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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Hurricane Melissa Tears Through Jamaica; Melissa Now, a Dangerous Category 4 Hurricane; Israel Carries Out Deadly New Airstrikes in Gaza; Trump to Head to South Korea; Dozens Killed as Rio Power Target "Red Command" Group; CNN Confronts Man Who Held Austin Tice Captive. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired October 28, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: -- quote, "acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy," end quote.
Acetaminophen, that's the active ingredient in Tylenol. Another thing that is really important to know, it is important to reduce severe fevers during
pregnancy.
Separate research has found that a fever in the first trimester can be especially dangerous, raising the risk of congenital heart defects, neural
tube defects, and oral clefts, and high-grade fevers during pregnancy can affect the fetus's brain development. So, that's why many doctors may
recommend Tylenol in these cases, specifically to treat fevers in pregnancy, Jake.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and you're watching
"The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, officials in Jamaica warn of catastrophic damage, as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record has arrived on the
island. Israel launches strikes on Gaza after the prime minister accuses Hamas of ceasefire violations. And a police raid targeting gang members in
Rio de Janeiro has left at least 64 people dead.
We begin with Hurricane Melissa carving a path of destruction across Jamaica, bringing with it catastrophic winds, flooding, and life-
threatening storm surge. Melissa arrived as a Category 5 storm. It has now weakened to a Category 4. However, officials say it is still causing
extensive damage to homes, schools, and hospitals. Before Melissa even made landfall, a restaurant owner on the southwestern coast told CNN the whole
coastline is gone. So, far, at least seven people have died across Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Melissa is now centered just off the
northern coast of Jamaica.
Taking a look at the projected conditions in the coming hours, the rainfall and estimated wind speeds you see there, they speak for themselves. This is
a big one. Jamaica's prime minister said earlier that major destruction was inevitable. He explained what will happen once the worst has passed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW HOLNESS, JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER: Immediately after the threat is passed, our Jamaica Defense Force, our fire brigade, and other emergency
services will be rapidly mobilized to see if we can rescue persons and assist those persons who may be marooned. At this time, I'm encouraging all
our residents to stay inside, back down, keep safe. And now, is not the time to try to protect property.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That's right. Protect lives first. Chris Warren is at the Weather Center. Chris, 30 inches of rain over just the next two days. This is an
enormous storm.
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. And unfortunately, we don't really have any way of getting the information that would tell us how much rain
has already come down. We don't have that network like we have in the United States of data that's readily available to us. But the satellite,
the data we get from space tells us a lot.
And right now, we are still dealing with a formidable storm, a Category 4 hurricane, 145-mile an hour winds, the eye not as obvious as it was a
little bit earlier, but still that purple showing some intense winds and some very heavy rain likely associated with that right there. Those are the
tall storms, tall thunderstorms associated with this hurricane. Even well away from the center here in Kingston, we're seeing gusts close to 50 miles
an hour.
The hurricane did come on shore as a Category 5. Catastrophic winds can be expected with a four or a five. And this was a beast coming on shore,
making landfall near New Hope. But as it was coming on shore, producing some extremely strong winds and hearing reports of people saying that the
coastline wasn't there anymore and that may be the fact that there's a lot of storm surge with the hurricane.
So, it looks like the actual sea is inland. So, excuse me, where you would expect to see the beach might not have been there, right? Because of the
push of the seawater from the hurricane. While at the same time, the heavy rain was falling in the hills and the mountains and trying to get out to
sea. Montego Bay also hit hard as this storm does continue to move out. And as it does, most of the heavy rain we're looking at now will not be focused
on Jamaica, will be focused on Cuba as this will remain a strong storm, possibly making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Cuba.
[18:05:00]
And then watching the Bahamas for the potential of a Category 3, which is a strong storm, a hurricane that does, Jim, have the potential of producing
some devastating impacts from the wind alone.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, still extremely destructive, even as it weakens somewhat. Chris Warren at the Weather Center, thanks so much.
