in the individual vault tomorrow. then she has the floor and the beam. so that's potentially three more medals for her. katie ledecky has the 800 meter in front of her. she has a heat today, and she will most likely qualify. her biggest competition in that race is summer mcintosh, a canadian swimmer, she's not racing the event here in paris. so, katie ledecky's chances of getting yet another gold medal are really, really terrific. as you mentioned, there are some other opportunities in the pool, caeleb dressel will be defeating his 50 meter olympic gold medal as well and regan smith, she's got the backstroke. so, you know, we are heading into a good string for u.s. athletes and, of course, the center of gravity is all going to shift to track and field and sha'carri richardson. >> the 10,000 meters men's final tonight. don't forget the long distance events. stephanie gosk, thank you, my friend. that does it for us this busy hour. i'll be back at 3:00 p.m. eastern for katy tur.

first, jose diaz-balart picks up our coverage right now. good morning. it is 11:00 a.m. eastern. 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. right now, three americans who were wrongly detained in russia are back on u.s. soil, recovering in san antonio. evan gershkovich, paul whelan and alsu kurmasheva was freed in the largest prisoner swap since the cold war. they arrived at joint base andrews in maryland where they were greeted by president biden and vice president harris and their families. >> this morning on the "today"

show, white house national security adviser jake sullivan discussed what the president had to consider to secure a deal. >> these are very tough decisions and the president has to weigh as do the other leaders, has to weigh giving up criminals to get americans and other citizens home. but at the end of the day, the president asked this question, am i going to let these people rot for life in a russian jail and his answer to that question was no. >> joining us now, nbc's jesse kirshe and courtney kube, julia yoffe and peter baker. jesse, what more can you tell us about how the events unfolded last night and what does reintegration look like for them? >> yeah, jose, so these three freed americans touched down in the u.s. before midnight last night at joint base andrews in maryland.

they were greeted by the president, the vice president and members of their families. after a meet and greet and some moments where they were speaking to the press, the freed americans and their families got back on a plane and came here to san antonio, texas, they're going to be taking part in what is known as post isolation support activities at the brook army medical center, just behind me across the highway here. this is the same facility, the same type of activities that wnba star brittney griner went through when she was freed from russia. we heard from these freed americans overnight, including "wall street journal" reporter evan gershkovich, here's part of what he had to say. >> how are you feeling? >> i'm all right. it was a good flight. >> what about the show of support? >> it's -- >> evan! >> looking forward to seeing my family down here and just recuperating from five years, seven months and five days of just absolute nonsense by the

russian government. >> and that's paul whelan there, referring to his treatment in russia as absolute nonsense. the group landed here in texas about four hours, just over four hours after they first touched down in the u.s. at joint base andrews, jose. and those activities are ongoing here. we're trying to get more details about what they might exactly be going through in terms of counseling, physical examination, et cetera. we're looking for more details. >> thanks, jesse. courtney, these are some of the things we're talking about, you and i yesterday at this time, when we were getting and breaking that news that the three americans were already in u.s. custody. what else have you learned, courtney, about how this deal was made? >> yeah, i mean, jose this was a deal that was not months but years in the making. it even predated when we just saw evan gershkovich there. it predated him being detained by russian authorities. so, several years ago, while the biden administration was

negotiating for the release of americans including paul whelan, who we also just saw there with jesse, while they were negotiating, it became very clear to u.s. negotiators including those at the state department that vladimir putin was not going to let any americans out of russian prison unless he got one person back. that's vadim krasikov. he's an fsb agent, detained in germany for several years on murder charges. he's believed to have been an assassin for russian intelligence services. now, the u.s. went to german authorities to talk to them about it, but they were very resistant to release him. that's when according to administration officials secretary of state antony blinken and others at the state department decided to sort of open the aperture on a larger deal like the one that we saw unfold here yesterday. it included initially it even included alexei navalny. but all that changed as you well know, jose, when navalny died in prison in february earlier this year. but the u.s. continued working on this swap.

