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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Maduro, Wife Plead Not Guilty at first Court Appearance; Maduro's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez Formally Sworn in as Interim Leader; Trump Claims U.S. Companies Can Rebuild Venezuela's Oil Industry in 18 Months; Greenland and Denmark Staunchly Opposed to U.S. Takeover; Who is Cilia Flores, Venezuela's 'First Combatant'? Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 06, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:00]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: It's crazy. My son has this, an actual suit now, and I was told Nike suits out now, the quarter zip. But you got to have a matcha with it. That's apparently the thing that brings you to the next 2026 level.
MICHAELSON: Not a not a water bottle in hand that you're holding too closely?
COATES: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Although who knows?
COATES: You know what? You do you.
MICHAELSON: You know, the way his eyes and ears were covered, who knows if he even knew what he was wearing so.
COATES: God. This -- and the fact that the internet focused on this, as opposed to larger issue, tells you once again the internet is undefeated and so are you, my friend. So have a great show.
MICHAELSON: Well, and my best guest and our first guest tonight is you. So stay with us.
COATES: Great show.
MICHAELSON: Laura Coates and more as THE STORY IS starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
MICHAELSON: And CNN's breaking news coverage of the U.S. involvement in Venezuela continues.
Welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.
And the top story is in Caracas, where in just the last few hours, gunfire could be heard and anti-aircraft fire seen in video from the capital. This coming as the city and security services remain on edge. Listen to this.
Yes, that's a lot of fire. Services there remaining on edge after that U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was underway when we were with you live on Friday night. There are now reports of a misunderstanding and some confusion between different security groups near the presidential palace late tonight.
Venezuela's Ministry of Communications and Information says police fired at drones that were, quote, "flying without permission." Apparently, though, all good when it comes to that particular incident now.
Meanwhile, the deposed Venezuelan president and his wife pleaded not guilty during their first court appearance in New York on Monday. Both Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores are indicted on drug and weapons charges. Both pleaded not guilty. Maduro declared, "I am still the president of my country," through a translator. His wife also referred to herself as the first lady of Venezuela. Cilia Flores's defense lawyer says she sustained significant injuries during what they described as an abduction.
She was seen with bandages on her forehead in court. Her attorney believes she may have also bruised or fractured her ribs. Their lawyers did not seek Maduro or his wife's release, saying a formal bail application would be filed later. The next hearing is scheduled for March 17th.
Joining us live to discuss is CNN anchor and chief legal analyst Laura Coates, who was inside the New York courtroom for CNN.
Laura, welcome to THE STORY IS.
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: So glad to be here and tell you about this extraordinary moment, Elex. Unbelievable to watch Nicolas Maduro and his wife, the self-proclaimed first lady of Venezuela, inside a Manhattan courtroom, having been indicted on these very serious charges. I'll tell you a little bit of a split screen that was going on. Maduro, strong, confident, standing up. He's a very large man in stature.
He had his headphones on, speaking through an interpreter. His very first opportunity to talk. He did not just simply answer yes or no to his name. He described himself as a kidnaped president. He talked about essentially being a prisoner of war. He talked about that he was still the president and that he wanted to continue but the judge cut him off and said plenty of time to talk about in the future the legality of your capture and beyond. I just want to know if you, in fact, are Nicolas Maduro Moros.
He said that he was. He was writing furiously on a legal pad throughout the entire proceeding. He was direct. He was confident. He was not disrespectful. He spoke only when spoken to, but it was clear that he was trying to speak with his attorneys, even passing notes to his wife. Now, here's the split screen. She seemed more withdrawn, more
diminished. She was more soft spoken, only spoke after her husband did, was following along on the indictment paperwork as opposed to writing anything. Her hands also under the desk. They only periodically exchanged glances. But to watch this play out, nothing short of extraordinary in 2026.
MICHAELSON: Did you get the sense that she was sort of hamming up the injuries to try to get a better treatment or better placement?