So, joining me now for more, Dana Sacchetti. He's the head of the World Food Programme Satellite Office in Jamaica. Good to have you on here. And,
Dan, I wonder, you've been on the ground before there, including when Hurricane Beryl struck last year as a Category 4 storm. I wonder, based on
what you've witnessed over the last 24 hours, how does this compare?
DANA SACCHETTI, HEAD OF OFFICE FOR JAMAICA, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMMEME: Thank you, Jim, for the opportunity. Now, Melissa has absolutely obliterated
Jamaica. Record-shattering winds, biblical floods, we're seeing scenes of floods that look like tsunamis in communities. Speak to the sheer amount of
water brought by this hurricane. Devastation beyond measure, at least what we're seeing in the early reports.
This is an incredibly dark hour for the country. Jamaica, the entire country has been declared a disaster area. We're seeing areas that have
never been flooded are flooding. And we also have more rain that's coming after Beryl passes tonight. We see reports of ongoing emergency
evacuations, working very closely with the government of Jamaica, trying to establish contact with many of the disaster responders in the areas, the
regions, the parishes that have been impacted, but not getting a response, which speaks to the alarm that is with many of us at the moment.
I was on the ground. I've been -- I was just going to say, Jim, I've been on the ground now for a few years. We did respond to Hurricane Beryl last
year. This is a completely different scenario. Beryl passed to the south of Jamaica, was a Category 4. There was immense devastation in the southern
and western parishes. And I recall in the early days going out following Beryl, you'd see power lines down, houses without roofs, communities that
were impacted. But we can expect that many of those same communities that were without roofs last year in their buildings, those buildings may not
exist anymore.
SCIUTTO: That's disturbing to hear that you're not able to get in touch with some of those outlying areas. And I wonder, given the damage you're
seeing and the power of this storm and the path that it took, are you saying that we really don't know the degree of losses at this point?
SACCHETTI: We don't. As you reported earlier, seven deaths have been confirmed. There's -- we're going to need to have the waters recede for the
government and the first responders, Jamaican Fire Brigade, Constabulary Force, police, get into those communities to really understand what is the
death toll, what is the human impact on those communities.
From our side, we're working to stand up and support the government of Jamaica in what is going to be a significant humanitarian operation that's
going to span for the weeks and months to come, working very closely with the government and taking stocks from our regional hub in Barbados,
airlifting food into the country once we can get the airports to reopen in Montego Bay and Kingston.
We're starting with 2,000 food kits that can feed a family of three for up to a week, reaching 6,000 people in total, working with our humanitarian
partners to bring in critical logistics assets by sea and by air. As we do get access, helping communities to rebuild, we will pivot to a cash
assistance program. Cash is critical to allow persons to rebuild their lives, stock up on essentials food, and to rebuild their homes.
SCIUTTO: The World Food Programme is operating on an increasingly constrained budget. I wonder how that affects your ability to respond to a
storm of this size.
SACCHETTI: We've had the fortune of coming into this year's hurricane season with some resources that are giving us the opportunity to kick-start
our operation, but it's really a drop in the ocean. Obviously, the needs that we're seeing globally are of significant concern. Our operations in
Gaza, in Ukraine, in Sudan are all facing significant financial constraints. We're going to have to see exactly what those needs look like
in Jamaica, but we can expect them to be astronomical.
I think to your viewers, it's important for them to know that they can provide support to the World Food Programme, going to our website, wfp.org,
clicking on the donate button. And your viewers can be assured that any support that goes to the World Food Programme will help us to save lives
during this critical emergency in Jamaica.
[18:10:00]
SCIUTTO: Well, Dana, we appreciate the work you and your team are doing. And please do stay safe, because I know the danger certainly hasn't gone
away.
SACCHETTI: Thank you very much, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Our thanks to Dana Sacchetti of the World Food Programme in Jamaica.