we heard from jake sullivan earlier today on the "today" show where he talked about the tough decisions that have to be made here and, yes, tough decisions made by the white house, but you could argue that the toughest decision of all really had to come out of german chancellor olaf scholz. he was, ultimately, according to u.s. administration officials the one who made the decision to release vadim krasikov and that was the domino that let loose the rest of the larger deal that saw all these prisoners released and go back to multiple countries here. what is key here is, yes, there were negotiations that occurred for years between u.s. and russian authorities, but at the end of the day, vadim krasikov, this fsb agent, again, an assassin for russian intelligence services, the german chancellor olaf scholz's decision to release him is what really allowed the rest of this to fall into place, jose. >> yeah, peter, i mean, so what more do we know about the extraordinary nature of president biden's involvement in

this entire deal? >> yeah, of course, he brought in at key moments to talk to other heads of state to try to facilitate this. he was talking with olaf scholz, as courtney said, there was a moment in january in a phone call where he implored scholz to go ahead and agree to release an assassin as courtney said, something that went against grain by saying we can get navalny out, but scholz said for you, i will do this. when navalny was killed, they had to recalibrat. the president, of course, was brought in at the very last minute to talk to the slovenian prime minister because they too had two russians under custody that they were being asked to release and the president had to call the slovenian prime

minister from his vacation house in rehoboth beach on a sunday, happened to be two sundays ago, as we all remember now, of course, that sunday was also notable for something else he did that day, 97 minutes after that phone call with the slovenian prime minister to facilitate this prisoner swap, released a statement saying he was backing out of his presidential bid. that was quite a sunday for president biden. >> and he stressed the importance of the united states' allies in securing this deal. listen to this. >> toughest call on this one for other countries. i asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self-interest and very difficult for them to do. >> and, you know, we referred to some of them, but what were some of the biggest difficulties here? >> well, i think the release of vadim krasikov was the biggest

one. recall what he was in jail for, what he was serving a life sentence in germany for. he had shot a man on orders from the russian government in broad daylight in the middle of the afternoon at a berlin park, with children around, families around, it was a really gruesome murder. it was not easy for the slovenians, for example, to give up illegals, russian illegals, basically sleeper agents. norway had to give people, poland gave someone up. and to president biden's point, again if you treat your alliances like a lone shark treats basically a tardy customer, you're not going to get this kind of deal. because it is not just, you know, a what have you done for me lately arrangement. it is not -- it is not as transactional as president trump would want you to believe. there has to be investment, that doesn't immediately pay off, doesn't immediately pay off in

cash and money. and then you can get this kind of stuff done. but, again, if you demean allies, if you insult them while cozying up to america's foes and dictators, this is not going to happen. >> yeah, and courtney, just moments ago, president was asked about another american still being held in russia, mark fogel. president said he's not giving up. fogel's family released a statement following this prisoner swap yesterday, saying in part, quote, for the second time in three years, since marc fogel's detention in russia, we are completely heart broken and outraged that marc had been left behind while the u.s. government brought other americans home. what do we know about efforts to get fogel free? >> yeah, there was a point where they thought the u.s. officials hoped that fogel would be included in this current deal. he wasn't, obviously. officials say they are continuing to work, they're literally starting again today to try to negotiate his release.

this one is tough because he was a long time teacher in russia, and many current and former state department officials who he taught their children have written letters to the biden administration, to the state department, and imploring him to help get him out. in a strange coincidence, fogel's mother actually was at the rally in butler, pennsylvania, where there was an assassination attempt on former president donald trump, she actually met with him right before the rally. and so donald trump has also spoken a little bit about the need to release him and she went and did media on that afterwards. he happens to be from butler, pennsylvania, but officials insist they are working feverishly to try to release him as well, jose. >> jesse kirshe, courtney kube, julia yoffe and peter baker, thank you. the job market slowed in july. what it means for the economy next. plus, the middle east on high alert after the killings of

top hamas and hezbollah commanders. what this could mean for a region already under tension. the vetting process for vice president harris' running mate is wrapping up. what we can expect on that front. we're back in 90 seconds. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on nbc. atc diaz-balart reports" on nbc. ♪ trains that use the power of dell ai and intel. ♪ to see hundreds of miles of tracks. ♪ [vroom] [train horn] [buzz] clearing the way, [whoosh] so you arrive exactly where you belong. with bugs, the struggle-is-real. that's why you need zevo traps. zevo works 24/7 to attract and trap flying insects. for effortless protection. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly.

