still trapped beneath mounds of concrete and twisted metal.

According to Gaza's civil defense, thousands whose deaths have yet to be recorded in the Health Ministry's toll of more than 68,000 killed in Gaza.

The ceasefire gave families like Rafiq(ph) hope that they could soon give their loved ones a dignified burial. But two weeks n, Gaza's civil defense,

armed only with crude equipment, has recovered fewer than 500 bodies, mostly in open or easy to reach locations. "We are talking about bodies

under the rubble of tall buildings, concrete masses exceeding 50 million tons of debris are on people's bodies."

Leftover debris amounting to about 70,000 tons located in various areas of the Strip, says Mahmoud Basal(ph), Gaza's Civil Defense spokesman. "To deal

with them, we need capabilities and tools and teams able to handle these events" Some of that heavy machinery entered Gaza during the previous

ceasefire, but Israel targeted much of it when it returned to war.

New machinery is now entering Gaza once again, but at least for now, these excavators are intended to retrieve the bodies of deceased Israeli

hostages, not Palestinians. Rafiq(ph) is now pleading with the world to supply Gaza with the tools to dig out his children so that he may bury

them. "Your son grows up before you, you rejoice in him and you tell yourself, he will support me when I grow old.

And suddenly, everything disappears from your life." One father among so many waiting for rubble to be cleared and the closure it could bring.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, I promised you earlier in the show that we would take you, of course, to Kingston, Jamaica. I want to get you the latest on Hurricane

Melissa. We just told you in the last 17 minutes or so, is now the strongest storm of 2025. Our Derek Van Dam joins me now from Kingston,

Jamaica. Derrick, just give us a sense of what you are seeing on the ground and how communities there are preparing.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So, Isa, we are getting some rain bands and gusty tropical storm force winds at the moment, but we know that the

worst is still yet to come. I mean, you're talking about how this has just turned into the world's strongest storm in 2025 is really saying something.

The hurricane hunters, whose job it is to go and fly into the middle of these storms to collect crucial data for our weather forecasts, had to

abort a mission today because the turbulence was just so extreme. So, that gives you an idea of how this storm is still developing, it's still

strengthening, and it's making its final approach slowly into the country of Jamaica.

Look at this satellite representation on my graphics. I mean, I am left absolutely awestruck by this because it's a perfect specimen of what mother

nature can do. I mean, aside from the devastation that it will bring, it is perfectly developed into this high-end Category 5 hurricane, 175 mile per

hour winds near the core of that storm, and it is forecast to come on shore as a Category 5 storm.

[14:20:00]

So, catastrophic winds where the eye makes landfall, on the right side of the storm, we will have a major storm surge potential, including here in

Kingston where I'm located. And then the other threat for this region is the torrential rainfall that will lead to flash flooding, landslides and

mudslides that could be catastrophic, and using the words from the National Hurricane Center here in the United States could isolate communities for

days.

And I want to show you just how long of a duration this event is, because that's one of the major underlying stories. We're already in tropical storm

conditions across the country, there's reports of roads already being flooded out, but it is only going to deteriorate from here. Look at the

timestamp on the top right hand corner of these graphics, and you'll see that some of the strongest winds enter overnight tonight.

That's 1:00 a.m. Eastern Standard or Eastern Daylight Time, and advancing this through the afternoon into Tuesday evening, even towards early

Wednesday morning, we will still be in the thick of this storm as it crawls across the island nation of Jamaica. And that is going to be a prolonged

duration event that will not give people the time to recover, and the rain is really the big concern, especially where I'm standing at the moment

because 40 inches of rain, we're talking 750 millimeters of precipitation.

Got a lot of hurricane coverage under my belt, I'm talking about Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017, we had the devastation that was brought across

the western North Carolina mountains near Asheville a couple of years ago. Helene, this will bring similar rainfall totals. And with the

infrastructure that will be tested in Jamaica and surrounding areas, there will definitely be a catastrophic event.

So, Isa, we are just preparing for the worst, hoping for the best. And I've said this a million times, but it's really important for people to

understand this, you can -- you can hide from the wind, but you need to run from the water.