Well, our Derek Van Dam is on the line now from Kingston, Jamaica. And, Derek, speaking to Dana there about just the difficulty of even reaching
folks in other parts of Jamaica to get a sense of how bad the damage has been, do you have a sense, based on what you're seeing there and others
you're talking to around Jamaica?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The infrastructure, Jim, has taken a serious, serious hit in this country. And, you know, I echo what that
gentleman just said with you a few minutes ago, this is going to require a large-scale humanitarian effort to get people the aid that they need to be
able to see this through.
We're driving around Kingston at the moment. You know, there's no doubt in my mind that petrol will become a very important commodity very, very soon.
The area where the storm made landfall impacted agriculture and livestock. So, you got to think about the relative isolation of this country and how
challenging it is going to get to just not get here. You know, airports are certainly closed. In fact, I can see the Norman Manley International
Airport from where we're driving right now.
Look, ATMs, I can't say this widely across the city of Kingston, but the ATMs that we have attempted to get cash from have all been depleted of
their money. And, you know, we're still in the thick of some very intense wind and rain here in the nation's capital. But there's been limited amount
of damage within the city, and we're really happy to report that.
So -- but we know that just to our west, that's where the catastrophe is unfolding. But, you know, what happens in the west impacts what happens in
central and eastern portions of Jamaica, including Kingston. There's one big family, the culture here, and people are really going to have to look
out for each other in the days and the weeks to come, no doubt.
SCIUTTO: Good lord. Let's hope they get help quickly. Derek Van Dam, you and your team, please stay safe there as well.
We'll return now to Gaza, where the almost three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is facing one of its most serious tests yet. Israeli
warplanes have carried out a series of deadly new airstrikes. Gaza officials say at least 20 people were killed, many others injured, with at
least three strikes landing once again near the Al-Shifa Hospital.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered those strikes after Israel accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire. Israel says
Hamas attacked its troops in southern Gaza. Hamas denies that claim. Israel also says Hamas returned remains to Israel that did not belong to any of
those Israeli hostages still missing and unaccounted for. Hamas says it is still committed to the ceasefire, and it says Israel is hampering the
search for additional remains.
In response to today's strikes, the U.S. vice president, J.D. Vance, says the ceasefire is holding, he calls any disruptions, quote, "little
skirmishes."
Joining me now, Mustafa Barghouti. He's the president of the Palestinian National Initiative and a member of the Palestinian Parliament. Good to
have you on. Thanks so much for joining.
MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE AND MEMBER, PALESTINIAN PARLIAMENT: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: This is, as you know, the second time Israel has launched strikes on Gaza since the start of the ceasefire. They accuse Hamas of violating
the ceasefire. In your view, is this ceasefire in danger of breaking?
BARGHOUTI: Absolutely. And I think that's exactly what the prime minister of Israel wants, Mr. Netanyahu. He wants to reactivate his genocidal war on
Gaza. It is very clear. By the way, these attacks today are the 126th violation of Israel of the ceasefire. 126 times they violated the
ceasefire. And the outcome up till now is 114 Palestinians killed since they broke the ceasefire, including many, many children and 360 people
injured.
[18:15:00]
Not only that, the Israeli government has violated the agreement by not reopening Rafah Crossing, allowing people to get in or out of Gaza. They
also violated the agreement by not allowing the agreed upon amount of humanitarian aid while quantitatively and qualitatively. And they also
violated the agreement by squeezing Gaza, not allowing medications, medical material, medical instruments, and most importantly, heavy equipment that
could help in removing the rubble, which holds not only 10,000 Palestinian bodies under the rubble, but also some Israeli captives who were killed by
Israeli bombardment before and ended up under the rubble.
SCIUTTO: Yes. You heard that the vice president, the U.S. vice president calls these just, quote, "little skirmishes." You've also heard the U.S.
president say that he's going to pressure both sides to abide by the ceasefire. Do you believe the U.S. is not following through on its own
obligations here?
BARGHOUTI: I do so. I do believe so. I think this time Israel violated the agreement with the approval of the United States of America. The American
administration has admitted that they knew about the strike -- these strikes. They knew about it from Israel and that Israel has informed them,
and they didn't stop Netanyahu from doing it.