13 past the hour.

we're following breaking news on the economy. right now markets are down, down significantly, after a brand-new jobs report shows the u.s. added just 114,000 jobs in july, far below wall street expectations. the unemployment rate edged up to 4.3%. the highest since october of 2021. looking deeper into the numbers, the black unemployment rate was unchanged from june. hispanic unemployment rate ticked up .4%. and .3% among whites in the unemployment rate among asians ticked down .4%. president biden responded to the news in a statement saying, quote, today's report shows employment is growing more gradually at a time when inflation has declined significantly. joining us now is cnbc's steve liesman. good morning. so what exactly do these numbers tell us? >> they tell us that the economy is, indeed, weakening. there is a couple of ways to think about this. the first is that we have now

come down to a level that is more normal. we were through a very, very strong period of job growth, some of that looked to be catch-up from the pandemic, where we had a need to really hire a lot of people in industries, especially healthcare and social assistance, education, leisure and hospitality. that catch-up hiring looks to be done. a little bit of good news in this report. there wasn't a lot of firing. there weren't big negatives in different industries. what there wasn't was a lot of hiring. so what you get is a more lackluster jobs report. you had this tick up in the employment rate, but because the way the math is done, i won't bore you with that, there was an influx of workers into the workforce, that raises the unemployment raise because those who came into the labor force didn't find jobs right away. that's good news for those that are trying to hire people and the overall job market. we see a weakening of job growth

with the concern on wall street, you see the dow down 900 points now, the weakness gathers strength and becomes something more worrisome than just a normalization. >> steve liesman, thank you very much for clearing that up for us. appreciate it, my friend. this morning, the middle east is increasingly on edge after a string of hamas and hezbollah officials were killed earlier today a funeral was held in qatar for hamas' top leader, one of hamas' top leaders who was killed in an explosion while in iran this week. no one claimed responsibility, but iran blames israel for his death and is vowing retaliation. hamas as you know is a terror group responsible for the october 7th massacre. this as the white house says that during a call with prime minister netanyahu yesterday president biden reaffirmed u.s.' support for israel against all threats from iran. joining us now, nbc's raf sanchez live in tel aviv. good morning. what is israel doing about the

possibility of any retaliation from iran? >> reporter: jose, good morning. israeli forces are on high alert, so that is the air defenses, including the famous iron dome missile system, but also israeli fighter jets ready to scramble in the event of incoming missiles. and in that conversation between president biden and prime minister netanyahu, which we should say vice president harris was also on the call, the united states committed to deploying more american forces in a defensive posture across the middle east to help defend israel for whatever may be coming next. and we have some idea of what this could look like, jose. you'll remember, back in april, iran fired 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones at israel, the vast majority of those were shot down by israeli air defenses, but also a large number taken out by american forces in the middle east. and the question now is are we going to see some kind of repeat

of that, or is it going to be some sort of new tactic and one possibility is you will have a coordinated attack between iran and its proxies, both hezbollah in lebanon and potentially the houthis down in yemen. jose? >> there is also new reporting about how that hamas official was killed in iran. >> that's right, jose. the iranian regime initially says that ismail haniyeh, the political chief of hamas was killed in an israeli missile strike. there are widespread reports that israeli agents, in fact, planted a bomb in the revolutionary guard guest house where haniyeh was known to stay when he was in iran, that they planted that bomb potentially months in advance, and then detonated it remotely when haniyeh was in his bedroom after a meeting a couple hours earlier with iran's supreme leader. the israeli military appeared to obliquely confirm that report. the military spokesman denied

adamantly that israel carried out any air strikes in iran, but when asked was haniyeh killed with a bomb, he refused to comment, which is consistent with what the israeli government has been doing since that high profile killing in the very heart of the iranian capital. jose? >> raf sanchez in tel aviv, thank you very much. coming up, new details about who the harris campaign is interviewing as a potential running mate and the harris team reporting record-breaking fund-raising numbers. what it all means for the race to the white house. plus, new reaction over the plea deal reached by the accused 9/11 plotters, maryland senator and senate foreign relations committee member chris van hollen joins us to discuss that and a whole lot more. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. o. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. for a total value of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. only on verizon. (jalen hurts) see you sunday! ♪ ♪ have you always had trouble losing weight

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23 past the hour. vice president harris' search for a running mate is nearing the finish line. sources tell nbc news the harris campaign's vetting team has met with these six people. harris, herself, is expected to meet with the final contenders over the next couple of days. both campaigns also just reported their fund-raising totals for july, and take a look at this, the harris team says it brought in a record smashing $310 million, with 377 million in their war chest, the trump team says it raised about 139 million last month, with 327