SOARES: Yes, and I struck, Derek, by what one government official said that 70 percent of the population there live within 5 kilometers of the coast.

That is terrifying as we talk about storm surge and those rains. Derek, really appreciate it, stay safe, my friend, good to see you. Now, we're

going to leave -- we'll keep an eye, of course, on the very latest from Jamaica.

I want to turn to the geopolitics, and in particular to Russia, because Russia says it has successfully tested a long-range nuclear-powered cruise

missile. President Putin has described it as a weapon that no other country has, and said decisions would now be made about how to deploy it. U.S.

President Donald Trump waved off reports of the Russian missile test.

He said President Putin should instead focus on ending the war in Ukraine, and Trump critic -- emphasized, pardon me, the U.S. had a nuclear submarine

located close to Russia. Our Matthew Chance is in Moscow with the very latest. So, Matthew, you know, we heard President Trump speak about this,

didn't -- he didn't think it was appropriate for Putin to be doing this. So, just explain the timing and what the Kremlin had to say about this

nuclear-powered missile.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. I think the timing, Isa, is very significant because it comes as the

diplomatic efforts on the part of the White House to bring the Ukraine war to an end have stalled the proposed summit in Budapest, it's been -- has

been canceled or put on hold.

And so, this is the Kremlin trying to kind of send a message about its -- the threat that it poses. Nuclear saber rattling by announcing the results

of what it says was a successful test of this nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik missile, as they call it here in Russia. You know,

Putin was basically underlining just how much depth his nuclear forces has -- a few days before by the way, Russia conducted those nuclear triad

drills.

So, it launched intercontinental ballistic missiles from the sea, from a submarine, from a land-based interceptor, and it launched a nuclear capable

missile from the air as well. Again, nuclear saber-rattling intended to show a message to the United States that if the situation in Ukraine

escalates, you're dealing with a country that isn't a normal power.

It has a massive arsenal of nuclear weaponry. And so, that's the sort of subtext behind all this. The missile itself, this Burevestnik missile is

quite interesting because it's one of these experimental so-called invincible weapons, in the words of Vladimir Putin, that he announced back

in 2018, in fact, and it's been in development since then.

It's still an experimental weapon. It's unique because it has a nuclear power -- you know, a nuclear engine. You know, it's powered by nuclear

energy, which means it can keep on going, it doesn't run out of fuel. The Russians say it could circumnavigate the earth at very low altitude before

it's sent in to target something.

[14:25:00]

There are drawbacks with it. One of them is that the exhaust potentially comes polluting sort of nuclear waste, that's one issue with it. The other

is that because it's a nuclear-powered missile, it potentially is unreliable. And I think that's one of the reasons why -- I mean, Vladimir

Putin is right. I mean, no one else has it. It's one of the reasons why something like this hasn't been developed before.

SOARES: Matthew Chance for us this evening in Moscow. Thanks, Matthew. Let me stay in the region, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna joins me

now from Kyiv. He's just wrapped up a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart where they discussed shared priorities and continued funding

for the war effort.

Minister Margus Tsahkna, welcome back to the show, great to have you back on the show, Foreign Minister. Let me start really and to pick up where

Matthew Chance, our correspondent just left off in Moscow, and that is that Russia has successfully tested its nuclear-powered cruise missile. And

according to President Putin, they will work towards deploying the message. What is the message you think he's sending with that test?

MARGUS TSAHKNA, FOREIGN MINISTER, ESTONIA: I think that Putin is panicking because European Union has adopted the 19 package of the sanctions, which

is very strong as well. President Trump refused to meet in Budapest with Putin to give him more time. And instead of that, actually put the

sanctions on two very important energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom.

And Gazprom -- so, this is very clear message that Putin is actually -- is panicking because he is running out of energy to keep going on the -- on

the battlefield of Ukraine. So he's not gaining any breakthrough. So, I think this is the sign that he's trying to play with the western part of

the world. Fears -- he has been very successful, but I think that we don't need to follow that.