For God's sake, why would he conduct so many airstrikes and then use tanks and then use artillery to bombard every aspect and every part of Gaza? In
response to what? They claimed that there was an attack in Rafah which Hamas denies completely its responsibility for. Rafah is under full Israeli
military control now and under full Israeli military occupation, and they should be responsible for what's happening there.
But to use that as an excuse -- I mean, since this morning, I warned in a press communique that the Israeli media is full of provocateurs and
provocations demanding attack on Gaza. And that is exactly what we have seen this evening.
SCIUTTO: President Trump, as you know, claims to have ended the war there. He claims to have ended thousands of years of war in the Middle East at
times rhetorically. What's your response to his description?
BARGHOUTI: Well, President Trump used the word peace. He said that he established peace in the region. Well, definitely this is not peace. Yes,
he helped stop the war, and he helped establish a ceasefire which Israel is violating now, trying to create a situation in Gaza similar to the one in
Lebanon where Netanyahu gives himself the full right to attack whenever he wants and at any time he wants. But this is not peace. This is a ceasefire
that Israel is violating, and peace can happen only when the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land ends.
By the way, we are facing so many attacks now in the West Bank where there is no Hamas and no Hamas control. And in the West Bank, we are subjected to
attacks by Israeli illegal terrorist settler groups who continue to attack Palestinian communities, burning houses, burning cars. We're subjected to
continuous arrests of so many people by the Israeli army and attacks by the Israeli army itself.
So, if President Trump wants really to talk about real peace, he has to establish a situation where the Israeli army ends its illegal occupation of
Palestinian land and to create a situation where we can have a state of our own. Only then we can speak about peace.
SCIUTTO: Can the Palestinian people have a state of their own with Hamas still present and still armed in Gaza?
BARGHOUTI: Hamas declared very clearly, and we just had a meeting that included them in Cairo with the Egyptian side. They've declared very
clearly they don't want to be in the government. They don't want to be the government. And we agreed all -- I mean, so many Palestinian political
groups together with the Egyptians, we agreed on a plan to create an independent administration in Gaza. That is absolutely independent, non-
factional. Not only Hamas will not be there, but no other factions will be there.
[18:20:00]
And an independent professional group could be running the situation in Gaza and in preparation for free democratic elections, which Palestinians
didn't have for 20 years. We need to renovate and reactivate our political system. And that can only happen through democratic free elections. But to
achieve that, all these military attacks should stop immediately.
SCIUTTO: One can hope, I suppose. Mustafa Barghouti, president of the Palestinian National Initiative, thanks so much for joining "The Brief."
BARGHOUTI: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: And coming up on "The Brief," President Trump is about to leave Japan now for South Korea, which will host the APEC Summit and his planned
meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. We're going to have a live report from Seoul coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: North Korea says it test-fired a ship-to-surface cruise missile off the western coast of the Korean peninsula, this according to the
country's state media. This comes, of course, as President Trump prepares to wrap up his tour of Asia with a stop in South Korea.
During his visit to Japan, Trump praised the country's new conservative prime minister, saying the U.S. is, quote, "an ally at the strongest
level." Trump heads next to South Korea to sit down with its president and other regional leaders at the APEC economic conference.
While there, he may have some one-on-one time, it's hoped, he hopes, with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping. U.S. and Chinese officials reached a
framework agreement on a trade truce over the weekend, giving Trump and Xi something concrete to talk about. The U.S. president has said he is open to
extending his Asia trip to also meet that man there, North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. Nothing yet publicly scheduled.
Will Ripley is in Seoul. Will, on that possibility of meeting the North Korean leader, you and I both covered those three face-to-face meetings
between Kim and Trump in the first Trump administration, in which, despite the fanfare, there was no progress on reining in North Korea's nuclear
program. In fact, it expanded during that time period. What is leading to discussion hopes of such a meeting now?
