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One World with Zain Asher

Nobel Prize Laureate Maria Corina Machado has been Fighting for Democracy; Trump to Meet with Venezuelan Opposition Leader; Trump Threatens to Use Insurrection Act in Minnesota; Iranian FM: "Misinformation Campaign" is Exaggerating Deaths; Polls Close Amid Nationwide Internet Blackout; The Numbers: Zoe Saldana is now Highest-Grossing Actor Ever. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired January 15, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Hello, everyone. Live from New York. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching "One World". We

begin with a high stakes meeting at the White House. In the next hour, Venezuela's Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado sits down with the U.S.

President to discuss the country's future.

Now this comes as the U.S. seizes another oil tanker in the Caribbean as it tries to control the flow of oil from Venezuela. Separately, a Trump

Administration official says that the U.S. completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil valued at $500 million. We're also learning that Trump

officials are eyeing private security contractors to safeguard oil assets in the country.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now live from the White House. And Alayna this meeting the president had said previously in the hours after the seizure of

Maduro and his wife, when asked about Maria Corina Machado described her as a nice lady, but didn't think that she had the support of the Venezuelan

people, having said that what is expected from the president going into this meeting? Is it more about symbolism, or could something come out of

it?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We'll have to see. I mean, look, as you know, and as someone like me who has been covering the

president for several years now, it's always unpredictable how these meetings will go.

What I think is very notable though Bianna is that the president did speak with for the first time yesterday, the Interim President, or Acting

President Inside Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, of course, we have to note here that she is was previously Maduro's Vice President, very much loyal to that

broader Maduro regime.

But the president had said that that conversation had gone great, and called Rodriguez a terrific person, of course, very different type of

conversation and a very different type of leader that he will be meeting with today in Machado, of course, the opposition leader to Rodriguez and

also the Maduro dream -- regime overall.

Look, there's going to be a couple of things that I think are notable here. One is that we know that Machado had been in close conversations with the

Trump Administration in the months before the operation to capture Maduro and, of course, those strikes on Caracas.

But what was very interesting, you mentioned that press conference where he kind of dismissed the idea that potentially, she would have enough support

among the Venezuelan people to actually lead in the aftermath, she hadn't though she said recently, last week, I believe it was on Fox News, she said

that she actually hadn't spoken directly with President Trump since October.

That was very notable indeed, because a lot of people had thought that she would be one of the key people that the administration was seeking advice

from to talk to in the lead up to such a huge change, such as, you know, ousting Maduro forcibly.

And so, there's going to be a lot of things today, I think, that are discussed about, what could the future of Venezuela look like? We do know

that one of the goals of the Trump Administration is to eventually see a democratic process be carried out with free and fair elections.

And I'd remind you as well that Machado had previously won the election in Venezuela. And so, a lot of you know discussions over whether or not she

could potentially be a viable candidate for the future.

Another big thing, though, that I think is on everyone's mind is, I'd remind you that she won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, something, of course,

that Trump has long coveted. At the time, Machado had said she was actually dedicating the prize to the president.

She had also mentioned publicly that she was looking at potentially bringing it to the White House today for their lunch here, and also maybe

even giving it to him, although I should note that is actually against the Nobel Committee's rules to do something like that.

Trump, for his part, when he had heard about that, said that he would be honored. So that could be some sort of, you know, peace offering olive

branch to the president today, and definitely kind of a key part of the dynamics, of course, but we'll have to see how this ultimately goes.

I think a key question again is going to be whether she's on board with the Trump Administration's current kind of posture as it relates to working

with Venezuela, which is, as of now, they are continuing to want to coerce cooperation from Delcy Rodriguez and the other, you know, people in the

government who were loyal to Maduro.

And so, we'll have to see how long that is actually a plan, and whether or not Machado has different ideas for how the future of Venezuela should be

governed and operated, Bianna?

[11:05:00]

GOLODRYGA: It is fascinating two Venezuelan women from completely different ideological backgrounds, both vying for the president's support. Alayna

Treene, thank you so much.

Well, Cuba is holding a memorial for soldiers and security agents that were killed in the U.S. attack on Venezuela. Cuba says at least 32 of its

soldiers and security agents died in the attack on Caracas on January 3rd during which U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia

Flores, who are now awaiting trial in the U.S.