COATES: The visibility of the bandages indicated that she indeed had some injury. I don't know when, how or where she actually sustained them. They did not make any of that clear, and in fact they did not try to describe it in court. Instead, they asked for medical forms to be filled out for both her and Maduro as well. It's likely because, in part, the MDC, the detention center that is outside of Manhattan, just in Brooklyn, is known to be notoriously deficient.
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Don't take my word for it. There's been IG in terms of general reports from the DOJ about the conditions. Many have complained about the adequacy of the facilities and beyond. So it might be that they're trying to position themselves to go to a medical facility in lieu of that. They also asked for a consular visit as well, and did not ask to be released quite yet. You can imagine, though, the upcoming motions, including head of state immunity, international law implications. Whether the judge will hear that and release either of them, unlikely.
MICHAELSON: And lastly, real quickly, what was it like? What was the energy in that room? I know you've been in court when President Trump was in court before. I mean, was this just a totally surreal experience?
COATES: It was. And the fact that arraignments of alleged drug dealers and gun toters quite routine. It's really a presentment in a courtroom to answer yes or no, pleading guilty or not guilty, and setting calendar dates. But this was extraordinary to watch both individuals walk in. And by the way, when you walk in the courthouse, you don't just see lawyers and defendants and people coming in. You had armed DEA agents, some in almost green-like military garb.
You had DEA by the dozens on different floors throughout the courthouse. You had the structure of the entire building coordinating around what was going to be this moment. And outside you had gathered protests with different types of messages. Some were, free Maduro, others were, no blood for oil. Others critical of the United States's tactics. Everything about this moment told you it was a definitive moment in history.
Now what the future looks like for Venezuela or the cases that is what I'm waiting for next. You mentioned March 17th as the next date, Elex. It's an important one. And I'll note this. They have waived their speedy trial rights with respect to just that date, to have time for protective order. How are they going to go through the classified materials? How are they going to make their motions about immunity and the like? This is all ahead.
MICHAELSON: Laura Coates, anchor of "LAURA COATES LIVE," which you can see every weeknight at 11:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
Laura, great reporting all day. Thanks for staying up late with us tonight.
COATES: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Late tonight, the Trump administration wrapped up its classified briefings there on Capitol Hill, where it is now 12:06 a.m. They had a big briefing over what happened in Venezuela. The Senate's top Democrat says he left the meeting with more questions than answers. But Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had a different view.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The way that this is being described I think is accurate. This is not a regime change. This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime. We don't expect troops on the ground. We don't expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the new -- the interim government to get that going.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I did not receive any assurances that we would not try to do the same thing in other countries. Their plan for the U.S. running Venezuela is vague, based on wishful thinking and unsatisfying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: We'll talk to Manu Raju on Capitol Hill in our next hour. For now, though, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee echoed that sentiment. You just heard there from Chuck Schumer telling CNN's Erin Burnett that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the administration essentially have no plan for Venezuela.
Jim Hines was one of those eight in the briefing.
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REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): There have been other Gang of Eight meetings with Marco Rubio in which he denied that any of the planning or operational steps were being taken towards what happened 48 hours ago. So I'm not sure I trust what Marco Rubio is telling the Gang of Eight because he told us that this was not a contemplated option.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: So do you think he directly lied, or was he that out of?
HIMES: You know, if I -- and I didn't have an opportunity to push him on this. But I know his answer. His answer would be, well, the Pentagon does lots of planning, and it was only at the very last minute that the president gave the authority to go ahead. That is maybe a technically reasonable answer, but it completely flies in the face of the spirit of what a former Senator Marco Rubio should know the Congress deserves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: While lawmakers seek more answers, a new "Washington Post" poll finds that 45 percent of Americans oppose the U.S. taking control of Venezuela and choosing a new government. Only 24 percent say they approve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't ask me who's in charge because I'll give you an answer and it will be very controversial.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What does that mean?
TRUMP: It means we're in charge.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you spoken with her?
TRUMP: We're in charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Seemingly emboldened by the Venezuelan operation, the Trump administration is now hinting at possible regime changes in countries like Colombia and Cuba, and is again suggesting the U.S. should take control of Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark.