[18:25:00]
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there's not even a lot of fanfare at this point, at least not from the
North Korean side, Jim, because despite President Trump's repeated public overtures, albeit answering questions from reporters, it's not like he's
posting on social media like he did in 2019, and then North Korea responding within hours and arrangements being made for a meeting.
In this case, President Trump has been signaling, anytime he's asked, they'd love to see Kim Jong Un, that they have a great relationship, that
he could even potentially extend his trip if Kim would be willing to meet. And yet, from what I understand, speaking with contacts here, it's been
radio silence from the North Koreans. And that's been the case throughout most of President Trump's second term.
In fact, my sources say there's been little, if any, contact between the Trump administration -- the second Trump administration and Kim Jong Un,
which isn't exactly surprising, considering the fact that some of the last known letters that Kim sent to Trump, Kim talked about the fact that he
felt like there was -- you know, that he might be taken advantage of, being played for photo ops without any substance or any concrete movement
happening to benefit North Korea, to get the sanctions lifted, even though President Trump kind of dangled the issue of sanctions when he was speaking
with reporters about this issue.
Now, it's not to say that things couldn't come together quickly if the North Koreans decide that it would be worthwhile to restart diplomacy with
Trump, but a lot of that's going to depend on what the Russians have to say about it. And it's noteworthy that North Korea's foreign minister, Choe
Son-hui, she was in Moscow meeting with Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, and also meeting with Vladimir Putin.
So, if the Russians were to say, hey, you should meet with Trump, you should sit down, maybe the North Koreans would reach out and say they'd be
willing to meet. But at this stage, nothing has come together, at least nothing publicly. But if history is any guide, Jim, it could come together
very quickly at the last moment if it does happen.
SCIUTTO: We've seen it happen before. Will Ripley in Seoul, thanks so much. Coming up next, it is reportedly the deadliest police operation in
Rio de Janeiro's history. Police move in on a criminal group, killing dozens. We're going to have the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are the international headlines we're watching today.
Hurricane Melissa is slamming into Jamaica with widespread reports of extensive damage. It came ashore as a Category 5 hurricane, making it the
strongest storm on record to hit the Caribbean island and one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. Close to 15,000 people
are in shelters now across the country. That's according to the government. Melissa is now centered just off the northern coast of Jamaica, with Cuba
next set to take a direct hit.
Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 20 people today after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu ordered, quote, "powerful immediate strikes" in Gaza after, he says, Hamas returned remains that did not belong to any of the 13 hostages
still unaccounted for. When asked, Vice President J.D. Vance said the ceasefire is still holding.
U.S. military says it has carried out strikes on four alleged drug smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says
14 people were killed in Monday's attacks, though there was one survivor. Hegseth said Mexican authorities were coordinating search and rescue
operations. This appears to be the first time there have been multiple strikes in the same day as part of President Trump's expanding campaign
against boats it accuses of smuggling drugs.
Now, to what some are calling Rio de Janeiro's deadliest ever police operation. Security officials tell CNN at least 64 people were killed in a
massive raid targeting organized crime. Authorities launched a huge operation against expansion of what's known as the Red Command criminal
gang, using two and a half thousand military and civilian police personnel to storm an area of favelas. Authorities say the group allegedly targeted
police with a drone. This comes as Brazil is set to host two major world summits in the coming weeks.
Julia Vargas Jones has been following developments for us. This is an enormous operation, hundreds of officers, dozens dead. What sparked this
exactly?
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, police said that this is a result of over a year, Jim, of intelligence coming from this particular
north side of Rio de Janeiro. They said that for two months now they had been preparing for this very operation and that they had slowly pushed
criminals to a specific part of these -- it's really a favela complex. It's multiple neighborhoods in one place there. And that was done in order to
prevent civilian deaths.
But with this kind of a death toll, you have to ask, what is it that went wrong? Did they underestimate the kind of firepower that these criminals
would fight back with? Were they not expecting to see drones throwing explosives onto their own agents there? You know, four of those 64 people
killed were police officers. But we still don't know what those other 60 were.