SOARES: And under pressure, I hear you saying, Foreign Minister, does this saber rattling, does that rattle at all European allies? Because, of

course, only last week we saw them here in the U.K., the Coalition of the Willing, a show of force. How would they take to this -- to this testing

then by President Putin?

TSAHKNA: I think this is a sign that actually we are on the right way, on the good path, because increasing the pressure to Putin is making his

position weaker. It's a great sign as well that President Trump is not following Putin on this game. Putin has played with President Trump months

to win the time. I'm in Kyiv, and I see as well that Putin is actually putting more pressure on Ukraine, people on energy.

So, this is something we need to be more encouraged that we are on the right path and we need to increase the pressure to Putin and maybe finally,

he will decide as well to start renegotiating about the peace. He's not willing this right now.

SOARES: Yes, and that was very clear, the message I heard last Friday, of course, from leaders on the Coalition of the Willing, saying that they all

-- must all dial up the pressure on Putin. We heard, like you clearly stated that 19-package of sanctions. But what is clearly needed, and you

and I have discussed this Foreign Minister prior, is of course, hardware, right?

Not just sanctions but hardware. You know, what is your sense of how close Ukraine may be to getting either Taurus missiles, the Tomahawks, and

crucially, the unfreezing of those funds for Ukraine?

TSAHKNA: Exactly what we need to do. We have a plan. One is a -- the first is to increase the pressure to Russia economically, and that's what we

exactly do with the 19-package, with the Trump sanctions and as well, Europe is preparing for the 20th package. It will be very strong. The

second is about resources.

And we have been talking years about how can we use the Russian frozen assets, and finally, in Europe, there is a breakthrough on political level

that we are going to use these hundreds of billions of Russian frozen assets to give this money to Ukraine for military purposes as well for

recovery, and as well, U.S. is ready to sell their products on military level.

So, we have all the different components there, and I think that Putin understand that we are more united than we were actually maybe like 5-6

months ago. And we just need to keep going. And the hardware is important. I remember these talks about the Taurus missiles about Germany, and now

everybody is talking about Tomahawks.

But what Ukraine needs, and I talked to President Zelenskyy today and as well my counterpart, Foreign Minister Sybiha, here, is a long-range

capabilities because they know exactly where to hit Russia on energy, on other targets to weaken them. So, we just need to deliver them, and Europe

has all the money and also aggression money.

SOARES: And of course, you're in Kyiv, I know, I understand from my team that you met, of course, with President Zelenskyy. Give us a sense for our

viewers, a sense right around the world what you have seen, the discussions you've had. And what Foreign Minister, what kind of leverage you think, you

know, of everything that we've discussed, everything from hardware, from sanctions, from U.S. pressure, from the United States, sanctions from the

United States, what kind of leverage is the most effective, you think, with President Putin, or do you think they all apply here?

[14:30:28]

TSAHKNA: They're all. It's that combination of all different measures. And what President Zelenskyy says publicly all the time is that we need to put

Putin under the strong pressure. Of course, the main concern now is how to survive the winter, because Putin is hitting the civil infrastructure and

energy infrastructure a lot.

But the case is that we need to understand main thing, that Putin is not so strong as he wants to be. Ukraine has been very strong about stopping

Putin. And on the battlefield Putin has not gained any strategic breakthroughs. And even if you see now that Putin's panic, I can say it

even. So, it is a proof that we are on the right path to support Ukraine, also to be ready to give security guarantees if needs for that. Estonia has

decided to participate boots on the ground if there is need for that.

And as well, we need to work with this accountability question. It's not very on spotlight publicly. But actually, we are now forming and it is

agreed the special tribunal for aggression crimes for Putin. And this is something Putin is really concerned. So, all the different levels what we

need to work together with the Ukraine people, and we must be united.

SOARES: Yes, there's momentum and clearly pressure is being dialed up. Minister, great to see you again. Thank you for your time.

And still to come tonight, U.S. warships crowding around Venezuela details ahead on the administration's drug claims and how Venezuela's President

Nicolas Maduro is responding. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. For weeks, we have been tracking tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. While U.S. President Donald Trump continues

his Asia diplomacy tour, there is a rising drumbeat of war closer to home. On Sunday, the guided missile destroyer, that one there, the USSS Gravely,

arrived in Trinidad and Tobago.