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Meanwhile, in Venezuela's capital, hundreds of protesters came out in support of captured President Nicolas Maduro. Demonstrators could be seen holding banners and signs in favor of the former president. The outpouring of support comes as Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was formally sworn in as the country's interim leader on Monday.
Here's what we know about her. She's 56 years old. She served as Maduro's vice president since 2018, and his minister of petroleum since 2024. So she ran the oil. That's important. Alongside her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, the current national assembly president, she has held various positions of power since Hugo Chavez ran the country. The ambassadors of China, Russia and Iran, key allies of Venezuela, were among the first to congratulate her after she took the oath of office.
All three countries have denounced the U.S. military operation in Venezuela. The raid is also being met with sharp rebuke from Venezuela's parliament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FERNANDO SOTO ROJAS, VENEZUELAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (through translator): The president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro Moros, has been kidnaped by the government of the United States in a barbaric, treacherous and cowardly attack.
The president of the United States, Mr. Trump, intends to be prosecutor, judge and policeman of the world. From Bolivarian Venezuela, we say to him, you will not succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday and talk about the situation in Venezuela. The U.N. secretary general says U.S. military action in Caracas has left him, quote, "deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected." The U.S. ambassador described the Trump administration's rationale here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades. The United States arrested a narco trafficker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So his boss, the president of the United States, was asked by NBC's Kristen Welker tonight, who is running Venezuela? And his answer was pretty simple. Two letters. Me. President Trump saying he is running Venezuela.
Russia, China and Colombia all condemn the U.S. military operation as illegal. And other council members insisted on the importance of abiding by international law and the United Nations charter. Venezuela's ambassador is calling on the U.N. to uphold those principles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL MONCADA, VENEZUELAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. (through translator): Allowing such acts to go without an effective answer would amount to normalizing the replacement of law by might, while eroding the very foundations of the collective security system. Today, it is not only Venezuela's sovereignty that is at stake. The credibility of international law, the authority of this organization, and the validity of the principle that no state can set itself up as a judge, party and executor of the world order are also at stake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Alex Plitsas is a CNN national security analyst and director of the Atlantic Council's Counterterrorism Program. He joins me live from New York.
Welcome to THE STORY IS for the first time.
ALEX PLITSAS, DIRECTOR, COUNTERTERRORISM PROGRAM, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Thanks so much for having me. MICHAELSON: So we have this interesting split screen happening today.
We just showed the new president of Venezuela, the former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, embracing the ambassadors from China, Russia and Iran, who are all not great allies of the United States. Meanwhile, Maria Machado, who was the opposition leader, who won the Nobel Prize, she went on FOX News Channel's Sean Hannity's show tonight, and here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Actually I spoke with President Trump on October 10th, the same day the prize was announced. Not since then. But I do want to say today, on behalf of the Venezuelan people, how grateful we are for his courageous vision. The actions, historical actions he has taken against this narco terrorist regime to start dismantling this structure and bringing Maduro to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So she's clearly praising him on a show that he often watches. Meanwhile, Delcy Rodriguez, who at first was criticizing Trump now seems to be, you know, walking back that statements. How did Rodriguez end up as the person in charge and not the opposition leader?
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PLITSAS: So I think that's a great question and in light of Machado's interview this evening on Sean Hannity on FOX, which, as you mentioned, is one that the president tends to watch. The topic there was whether, you know, or not the Nobel Prize was sort of an issue there which had been rumored in the press that that was something that he may be concerned about and perhaps that's why he didn't turn to her.
In talking to folks in the intelligence community today, the Central Intelligence Agency and a few others, it became clear there was a report that was circulated up at the top about who should potentially take over afterwards. And due to a lack of ground forces and really only a bombing campaign with a desire to arrest Maduro and send in a limited raid that was, you know, over in just a short period, the determination was made was probably better to leave somebody from the current administration in power during the duration of a transition until that could happen.
And so they settled on the current vice president as the most likely candidate. But it does appear, based on actions in the last few days that that was well-coordinated ahead of time. If you notice, there was an initial statement by the president. Well, Machado doesn't really have the respect, I don't think she can do it. Venezuela has a vice president. And then hours later, she came out and basically denounced the raid, said that, you know, Venezuela would defend itself, et cetera.