We know that they did say that they have arrested some members of the leadership of Comando Vermelho, the Red Command, in this operation. They
said, you know, they have a whole list here, 70-plus rifles, large quantities of drugs, to be expected, of course. Again, the goal of this was
to do it in a part of Rio that was not so open to the public, so close to these main avenues here.
But there are some questions being raised now from the federal government. The minister of security of Brazil saying that he did not receive any kind
of request for aid from the governor of Rio de Janeiro in charge of this operation today, so there was no communication with the federal police in
this case. Perhaps, of course, the ideas could have helped make this a little bit more streamlined and lower that death toll there.
And then, Brazil does have some guardrails in place that have been implemented years ago, where these operations, they don't have just carte
blanche to go into a favela and kill people, whoever they believe may be involved, they have to have warrants. People are, of course, presumed
innocent until proven guilty. So, there is a process, and that has just been bolstered over the past few years.
So, there are a lot of questions coming from the federal government to those local authorities on how exactly this raid happened. How was it
planned? What were those warrants that they were carrying out at that time?
[18:35:00]
And the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, who is the president in charge at the moment, while Lula is still coming back from the summit in Asia, has
called for a meeting tonight, Jim, to discuss this very topic and to see how the federal government could help carry out these operations in the
future, and if the military might have to be deployed in the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
SCIUTTO: And how many of those 64 might be civilians? Fair questions. Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much for joining. Coming up next, he
disappeared in Syria 13 years ago. Now, CNN uncovers new disturbing information about what happened to American journalist Austin Tice as his
friend and our colleague Clarissa Ward confronts the man who held him captive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Now, to a powerful and important CNN exclusive. A deeply personal journey for our Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward as she
investigates the disappearance of her friend, the American journalist Austin Tice. Tice went missing in Syria in 2012 and has not been heard from
since.
Now, for the first time, we are hearing from those with direct knowledge of his capture and what may have happened next. CNN was able to track down a
powerful adviser to the former Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. He says Assad ordered Tice's killing in 2013. Here is Clarissa's exclusive report
from Syria and Lebanon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are some of the last known videos of U.S. journalist Austin Tice, shown
here for the first time.
AUSTIN TICE, AMERICA JOURNALIST: It's clearly a popular revolution, right?
WARD (voice-over): They were shot in the city of Yabroud in Syria in July 2012, shortly before Austin went missing 13 years ago.
TICE: It's just, it's so moving and peaceful. It's such like an act of community.
WARD (voice-over): Ten months after the collapse of the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, his dungeons have been emptied. But the
ghosts of tens of thousands of his prisoners remain. Among the missing, Austin Tice, journalist, U.S. Marine captain, Georgetown law student,
devoted son and brother, and my friend.
[18:40:00]
For me, this is personal. I've come to Syria to find out what really happened to Austin, and track down the shadowy figure who knows the answer.
WARD: I'm just looking back through all of these emails that Austin and I were sending each other, and I have one from Sunday, August 12th. He was
getting ready to cross into Lebanon. I was getting ready to meet him in Beirut. And he says, if I cross when I have plans to, we'll be throwing
back those cocktails pretty soon. Of course, plans never really work out here.
WARD (voice-over): I never heard from him again.
TICE: Oh, Jesus. Oh, Jesus.
WARD (voice-over): Weeks after Austin disappeared, a video surfaced online purporting to show him held by jihadists. Former U.S. officials tell CNN
they quickly determined it was a ruse, and that Austin was in the custody of the Assad regime.
Safwan Bahloul was a general in external intelligence at the time, and one of the last people to see Austin alive, summoned in by the man who was
holding him.
SAFWAN BAHLOUL, FORMER SYRIAN EXTERNAL INTELLIGENCE GENERAL: I was contacted by a four-star general at that time. He was called Bassam al-
Hassan. He's very close to the president, and he told me, we have caught an American journalist. We want you to interrogate in a way or meet the guy
and see the possibility if he's not a mere journalist, if he's a spy in a way.