Soldiers injured in the attack also arrived at the airport in Havana a few hours ago. Cuba's Former Leader, 94-year-old, Raul Castro rules made a rare

appearance during the memorial. Well, the Trump Administration says that the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan has begun.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says that it will focus on, quote, demilitarization, technocratic governance and restructure -- restructuring.

Now it comes despite Israeli opposition over the lack of progress on Hamas disarmament, as well as the failure of Hamas to return the remains of one

hostage, Ran Gvili.

The hostages and missing families' forum is calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu not to move forward with this next phase. And we are tracking

unprecedented tension within NATO. Several countries deploying small numbers of military personnel to Greenland. This week, Germany, Sweden,

France, Norway and Finland are all participating in joint exercises with Denmark.

Now it comes as U.S. President Trump ramps up his threats to take over the self-governing Danish territory. On Wednesday, the U.S. Vice President and

Secretary of State met with Danish and Greenlandic diplomats. Wednesday's meeting yielded few tangible results with Denmark's Foreign Minister

acknowledging what he called a fundamental disagreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, DANISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Here, our perspectives continue to differ, I must say. The president has made his view clear, and

we have a different position. For us, ideas that would not respect territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark and the right of self-

determination of the Greenlandic people are, of course, totally unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: This is a new CNN Poll shows that the vast majority of Americans oppose President Trump's push to control Greenland. 75 percent of those

surveyed were against it, while only 25 percent supported the idea. When you break it down by party, Republicans and Republican leaning independents

are divided, 50-50, while 94 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents oppose any U.S. takeover.

And back here in the States, federal agents are again under scrutiny after one shot and injured a man in Minneapolis. The hours after that incident

saw heated clashes between protesters and the authorities. Federal agents threw tear gas and flash bangs as the protests erupted near the scene of

the shooting.

Department of Homeland Security says it happened when a Venezuelan national assaulted an officer during a targeted traffic stop. According to

officials, the officer shot the man in the leg. Now the city's mayor is calling for calm. In the last hour, the Secretary of Homeland Security

spoke to reporters about the incident.

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KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: What we saw was three individuals weaponize shovels and brooms and attack an I.C.E. officer that had to

defend himself. So, we're hopeful that we don't see that, and again, that we as protesters and violent rioters will be held accountable for the

actions that they're taking and that our officers can do their work safely. Our agent is beat up, he's bruised, he's injured. He's getting treatment,

and we're thankful that he made it out alive.

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GOLODRYGA: We've also just learned that President Trump is threatening to institute the Insurrection Act, which will, in his words, quickly put an

end to the travesty taking place in that once great state. Whitney Wild joins us from Minneapolis with the latest on all of these developments.

So as things continue to heat up, there we reported just that moment ago on the second shooting now by federal officials. You have the president

ratcheting up his words and threats by threatening to impose more laws that the U.S., let's be honest, has not imposed since 1992 and that was with the

ask and request of the Governor of California at the time.

Just tell us what the reaction is among officials there. The Insurrection Act, just being the latest threat from this administration, as local

officials there are also trying to speak with protesters, telling them that they have the right to come out, but also to lower the temperature too.

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WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: I think that that's what you're hearing from officials here last week after the shooting death of

Renee Nicole Good we heard very fiery rhetoric from the Mayor of Minneapolis. We heard strong words from the Governor.

I think this week has a markedly different tone. I think that what they are trying to do in this moment is try, as you said, to turn down the

temperature, urging people to peace, to peacefully protest, but also saying last night that the protests that had occurred out, you know, erupted in

clashes with federal law enforcement was an unlawful assembly and telling people that they needed to disperse.

This is a city that is already seething, already angry, and it was interesting, almost simultaneously with the shooting. The shooting happened

at 06:50 according to the Department of Homeland Security, at seven o'clock Governor Tim Walz, who surely did not know about the shooting, gave an

address to the state.

It was a five-to-seven-minute address telling people to be vigilant, to be Minnesotans, be peaceful and protective of one another, but also to

document. And he urged them to, every time they see I.C.E. agents taking any kind of action, to pull out their phones and document, and he said for

future prosecution.

And so, we don't yet know if he has any information that that is what is going to happen, but certainly he thinks it's possible. This is another

pivotal moment, although the circumstances are completely different from the Renee Nicole Good shooting good shooting.

