00:00And joining me now is Rohit Sharma, my colleague from Washington, D.C.
00:04Rohit, a lot is happening when it comes to Nicolas Maduro, Washington, D.C.,
00:09as also the latest that you've just put out.
00:13Let's begin with that.
00:15A post by the State Department clearly spelling out the Monroe Doctrine
00:19by the Trump administration saying the Western Hemisphere,
00:23which is what Marco Rubio said in interviews, is ours and there can be no one else.
00:27There's no room for anybody else to step into that sphere.
00:32That's a message coming in directly from Washington, D.C.
00:37Well, first things first, Geeta, a very happy new year and a great interview with President Putin.
00:41We haven't had a chance to talk, but wanted to put it on the record here.
00:44So, yes, a lot is happening in Washington, D.C.
00:48Look, I think, you know, what we've seen over the past 48 hours is what has been now described
00:54by even Secretary Rubio as Dondro Doctrine, where Western Hemisphere belongs to the U.S.
01:00We've also seen reports coming in and statements coming in from the Mexican president
01:04who herself said that, you know, this hemisphere does not belong to anybody
01:08and, you know, we're not going to tolerate this.
01:10So I think President Trump is trying to make a point.
01:12He had outlined this in his national security document,
01:16which came out last year when he talked about Western Hemisphere.
01:19And I think he's taken action on that.
01:21Now, it's important to also understand, and we were obviously playing those visuals
01:25from the U.N. Security Council, that there have been opposition registered
01:29at least in the U.N. by the Chinese and the Russians.
01:32But also, we also saw a Venezuelan U.N. diplomat there talking about it
01:37and kind of alluding to the fact which the U.S. has also said that this wasn't an invasion.
01:42You know, if this was, there would probably be nobody in the U.N. representing Venezuela.
01:47So I think it's an uncharted territory.
01:48We do not know what's going to happen.
01:49A lot will be decided this week.
01:52We've been told there could be U.S. delegation meetings with Venezuelans.
01:55So we'll have to wait and watch if they fly out to D.C.
01:58or if somebody flies to Venezuela.
02:00But as of this time, as of this moment, as President Trump himself has said,
02:04the policy of Venezuela would be decided by Washington, D.C.
02:08Right.
02:09Right.
02:09Also, Rohit, the other very important thing, we can see visuals of Maduro being taken to court.
02:14We'll talk about that before that.
02:16Another very important meeting that's underway is at the U.N. headquarters, the United Nations Security Council meeting.
02:22U.S. envoy to the U.N. has very clearly spelt out that this is not them trying to conquer a country or take over a country or occupy a country.
02:31It was in the sphere of legality.
02:33But that's not what the others in the room think.
02:36And there's certainly a demand now for the release of Maduro.
02:40Where is that headed?
02:41Well, look, I think it is, as I said, you know, we do not know.
02:46Right.
02:46I mean, so if you look, if you adhere to the American side of the things, you know, they obviously have said,
02:50and like Rubio said, that we acted on behalf of FBI and DOJ to get this person who they believe is responsible for sending drugs to America and has weapons and whatnot.
03:01So, again, you know, that's the defense the U.S. has been using.
03:05And they're like, we're still working with the VP who was part of the Maduro regime, and they have not invaded the country.
03:11There are no boots on the ground.
03:13So that's one aspect of it.
03:14The other aspect is we haven't seen something like this where, you know, a country would go and remove somebody from power, literally, you know, extract them from their home.
03:25So I think we do not know how this is going to be, but we do know for a fact, like, I think this is a very evolving situation.
03:31I think the U.S. has said it in many interviews now that they are willing to work with whoever is left in Venezuela.
03:37And if they don't follow or tow the Washington, D.C. line, then there will be consequences.
03:42Right.
03:42And briefly, Rohit, the court hearings are underway, right, if I'm not wrong?
03:48Yes, it will be presided by Judge Alvin Hellstrand.
03:51He's a 92-year-old Clinton appointee, so liberal in that sense.
03:55And Maduro will be represented by two judges, Judge Alvin, Judge Alvin, my bad, the lawyer, two lawyers.
04:03Him and his wife have different lawyers, and they would be represented at noon, which, again, is under proceedings right now.
04:09OK, so keep tracking developments on that front.
04:12We'll keep coming back to you for the latest developments coming in from the New York court in Manhattan.
04:17Thank you so much, Rohit, for joining me.
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