He told me that he's an ex-Marine officer. He was brave. He was not a shaky character. He wasn't shaky. He was brave enough to face his life in the
custody.
WARD: Did he ever ask you for help?
BAHLOUL: If you mean help to be freed, no, not at all. But he told me if I could obtain some things to make his life easy in the cell he was kept
there. I told him, like what? He told me, you know, some magazines, journals to read and, you know, OK, and what else? And he told me soap and
a towel, and I told him, OK.
And after that, I think the next day I was called by another guy in Bassam's office. He told me in Arabic, (INAUDIBLE), which it means, our pal
just escaped. They discovered that he used the soap to rub his body -- the body with the soap to lubricate his body. And he put the towel on broken
shattered glass, which is cemented to the external fence.
WARD (voice-over): We managed to get into the compound where Safwan says he interrogated Austin, at the time under the control of Assad's Republican
Guard. It was never a formal prison, the perfect place to hide a high-value captive.
WARD: It could be this. Look. Obviously, it's all been refurbished. So, it's hard to match the descriptions exactly. But one thing particularly
that Safwan talked about was this high window. You can imagine he just spent days and days in here plotting how he was going to escape.
WARD (voice-over): For more than 24 hours, we're told Austin was on the run in the upscale neighborhood of Meza, perhaps hoping to reach the many
embassies and United Nations offices in the area. But he didn't get far.
BAHLOUL: Every security apparatus in Damascus, which there are thousands of operatives, they started the search, and he was caught by one of them.
And he was redelivered to the National Defense Forces militia, which headed at that time by Bassam al-Hassan.
WARD (voice-over): Al-Hassan brought Safwan in to see Austin one more time.
BAHLOUL: It wasn't like the previous times I saw him. He was optimistic and energetic.
WARD: But he had lost hope.
[18:45:00]
BAHLOUL: Yes, absolutely, absolutely. Because I was talking to him, and he was not responding. He was, in a way, we could say depressed. And I never
saw the guy again.
WARD: Did you understand when you left what was going to happen to him?
BAHLOUL: It's unimaginable, even. In my wildest thinking, I wouldn't suspect that he will be -- let's say, he will just disappear.
WARD: So, let me ask you this, who knows what happened to Austin? Who knows the truth?
BAHLOUL: Bassam.
WARD: Is this him?
BAHLOUL: Can I see it? Yes, absolutely. 100 percent. 100 percent.
WARD (voice-over): For years, Bassam al-Hassan stayed in the shadows. Now, CNN has obtained new, never-before-seen images of him. Known in regime
circles as Khal, or uncle, he was a top Assad adviser and founder of the Iran-backed National Defense Forces militia, blamed for brutal massacres.
After the fall of the Assad regime, al-Hassan fled quickly to Iran. Then, in April of this year, he showed up in Beirut, Lebanon, and sat down with
the FBI for a series of interrogations about Austin. We've been given a tip about where al-Hassan is now hiding out, an upscale apartment complex in a
suburb of Beirut.
One balcony, and one man in particular, draws our attention. By the end of a long night of watching, we're convinced it's him.
Wearing hidden cameras, producer Sarah Sirgany and I go to confront him.
WARD: Hi, how are you? My name is Clarissa Ward. I'm a journalist for CNN. Can I ask you a couple of questions? I'm looking for more information about
my friend Austin Tice.
BASSAM AL-HASSAN, ADVISER TO FORMER SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD (through translator): Come in.
WARD (voice-over): He invites us into the apartment, but he is clearly rattled, and asks over and over again how we found him.
AL-HASSAN (through translator): I insist to know, who told you about this place? No one knows where I live.
WARD: I'm not going to tell you how we found out where you are. It's not important. We've been looking for you for a while. We know that you've
given multiple different stories. Can you just tell me, because he was my friend, is Austin Tice dead?
AL-HASSAN (through translator): Of course Autin is dead. Austin is dead.