Twenty-four hours later, she comes out and says, well, there will be an agenda where we'll work together on something. And then, as you just mentioned, is then seen embracing, you know, what is the effectively the axis of resistance that kept Venezuela alive and was mutually beneficial, Iran, China, North Korea, et cetera., embracing her. So I think everybody is trying to be everything to everyone at this point until they figure out exactly where the U.S. stands and there's a commonly agreed upon agenda.
MICHAELSON: So you feel that this decision to remove Maduro must have happened a long time ago. This was not a simple raid. Take us sort of behind the scenes in terms of what you know about how they got to this decision and how they justified this decision.
PLITSAS: Sure. As Congressman Himes Mentioned there, he also happens to be my congressman in, just for transparency, living in Connecticut and is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, mentioned, you know, when they get the Gang of Eight briefings, Marco Rubio had mentioned that that really wasn't in the cards. But what we're hearing to date now is that the intelligence community, the CIA, Department of Defense had built a full mock-up of the facility that Maduro lived in due to surveillance from the -- from CIA as well as from drones, et cetera, to include all the way down to the building materials and that building or that compound was used to train on by the Army's Delta Force.
A full squadron went in, if you heard today. The secretary of Defense came out and said that there were 200 folks on the ground. It's a full squadron of Delta Force, along with FBI special agents from the Hostage Recovery Team, which is a tactical team the FBI maintains for domestic law enforcement purposes, because you can't have the military doing that. But when you're executing a warrant, it's been common over the last 25 years for them to accompany elements of the military's special mission units when they go out in these types of operations, if they have to affect an arrest.
So all of that preparation and training goes back months. So a determination that that was a very viable course of action must have been rendered two if not three months ago at a minimum, in order for that facility to be built and the training to take place.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And we think of when Osama bin Laden was taken, there was also a mock up built and they trained doing it that way as well. In terms of what you're hearing from your sources in terms of who was really driving this from within the administration, you say it's one individual in particular?
PLITSAS: Yes. The large driving force behind the policy, from, you know, what I'm hearing from at the White House, the national security community, was largely secretary of state and acting national security adviser, acting head of the National Archives, Marco Rubio, and then the running joke is potentially the, you know, the acting president of Venezuela at some point. You know, obviously he's had a desire to weaken, if not unseat the Cuban regime for a long time, which was in cahoots, for lack of a better term, with the Venezuelans.
We know that to be very true now, obviously, because there were over 30 Cuban presumably special forces members who were killed providing security to President Maduro at the time of the raid. And as a result of that, the thought was, well, if we get rid of them and we get rid of the oil flow back and forth, and the money that will help destabilize and weaken the Cuban regime. So this is just one domino of many.
And that's been reflected in the comments from the secretary and the president afterwards about, you know, whether or not the Cuban government is stable, whether they're safe, whether they'll be regime change, which was, you know, you mentioned in the opening segment with the map. And so that is a very real possibility. And a lot of folks will say, is that something we should take seriously or bluster?
I think at a minimum, the president has demonstrated he's willing to take action, and hopefully that that will force policy changes in these countries where he wants to see them changed and at worst, for these countries, there is a potential for action down the road if they don't comply.
MICHAELSON: So back in the '70s, Congress passed something called the War Powers Act, which essentially says that the president needs to ask Congress for approval to do military action with certain exceptions, one of them being if it's a short period, less than 60-day operation, and if it goes beyond that, they got to either stop it or come back for approval.
Talk about the timing of what we're experiencing now in Venezuela and how that could be testing that War Powers Act.
[00:20:05]
PLITSAS: Sure. So as you rightly characterized, the War Powers Act was passed in 1973 by Congress with a two-thirds majority override of President Nixon's veto. That was meant to be a check on presidential power for the seemingly never ending war in Vietnam at that point. But no president has ever recognized the constitutionality of that act to date, though they've complied with it largely when it's convenient.