This year, according to Department of Homeland Security, was a targeted arrest, as you heard Kristi Noem say, Department of Homeland Security, no

suspect fought back. The officer was attacked by two other people as well. So, the circumstances are completely different Bianna, but this is another

flash point here at a city that is already angry about the largest immigration crackdown ever descending on their own city, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: You have been caught in the middle of it as well as you've been covering this Whitney Wild. Thank you so much. Well, turning now to Iran,

President Trump says that he has been informed by, quote, very important sources on the other side that the killings in Iran have stopped following

more than two weeks of anti-government protests.

He offered no evidence of that, but he warns that military options are still on the table. It's hard to get a clear picture of what is really

happening because of the internet blackout in the country, but one U.S. based rights group, says at least 2400 protesters have already been killed,

thousands more jailed.

CNN's Ben Wedeman joins me now live in Northeastern Iraq. And Ben, things have quieted down a little bit after heightened tensions as perhaps some

sort of U.S. response could come overnight. Just tell us the reaction there in the region to the president's threats.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been relief, obviously, from the states in the Gulf and from Turkey, who were

very worried that any sort of U.S. strike on Iran could lead to even greater instability. They're very worried about, for instance, the Iranian

response, which might not only target American installations, military bases in the region, but also might target energy infrastructure as well.

Also, for instance, countries like Turkey and Iraq are very worried that if there is a collapse of the regime in Iran, millions of refugees could flood

over the border, similar to what we saw, for instance, as a result of the war in Syria.

Now what we know is that, according to some human rights organizations, as many as 2,500 people could have been killed already in these protests,

thousands more wounded, thousands have been detained. But we did hear from Abbas Araghchi, who is the Iranian Foreign Minister, insisting that the

death toll from these weeks of protests is much lower. This is what he said.

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ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The exact figure would be announced very soon, perhaps tonight, by our authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you're saying less than thousand people?

ARAGHCHI: No, no, hundreds of people. I certainly deny the numbers and figures they have said. It is an exaggeration. It is a misinformation

campaign, only to find excuses to do another aggression against it on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And of course, given the internet blackout, the fact that if international journalists aren't being allowed in, we have no way of

knowing reality.

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But I can tell you, we've been in touch with somebody who came out of Iran from a town near the border, who said that in that little town alone, 19

bodies were picked up by their families from the morgue as a result of the suppression of the demonstrations in as I said, that very small town,

Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Ben Wedeman, thank you so much. And still to come for us, as the polls close in Uganda, we'll be unpacking what to expect from

the country's election with an expert on African policy.

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GOLODRYGA: We are waiting election results from Uganda after polls closed a few hours ago. Voting comes just two days after a nationwide internet

blackout was implemented by authorities, similar to actions taken during the previous election back in 2021.

The rematch for the presidency is between Uganda's long time authoritarian leader, 81-year-old, Yoweri Museveni, who you see voting here, and Former

Pop Star turned Political Politician, Bobi Wine. Six other candidates are also running.

On social media Wine criticized the election process, alleging reports of massive ballot stuffing. Earlier this week, my colleague Zain Asher spoke

to him about the lessons he learned from running back in 2021.

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BOBI WINE, UGANDAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have learnt that we have to devise various means of communication, but most importantly, we've learned

that we have to send back the responsibility to the population.

In the previous election, I was under house arrest immediately after casting my ballot, which I expect the same thing now. As we speak right

now, more than 730 of our colleagues are in detention. They've been arrested. Many are abducted and missing. Some have been killed, but we're

pushing on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Joining me now is Cameron Hudson, Former Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. Cameron, it is good to see you.

And Bobi Wine today, as he was voting, said that the internet had been switched off across the country, and he said this is done in order to

facilitate the intended rigging of the regime. But we are confident that we are winning this election.

We also know that the military and all security agencies are up to help the incumbent to rig the election, and we encourage the people of Uganda to

resist. With polls now closed and the votes being counted, is there really any uncertainty in your view as to what the official outcome will be here

Cameron?

CAMERON HUDSON, FORMER DIRECTOR FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: No, this election has been a foregone conclusion for many, many

months now, because this election is not being rigged today, which, of course, it is, but this election was won many months ago by the capture of

state institutions

And so, whether it is the arbitrary arrest and detention or harassment of opposition leaders which has been systematic throughout the course of this

campaign, whether it is the control of the internet or mobile phone technology?