Meanwhile, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is also on its way to the seas of Venezuela. All of this as Mr. Trump

accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug gang. In response, President Maduro claims the U.S. is looking to fabricate an

excuse to go to war.

Stefano Pozzebon is on the streets of Caracas, Venezuela, for us. And, Stefano, you and I were talking earlier in the day, early your time, I know

there were protests, pro-Maduro protests happening. Give us a sense of what the Venezuelan government is saying to this, of course, build-up, of

course, and show of force off the coast of Venezuela.

POZZEBON: Yes, Isa, we were able to speak with some pro-Maduro supporters who were demonstrating in front of the U.S. embassy to ask for a de-

escalation. And more on that later. But further and most urgent is yet another call from the Venezuelan Vice President, Elsie Rodriguez, who spoke

to the national television here in Caracas. And once again denounced what the Venezuelan government, the Maduro government, is calling a false flag

operation.

Basically, the Venezuelans are accusing the United States of trying to fabricate a pretext through mercenary operation to have some incident occur

in the Caribbean, and by that justify a stronger approach, perhaps a direct military approach within Venezuela.

And I think that, of course, like everything that comes out of Miraflores, the presidential palace, we need to take these allegations with a pinch of

salt. But they definitely speak to the preoccupation within the Maduro circle for this confrontation to really escalate dramatically or spill over

into open warfare should anything go wrong with all those firepower, with all those manpower deployed in the Caribbean. And that's why we're hearing

rare words of caution, at least from Venezuelan officials, such as Elsie Rodriguez, who was speaking here just about half an hour ago.

Earlier today, we were saying we were able to speak with Maduro supporters in front of the Venezuelan, the U.S. embassy here in Venezuela. Once again,

this is a country that is living under an authoritarian government. Those type of protests or rallies would not happen, would not take place unless

they are directly sanctioned and supported by the Maduro government. But at the same time, we were able to speak with locals there who are saying that

despite all the situation and the problematic, the political problems inside Venezuela, they are really worried about the potential for warfare.

Because once again, this is a country that is going through a dramatic economic crisis, a humanitarian crisis that is leading hundreds of

thousands, if not millions of Venezuelans to leave their homes, and not everyone wants to leave. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIEL CABRERA, VENEZUELAN YOUTH LEADER (through translator): My personal aspirations are to remain in Venezuela and work for the future of our

country. I don't have the means to migrate to Bogota, Madrid, or Miami. And that is what most Venezuelan young people want, to stay here.\

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Most of our audience, most of the people around the world would know the Venezuelan story, the Venezuelan tragedy, because of those

dramatic numbers of migrants with more than 7 million Venezuelans who have left the country under Maduro's rule. However, there are still more than 25

million Venezuelans who are here trying to make their ends meet despite the dramatic economic conditions and despite the political polarization that we

are seeing in the country, and despite the fact that they are living under an authoritarian government.

[14:40:00]

And of course, the prospect of this nation as a whole, not just the Maduro's government, but this nation as a whole, being the target of Donald

Trump's interventionist actions these last few months has, of course, rattled many people here in Caracas. Isa.

SOARES: Stefano Pozzebon, great to have you on the ground there. Thank you very much indeed. And our coverage of the tensions between Maduro's

government will continue after the break. Well, I'll speak with an expert on military warfare as the U.S. looks to dial up its pressure on President

Maduro.

Plus, two suspects in the Louvre heist have been arrested. Who else helped them? And do they -- what do they know where the jewels really are? More

details from Paris coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Well, the Trump administration's efforts to boost its military pressure on Venezuela has raised several questions about their intent. U.S.

officials tell CNN the president is considering plans to target cocaine facilities and alleged drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela. Possible

U.S. strikes on land could evoke dark omens for regime change.

Republican Senator Rick Scott, a prominent supporter of Trump, has this new warning for Venezuela's president. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): If I was Maduro, I'd head to Russia or China right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because?