There's been several cases where they haven't, you know, most notably in 2011, President Obama was cited for, you know, for Libya. But many of the same members of Congress who were complaining then are supporting the operation now. So this has become a bit of a political football. I think the, you know, going into this, as you just heard, the United Nations ambassador for the United States, Mike Waltz, former national security adviser, congressman, special forces officer, veteran, mentioned that this was a law enforcement operation, which in fact was technically correct in how it was executed, even though the Department of Defense provided a large portion of the support to it.
However, we still have one-third of the deployed U.S. Navy off the coast of Venezuela or within striking distance, and the president has made it clear that that military pressure and power is going to be used to exert influence over the government there. So while this was thought that this was going to be over quickly, there doesn't appear to be a clear end state afterwards. And if this goes beyond 60 days, Congress very well could challenge this, you know, the constitutionality of it in terms of violating the War Powers Act. And there's been very few cases where the Supreme Court has actually
granted standing to challenge that law because they usually say you don't have the standing. And the few cases where we've gotten rulings, it's been a partial ruling. So the full act hasn't actually been ruled on. And so this could present a constitutional question in the coming months.
MICHAELSON: Which would be interesting if the Supreme Court took that up. There's got so many big cases to come when it comes to the Trump administration.
Alex Plitsas, it's great information. Really appreciate you sharing it and staying up late with us tonight. Thank you so much.
PLITSAS: Thanks for having me.
MICHAELSON: President Trump is offering an ambitious timeline for rebuilding Venezuela's oil industry. Just ahead, why experts say it might not be so easy. And U.S. oil companies, not all of them yet on board. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:26:13]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Any commitment from the oil companies?
TRUMP: They want to go in so badly.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you speak to them before the operation took place?
TRUMP: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did you maybe tip them off?
TRUMP: Before and after. And they want to go in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: President Trump claims that U.S. companies could rebuild Venezuela's infrastructure in less than 18 months. Trump's Energy secretary, Chris Wright, will meet this week with oil industry executives to discuss that.
CNN's Brian Todd takes a deeper look at Venezuela and oil.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Following the dramatic capture of Nicolas Maduro, President Trump put it bluntly, America was taking over the running of an underperforming oil power.
TRUMP: It's been horribly run. The oil is just flowing at a very low level.
TODD (voice-over): Why are Venezuela's oil reserves so important to the U.S.? Analysts say it's not just that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, sitting on over 300 billion barrels of crude, but it now has the potential to eventually reclaim its status as one of the world's top oil producers, with a type of oil that fits America's needs and capabilities to a tee.
CLAYTON SEIGLE, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Venezuela's particular kind of crude oil, which we call extra heavy, is a perfect match for the sophisticated oil refineries that the U.S. energy companies have invested in and built in the Gulf Coast.
TODD (voice-over): In the hours after Maduro's capture, President Trump made this claim about Venezuela's oil trading history with America.
TRUMP: It was the greatest theft in the history of America. Nobody has ever stolen our property like they have. They took our oil away from us. They took the infrastructure away.
TODD (voice-over): Experts say it's not true that Venezuela stole America's oil. The oil itself, they say, was always Venezuela's. But one analyst says part of Trump's claim is correct that Venezuela did expropriate some of the assets and infrastructure of American oil companies in Venezuela.
SEIGLE: There were two major rounds of expropriations. One of them was in the '70s, and another one was in the early to mid-2000s under Chavez, the former strongman.
TODD (voice-over): It was under Hugo Chavez, analysts say, that Venezuela's status as an oil power began to spiral.
BOB MCNALLY, PRESIDENT, RAPIDAN ENERGY GROUP: A communist dictator came in, nationalized the resources, kicked out most of the U.S. companies, and then invited the Russians and the Chinese to come in. And then he didn't organize and plan and run the wells well, so he ran the system into the ground.
TODD (voice-over): Then Maduro ran it further into the ground, to the point where now Venezuela produces less than 1 percent of the world's crude oil.
How long will it take to revitalize that decaying operation as President Trump has promised to do? Well, despite Trump's promise that U.S. oil companies are ready to race back into Venezuela, CNN has learned that they've been hesitant to commit to that. Experts say those companies will want to see some real political stability there first, and that could take years if not decades.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Brian.