[11:20:00]

Whether it is constitutional changes that allow President Museveni to run for this election to stand in these elections, that also has prohibited

others from standing in these elections? All of these things built up over many, many months and frankly, decades of institutional control by the

Museveni regime have enabled the outcome that we are going to see later today or in the days ahead.

GOLODRYGA: And as we have noted and reported, this campaign has been marked by violence, intimidation, constitutional changes, removing term limits

here. At what point does this stop being a flawed election system, in your view, and becomes outright authoritarian rule?

HUDSON: Well, I think we're already there. I think there's no pretense that any sort of democracy really exists in Uganda today, under President

Museveni. I think we also have to put this into a larger context in the country's history, since the transfer of control of the country from

British colonial rule in 1962 Uganda has never had a peaceful transition of power.

We're talking about now the third longest serving African Head of State over four decades in power, seven terms of office. So, this is not anything

approximating a democracy. And I think the real fear is that you have this country led by an 81-year-old leader, where the median age of the country

is 16 years old.

That means half of the population is under 16 years old, right? So, this vast generational divide that exists in this country. And what we're seeing

is as President Museveni ages, he is becoming more and more disconnected from the people that he claims to be governing. And I think that is the

definition of an autocratic state.

GOLODRYGA: And yet you expect the U.S. and its allies to largely stay quiet, why?

HUDSON: Well, I think this is the sort of the nasty business of geopolitics today. President Museveni has, very wisely, in his eyes, taken in illegal

deportees from the United States, so they have been relocated to Uganda, and he has sent them off. So that has earned him obvious political points

from the Trump Administration.

Similarly, he has used Ugandan military forces to deploy to various peacekeeping zones around the country, whether in the Democratic Republic

of the Congo or in Somalia, places where the United Nations and the United States certainly don't want to send troops or finance the deployment of

troops.

So, he has made himself on this -- on the security front, a kind of indispensable partner to African and Western powers, and I think that's

going to buy him a lot of latitude when these elections get announced. I think the United States is looking for what they would call stability in

Central Africa. And unfortunately for them, I think President Museveni, seems to provide that kind of short-term stability.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, at the price of fair elections. Cameron Hudson, thank you so much. Well, the U.S. is indefinitely suspending immigrant visa

processing from 75 countries. The latest move in Donald Trump's immigration crackdown that applies to Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Haiti, Somalia and

Russia, among others.

The suspension will apply to immigrant visas, such as those for employment, but it will not apply to student and tourist visas, meaning those traveling

for the FIFA World Cup this summer will not be impacted. And NASA's crew, 11 astronauts, are home after splashing down in the Pacific off the Coast

of San Diego, overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of SpaceX and NASA, welcome home, Crew 11.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: SpaceX Dragon it's so good to be home with deep gratitude to the teams who got us there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: All four crew members were seen smiling, waving and offering thumbs up as they emerge from the Dragon Capsule that brought them home.

The astronauts are undergoing routine medical checks, which is common for all people returning from space.

It's still unclear which crew member, however, is experiencing a health concern that cut the ISS Mission more than a month short. NASA's Chief says

the crew member who needed medical attention is doing fine, grateful to hear that.

Well, Zoe Saldana is now the highest grossing actor of all time. That is, according to Film Analytics Site the numbers. The Oscar winner moves to the

number one spot thanks to the latest Avatar movie "Fire and Ash" has generated more than $1.2 billion in ticket sales since its December

release.

Saldana has starred in all of the three top grossing films. Her total earnings at the international box office put her just ahead of Scarlett

Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. That's a lot of money.

And finally, before we go, this could be your chance to be in one of those great Super Bowl ads. We all can't wait to watch. The Candy Branded

Skittles is holding a contest in which will feature the winners' home in a live commercial during the big game on February 8th.

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Movie Star Elijah Wood, dressed as a quote mysterious creature, will deliver the treats to the winner. The Marzon Brand says, to enter, you'll

need to be a U.S. resident with a single-family home and a suitable yard. They say Skittles always delivers delicious, perplexing experiences that

will make for an interesting commercial, for sure. All right, stay with CNN I'll be back with more "One World" in about 30 minutes time. But up next,

CNN's Creators.

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(CNN'S CREATORS)

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