WARD (voice-over): He tells us he explained to a team from the FBI that President Assad gave him the order to execute Austin, and that the order
was carried out by a subordinate.
AL-HASSAN (through translator): I don't want to protect Bashar Al-Assad, because he abandoned us and left us. This relates to President Bashar only.
WARD: You sent him to his death.
AL-HASSAN (through translator): I don't want to go into any details. These are details that I told the team. I told the team that I received the order
and I passed it on. That's it.
WARD: Can you just tell me one thing? Can you tell me when Austin died?
WARD (through translator): From 2012? October?
AL-HASSAN (through translator): He passed away.
WARD (through translator): He passed away. 2012? 2013? 2013?
WARD (voice-over): He refuses to give any more information. When he asks to take a photograph of us, we decide to leave. At the door, he talks about
Austin's mother, Debra Tice. His voice cracks.
AL-HASSAN (through translator): I owe her an apology and it upsets me to remember it. Truly.
WARD: Understood.
AL-HASSAN (through translator): I wish what happened hadn't happened.
WARD (voice-over): It is a gut punch to think that Austin may have been killed 12 years ago.
WARD: One thing that he was very emphatic about is that Austin is dead. Austin is dead, and he wants to pass his condolences to Debra.
WARD: CNN has confirmed that al-Hassan failed the FBI polygraph test. What is less clear is what parts of his story are a lie.
In September, a U.S. delegation, including FBI investigators, came to Damascus to search for Austin's remains, based on a location given to them
by al-Hassan. They came away empty-handed.
The full truth of what happened to my friend may well never be known, like the fate of countless Syrians.
[18:50:00]
WARD: Everyone was keeping so many secrets.
BAHLOUL: Well, in a way, in a way.
WARD: Everyone was lying.
BAHLOUL: It's all about loyalty and worship, and nearly worshiping the commander. It's a supreme commander. He's a president. He's everything. So,
yes, lying is widely spread in the X regime, yes. It's nothing personal. I was doing my job. That's all it is.
WARD (voice-over): Austin may simply be remembered as yet another victim of the endless lies and senseless cruelty of a ruthless regime.
Clarissa Ward, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Nothing personal, he says. Well, the Tice family has repeatedly described Bassam al-Hassan as a liar. In a statement to CNN, the family
said, quote, "Austin Tice is alive. We look forward to seeing him walk free." For 13 years, the Assad government denied ever holding Tice captive.
After the collapse of the regime, Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia. Attempts by CNN to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. Please do stay with CNN.
We're going to be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: We're seeing extensive damage across southwest Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa tears across the island. An official at the Disaster
Management Agency told CNN that schools, homes and hospitals have been impacted. The storm is lashing the island with devastating winds, flooding,
rains, dangerous storm surge. It is now tied as the second strongest storm by wind speed ever recorded in the Atlantic. At least seven people are
confirmed dead across Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Melissa continues to lose strength but remains a dangerous Category 4 storm. It's
expected to hit Cuba overnight before reaching the central Bahamas on Wednesday.
A final word tonight on the enduring nature of several conflicts we cover on "The Brief" almost every day. The exchange of fire between Israel and
Hamas is again concerns about the fragility of the Gaza ceasefire. It's a reminder that the roots of the conflict, despite President Trump's claims
to have ended thousands of years of war remain and many questions among them who will administer Gaza are still unsettled.
The Lebanon ceasefire has demonstrated that fire does not necessarily cease as advertised. Ukraine as well continues to frustrate peace efforts as
Russia has expanded, not reduced, its attacks on Ukraine since President Trump's peace outreach began. The point here is not to disparage those
peace efforts, but to note that these are deeply enduring conflicts which are unlikely to end with simple or swift solutions.
[18:55:00]
Add to that proviso the fears of a widening conflict in Latin America as the U.S. moves enormous military resources around Venezuela. Are these the
harbingers just of expanded anti-drug operations or of something bigger? It's not clear. Here on "The Brief", we will continue to follow
developments and seek answers to those important yet unanswered questions.
Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
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