The U.S. actions in Venezuela are causing some anxiety in Greenland and Denmark. Their leaders' stark warning to the White House ahead and why a U.S. landgrab could end a key military alliance. David Sanger, who's been to Greenland and reported on this extensively, joins us live -- joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We need Greenland from a national security situation. It's so strategic.
[00:34:07]
Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: That's President Trump on Sunday, reminding everyone of his desire to take over Greenland, which is a Danish territory, telling reporters, let's talk about it again in 20 days.
Now all this highly alarming to NATO ally Denmark and Greenland itself, after the U.S. actions in Venezuela. The Danish prime minister says a military action on Greenland would essentially end the NATO alliance.
Greenland's prime minister calls President Trump's threats, quote, "unacceptable and disrespectful." More now on all of this from CNN's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the issue of Greenland seems to be reemerging as a serious point of contention between the U.S. and its traditional European allies. Most of all, Denmark, which retains sovereignty over the vast arctic territory.
[00:35:08]
CHANCE (voice-over): We were actually there back in October, when the -- the Danes staged a show of military force, which they officially said was meant to deter Russian and Chinese military threats, but which Danish military officials privately told me were designed to show President Trump just how seriously they took Greenland's security, just, you know, after his repeated threats to take it over.
But now, after the extraordinary events in Venezuela and yet more incendiary remarks about Greenland, the Danish prime minister has appeared on national television, saying she had already, quote, "made it very clear" where the kingdom of Denmark stands and that Greenland has repeatedly said that it doesn't want to be part of the United States.
She also warned of the consequences of U.S. military action to seize Greenland, something President Trump has not ruled out.
METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): First of all, I think you have to take the U.S. President seriously when he says he wants Greenland. But I also want to make it clear that, if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, everything stops, including our NATO, and thus, the security that has been provided since the end of World War II.
CHANCE: Well, that is a clear warning about the potential of this issue of Greenland, which is in a strategic location and does have significant natural resources, to fracture the Western military alliance if this pressure from Washington escalates further.
Matthew Chance, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: The real question is by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?
The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously, Greenland should be part of the United States. Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That is deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, speaking earlier today with CNN's Jake Tapper.
With me now is David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst, one of the top writers at "The New York Times," on all of this, and author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion and America's Struggle to Defend the West.
I mean, what is it, though, about Greenland that makes it so strategically interesting for the United States?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, obviously, halfway between the U.S. and Europe, a big shipping route up through the arctic, one that's become more important as global warming has created pathways across the pole.
The Chinese, the Russians all run submarines and so forth up in that area.
But that's not the only area they run them up and down, and we work with NATO allies to go deal with -- with these elsewhere, including, say, Finland, Sweden, which just joined NATO.
So, it's not a question of whether or not Greenland is strategically important. It is. It's a question of who gets to make the choice.
And the oddity in what you were hearing before in the -- that interview with -- with Jake was, whether or not a country or a territory would need to be part of the United States to be defended.
The concept of NATO is that all members are defended, that an attack on one is an attack on all. So, it's specifically designed to make sure that each country and each territory that is within NATO is protected by the United States and the other members, the other 31 members of NATO.
MICHAELSON: Which is, of course, designed not on the premise that a NATO country would attack another NATO country. Right? Because that's what would potentially be happening here.
So, then what happens then? Do you side with the United States? Do you side with Denmark?
SANGER: So, when NATO was created in the late 1940s, it was designed, of course, to be part of the containment of the old Soviet Union.
It didn't really envision the thought that one NATO country might turn against the rest of the alliance. That's not what alliances are all about.
MICHAELSON: So, you talk about Stephen Miller, who is one of the most powerful people in the United States government, and his wife posted something interesting on X over the weekend. A picture of Greenland with an American flag.
Stephen Miller, sort of -- and with that comment "soon." Stephen Miller himself sort of smiled at that picture.
And this idea that the U.S. was going to take over Greenland, sort of seen as a joke at the beginning of the Trump administration. People laughed at that concept.