SCOTT: His days are numbered. Something's going to happen. Whether it's internal or external, I think something's going to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The firepower that's off the coast, right? This is an armada. This is a lot of U.S. forces. Are we about to invade Venezuela?

SCOTT: I don't think so. I mean, if we do, I'd be surprised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more of this. My next guest, executive director of the intelligence security consultancy, the Soufan Group, Colin Clarke, joins me

now. Colin, great to have you on the show. Look, we also want to show you a little clip that I heard today from Senator Mark Kelly, who said -- I'm

just going to quote him, "You don't move a battle group all the way from where it was in the Caribbean unless you're planning on either to

intimidate the country or you're going to start conducting combat operations in Venezuela."

I mean, he's got a point, doesn't he? I mean, how far do you think the U.S. is prepared to go here, Colin?

COLIN CLARKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE SOUFAN GROUP: Well, thanks for having me, Isa. Look, it's a major strategic move when you take a carrier strike

group and put it into position off the coast of any country. Number one, even the United States, with the most powerful military in the world, still

has finite resources. So, those assets are now being taken away from one theater and moved to another.

[14:45:00]

If it's strictly performative, that's arguably a big waste of a chess move there. If it's not, the stakes are incredibly high for what the United

States may be attempting to do.

SOARES: Yes. Look, I spoke to Elliott Abrams on the show last week about this in terms of the strategy of what the CIA could be doing on the ground.

Have a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIOTT ABRAMS, FORMER SPECIAL ENVOY FOR VENEZUELA AND IRAN: I think it's a pressure campaign meant to rattle Venezuela and the Venezuelan regime,

meant to rattle the Venezuelan military and maybe crack the regime and see if it will finally fall. And I do think there will be strikes closer to

Venezuela within the three-mile limit and perhaps on land as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And it's interesting, you know, we have seen this campaign, this pressure campaign, maybe not this level, to be fair. I mean, I've covered

Venezuela for many years. I haven't seen this lot of pressure since this term with President Trump. But now we're hearing from officials they're

going to target cocaine facilities, alleged drug trafficking routes.

I mean, this is not going to dislodge Maduro's inner circle if that's what they're trying to do. Frustrate them, yes, but dislodge them, I doubt it.

What do you think of the strategy then?

CLARKE: Yes. So, I was actually watching that interview with Elliott Abrams and it was really interesting. I think he also made a comment during that

interview that when he was in the government that the United States didn't announce its clandestine or covert activities that the CIA was conducting.

So, you know, an interesting point. And also, Abrams is a notorious neoconservative, somebody that would be, you know, seen to be, you know,

far more hawkish than the administration -- the platform the administration ran on.

Remember, they talked about ending endless wars. We're now potentially starting a new one in Latin America and being anti-regime change. And we're

lining up to essentially convince Maduro that it would be wiser to accept exile in another country lest he be on the receiving end of all of this

military force that's congregating in the region.

I don't know, I mean, maybe Bashar al-Assad needs a new roommate in Russia and Maduro will leave. I don't think it's likely.

SOARES: No, I don't think it's likely either. And I'll tell you what, look, what Maduro has going for him right now in terms of at home is the

Venezuelan people. That's his support network, right? That's his inner circle. Leaving that would go against him. I mean, in fact, we have seen

Maduro holding talks in hospitals, hotels, schools, trying away, staying away from military installations for a while.

So, how long -- if this is a pressure campaign to try and get Maduro to actually leave the country, how far then is the U.S. prepared to stay on

this campaign?

CLARKE: So, at a certain point, Trump's going to have to call his bluff. We can't keep massing military muscle in the region, amphibious assault

groups, MQ-9 Reaper drones. At a certain point, the administration's going to have to act. I don't think we'll see boots on the ground. I do think we

could see land strikes against drug facilities, against potentially airport runways, against other kind of symbols of the regime, military barracks in

a hope to kind of peel off Maduro's inner circle, his regime loyalists.

But again, what we're seeing on the ground and what we think we can tell is that it's actually increasing popular support for Maduro among Venezuelans.