[00:40:08]
But what we saw with Venezuela is President Trump sometimes goes in and gets what he wants. So, should we take this seriously? This idea that the U.S. could basically take Greenland?
SANGER: Well, you know, we've been taking this seriously since President Trump was asked about it at Mar-a-Lago a few weeks before he was inaugurated. It was just actually a year ago this week.
And I remember the moment well, because I asked -- I asked him the question, which was whether or not he would consider using military force in order to obtain the Panama Canal back. He talked about that, you recall. Greenland. Of course, he talked about Canada entering as a 51st state. And he said that he would never rule that out. And that, of course,
sent Denmark, you know off the edge. And I can understand why they would.
And there are two diplomatic answers to this. The first is the choice of who Greenland would ally with would seem to belong to the people of Greenland.
And when I was there over the summer, they have a lot of complaints about how Denmark has dealt with them. And of course, they're ethnically distinct from the people of Denmark. And they complain that they don't get enough aid and so forth from Denmark. Nothing there that was particularly surprising.
And so, it's conceivable, I imagine, that you could, in a referendum, have the people of Greenland decide that they would rather ally with someone else.
There are not enough people there, and there's no military. They have no way of defending themselves. But they haven't done that.
The other way to go about this would be to go reopen some of those bases that the United States had and closed at the end of the Cold War. The treaty permits that. But the U.S. hasn't moved to go do it.
Denmark has made clear they would welcome that if, in fact, they wanted to go do that.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And interestingly, Jake Tapper asked a version of your question to Stephen Miller today, saying, would you rule out military force to go get Greenland? And Stephen Miller would not rule it out today either.
David Sanger, thank you.
SANGER: You know, it wouldn't -- it wouldn't be much of a fight, Elex. They don't have a military.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Well, there you go. Didn't see much of a fight in Venezuela over the weekend, either.
David Sanger from CNN and "The New York Times," thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
SANGER: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Still to come, Venezuela's now former first lady is standing trial in the U.S. beside her husband. We'll hear how she rose to political prominence on her own. Really interesting back story here, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:47:29]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (SINGING)
(CHANTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God for Donald Trump! He has liberated the Venezuelans!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's criminal case drawing different reactions on Monday. Demonstrators gathered outside that New York federal courthouse, where Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, made their first court appearances. Both Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to the drug and weapons charges against them.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 17.
Protesters in New York voiced their support for and against Maduro's capture and detention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL ESCALANTE, VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANT: There is no going back. Nicolas Maduro today is going to be brought to justice after 14 years of running our country, after more than 20 years of a ruthless dictatorship.
And it is time for freedom. It is time for democracy.
There is a reason why there are 8 million refugees throughout the world right now, and that is because of him, because he brought our country down, because he destroyed our livelihood. He stole my dreams. He destroyed my family. He took my friends, who are still in prison right now. So, that's why we're here.
SYDNEY LOVING, PROTESTOR: So, we're here for the arraignment to say free Maduro, to say the U.S. has no right to be holding the president of Venezuela and his wife, Cilia Flores, in -- in U.S. courts. The -- the charges are -- are lies.
And they're actually cover for the real political agenda, which is, regime change and to -- to put a government in power not like the one that is in power, which is for the people. But to put a government in power that is going to facilitate the extraction of oil and resources from Venezuela to the U.S. That's Trump's real agenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, Venezuela's first lady, or former first lady, or first combatant, as she's sometimes called, was targeted along with her husband in that U.S. military operation. You just heard her name there, Cilia Flores.
She didn't rise to importance just because of her marriage to Nicolas Maduro.
CNN's Isa Soares has more on her political career and how she came to be called the most powerful woman in the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Secretary General of my heart!
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of Nicolas Maduro's many moments of praise for his wife, Cilia Flores, who was always by the Venezuelan president's side.
But don't be fooled by her soft manner. For years, Flores has wielded power behind the scenes as a shrewd political strategist.
[00:50:06]
In fact, instead of first lady, she likes to go by "first combatant," a title that speaks volumes about her lifelong belief in Chavismo, the socialist movement that has dominated Venezuela for decades.
As a lawyer, she helped secure Hugo Chavez's release from prison after his failed coup attempt in the '90s. That's when she first crossed paths with Maduro, a moment she recalled on her husband's podcast.
CILIA FLORES, VENEZUELAN FIRST LADY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: When a young man asked to speak, he spoke, and I just stared at him. It's true. And I said, look, how intelligent.
SOARES (voice-over): Chavez later became president, as well as Maduro's mentor and predecessor.
All the while, Flores was busy carving her own political path. In 2006, she became the first woman to preside over Venezuela's National Assembly. She was criticized for banning journalists from the legislative chamber and for hiring dozens of relatives as employees, moves she defended.
In 2012, Chavez appointed Flores as the country's solicitor general, not long before he died. One year later, she tied the knot with then- President Maduro.
MADURO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Cilia and I legalized our relationship under the country's laws.
SOARES (voice-over): All of this has earned her the description of the most powerful woman in Venezuela.
That power and influence haven't gone unnoticed. In 2018, the first Trump administration slapped sanctions on the first lady and others, alleging they were helping the Venezuelan leader plunder his nation's wealth.
MADURO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) GRAPHIC: If you want to attack me, attack me. Don't mess with Cilia. Don't mess with the family.
SOARES (voice-over): But the Trump administration disagreed. And when it took the extraordinary step of seizing the Venezuelan president from his bedroom over the weekend, it made sure to get Flores, too.
In the indictment, prosecutors accused the first couple and other members of the country's elite of working with narco-trafficking gangs to facilitate and protect their drug trafficking operation.
The 25-page document adds that they ordered kidnappings, beatings, and murders against those who owed them money or interfered with their drug trafficking operation.
Sixty-nine-year-old Flores made her first appearance at a New York courthouse on Monday alongside her husband. Defiant, they both pleaded not guilty in what is fast becoming a blockbuster case.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Well, one place that's keenly watching the aftermath of the U.S. operation in Venezuela is Colombia. The two countries don't just share a border. Colombia also has a large population of Venezuelans.
CNN's David Culver reports from that border on the next hour of THE STORY IS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:57:28]
MICHAELSON: A live picture from Paris, where it is just about to be 7 a.m. in the morning. We're just about to have the sun rise over the Eiffel Tower.
Speaking of France, ten people in Paris have been convicted of cyberbullying France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, by spreading false claims that she's a transgender woman who was born male.
The eight men and two women were also found guilty of making malicious comments, including equating the 24-year age gap between the first lady and her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, to pedophilia.
The ruling comes as the Macrons pursue a separate defamation case in the U.S. against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has also claimed Brigitte Macron was born a man.
U.S. officials have changed their recommendations for child vaccines. The Department of Health and Human Services will now suggest fewer vaccines for children.
The changes are similar to vaccine schedules in nations like Denmark. Shots to fight measles, mumps, and rubella, as well as polio, chickenpox and others will still be pushed to parents, but those for RSV, hepatitis A and B, and others will be recommended for those at higher risk of infection.
Under the new changes, vaccines for the flu and coronavirus will only be given after consulting with a healthcare provider.
Several public health experts who spoke to CNN warned that the changes could fuel outbreaks of preventable diseases.
The popular weight loss drug Wegovy is now available as a daily pill. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk says the starter dose costs $149 a month for people paying cash and buying straight from the manufacturer.
That is $200 cheaper than the injectable version, making the pill a more affordable option for people whose insurance plans don't cover the drug.
Stronger doses will soon be available in pill form, as well.
Thanks for watching this hour of THE STORY IS. Stay with us for more of our breaking coverage. The next hour of THE STORY IS starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
MICHAELSON: And CNN's breaking news coverage of the U.S. involvement in Venezuela continues. Welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles.
The top story is in Caracas, where just in the last few hours, we heard gunfire. Let's listen.
You can see there, in that picture, anti-aircraft fire seen in that video, as well. This is -- all this coming as the city and security services remain on edge after that U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was happening live during our show during this time on Friday night.