And, you know, one of the papers that I just wrote along with Ben Conable was laying out some of the warnings of if we go down this road, what we

could potentially get sucked into, which would be a counterinsurgency. Again, it would fly in the face of everything that we think we've learned

for the last 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SOARES: And look, while the majority -- I think it's important, while the majority of Venezuelans want to see Maduro gone, of course, given, of

course, the pressure they have seen for so many years. What I've been hearing as well, like you said, Colin, is -- and what we've been seeing,

and Stefano and I have spoken about this, is a rallying around the flag moment in Venezuela.

So, let's branch it out if possible here. Russia and China in particular, and I've seen this from my trips to Venezuela, China has huge investments

in Venezuela. What role, if any, Colin, would they play if tensions ratcheted up with the U.S. escalate?

CLARKE: Well, I think the Chinese would be working furiously behind the scenes, diplomatically, speaking to members of the administration and

attempting to get ahead of what could happen next. The Russians are more limited, but they're also almost more desperate because of some of the

losses we've seen in Syria They've had to shift assets from there to Libya, and with the struggles that they faced in Ukraine.

[14:50:00]

Same thing for the Iranians who have a pretty sizable footprint in Latin America and inroads with the regime. They've suffered from two years of

ongoing warfare against the Israelis. Their proxies have been significantly weakened. And so, you know, losing another ally would be critical for

Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran. I think the Chinese are probably the best positioned to blunt that impact because it's less political and less

military, and it's more economic.

SOARES: Yes. And look, in terms of the region itself, what are the risks of this escalating? I'm guessing you don't think there'll be boots on the

ground. You think this is just simply a pressure campaign, but if it does continue, if this pressure does continue, what are the risks across the

region? We've already seen President Petro feeling the wrath, of course, of President Trump.

CLARKE: So, I'm concerned that what we're seeing is tactics devoid of strategy or completely divorced from strategy, and that opens you up to

this kind of slippery slope where we, or mission creep rather, where the United States gets more and more involved, you know, almost sleepwalking

into a conflict that nobody wants.

At the same time, I think the administration is underestimating the potential for what we call horizontal escalation, or for these groups, or,

you know, if we go into Mexico next, or Haiti, or whatever other parts of the Western Hemisphere the administration continues to meddle in, how that

could impact the United States in the U.S. homeland, because certainly, these cartels, if they're as powerful as the administration says, and the

secretary of defense has compared them to Al-Qaeda, although that's a separate argument, they could potentially cause real trouble in the United

States, in urban areas, deploying terrorist-type tactics, IEDs, ambushes, and elsewhere. So, they could make life very painful for Americans, and I'm

not sure the administration has fully thought that out.

SOARES: Such an important point. Colin, as always, appreciate your analysis. Good to see you. Thank you.

Now, Donald Trump is taking credit for a major electoral victory by Argentine President Javier Milei. Milei's party took more than 40 percent

of the vote in midterm legislative elections over the weekend, as President Milei has slashed government spending and radically overhauled the economy.

Trump congratulated Milei on the win and noted to reporters that it probably would not have happened without the multi-billion-dollar bailout

his administration recently gave to Argentina.

And still to come tonight, Paris police nab two suspects after last week's stunning daytime heist at the Louvre. But where are the jewels, you ask?

And the other suspects. Melissa Bell joins me live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:00]

SOARES: There has been a breakthrough in the Paris Louvre heist investigation. The prosecutor in the case says two suspects were arrested

over the weekend, including one man detained at the airport in Paris on Saturday before a flight to Algeria. BFM TV says both suspects hail from a

Paris suburb. The second suspect was arrested there. The two were tracked using DNA evidence found at the museum. The thieves targeted the museum's

Apollo gallery in a brazen daylight robbery last week, fleeing with jewelry worth about $102 million in just minutes.

And meantime, in Belgium, pumpkins aren't just carving, they're for carving, they're for paddling. Participants in this year's pumpkin regatta

climbed aboard, or rather into, their hollowed-out vessels and paddled their hearts out in their 100-meter race. The event started in 2008, and

organizers say there's nothing quite like it anywhere else in Europe. Maybe it's time for us to start it. Why not?

That does it for me. Max Foster joins next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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END