million in cash on hand. joining us now, nbc news white house correspondent allie raffa and garrett haake. how closer are we to knowing who the vice president is going to be picking? >> well, we're expecting this announcement to come within the next 72 hours. this is one of the biggest decisions a presidential candidate can make. it is a decision that the vice president has had an extremely tight timeline to be able to come to. but we're told that her schedule for the next 72 hours is clear. it has no public events on it, has her schedule to remain at her washington home. and sources familiar with her team's vetting process are telling my colleague monica alba she is planning to use that time to meet face to face with some of the top contenders on her list. these sources saying that that means that the formal vetting process that was overseen by the former attorney general eric

holder has been completed. so this is more of what you can get a sense from someone off paper, she'll get a sense of this person's character, their attitude, and this is an opportunity for her to really see if she clicks with these contenders and the president for his part who went through this exact process four years ago was asked about this before he left the white house to head to delaware for the weekend, just a short time ago. listen to his comments here. >> have you spoken to vice president harris about her running mate? >> yes. >> you've been a vice president before. what key qualities should she be looking for when she makes the pick? >> i'll let her work that out.

>> it is still unclear which of these she'll actually meet face to face with, but it is notable, jose, that some of them have canceled their weekend plans. all of that said, she has to make this decision by tuesday, because that's when we expect her to hit the campaign trail for the first time with her running mate. jose? >> and, garrett, meanwhile, former president trump is actually doubling down on his attacks on vice president harris' race? >> well, he did at least a little bit yesterday with the social media post on truth social calling back an old photo of kamala harris that seemed to suggest she was highlighting her indian heritage as opposed to her black heritage back in the day. he got almost no backup from other republicans, except his running mate jd vance. most other republicans on capitol hill call on him to return to talking about the issues, they say that is where this race will be won on lost. this commentary from trump was

nowhere to be found this morning. this is a good reminder where he can go off his own campaigns thrust to talk about the things he wants to talk about and the mood he wants to be in, donald trump will remain donald trump, the same figure we have known for the last decade in the final 95 days of this race. >> and, garrett, you mentioned jd vance trump's running mate, he toured the southern border in arizona yesterday. what did he have to say? >> that's right, jose. this is what the trump campaign wants to be talking about, they want to be talking about weakness on the border, brought on by the biden administration. you see there vance touring the border with border officials there, border patrol officials, trying to argue that kamala harris in her role as border czar, not a real thing, but in the roles she was put in charge of to examine root causes of migration, basically failed to do anything to stop the surge and crossings at the southern border. something that is belied by more recent data we have been

getting. but nevertheless, that's the issue set that trump campaign wants to be talking about. i'm not sure jd vance in a pearl snap shirt in arizona is enough to overcome the commentary dpr from the man at the top of the ticket, guiding the media spotlight in one direction or another. >> thank you, both, so very much. appreciate it. in paris, gymnastics superstar simone biles has made history once again. on thursday, she clinched the gold medal in the individual all-around final at the olympic games, making her first american gymnast to win twice. she wasn't the only american on the podium. suni lee took the bronze. brazil's rebeca andrade took silver. plus, team usa's katie ledecky is also shattering all kinds of records, she became the most decorated woman in u.s. olympic history on thursday, 13 medals after team usa took silver in the 4 by 200 meter freestyle relay.

coming up, the largest prisoner exchange between russia and the u.s. since the cold war. we'll get reaction from senator chris van hollen on that and a whole lot more. and later -- the united states recognizes that nicolas maduro lost the presidential elections in venezuela. why the main opposition leader fears for her life and the life of every venezuelan. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. from my antidepressant. vraylar helped give it a lift. adding vraylar to an antidepressant is clinically proven to help relieve overall depression symptoms better than an antidepressant alone. and in vraylar clinical studies, most saw no substantial impact on weight. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report unusual changes in behavior or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. report fever, stiff muscles, or confusion, as these may be life-threatening,

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34 past the hour. more on our top story this morning. the three americans and a u.s. permanent resident released as part of a historic prisoner swap with russia, with us now is maryland senator chris van hollen who sits on the foreign relations committee. it is always great seeing you. i thank you for your time. just your reaction to this really historic swap. >> jose, always good to be with you. look, those were heart warming images to see those americans and american permanent resident come off that airplane, be greeted by the president and vice president of the united states, and most importantly then embraced by their families. this was a clear victory for diplomacy in the united states, and especially, of course, president biden himself who from the earliest days of his administration worked to repair

these really fractured relationships with some of our closest allies. those close allies were critical to getting this deal done. >> yeah, and this wasn't a deal that was hashed out in weeks or months but no doubt years and the president certainly taking a major role in those negotiations and conversations. senator, a joint statement was issued saying in part without serious action to deter further hostage taking by russia, iran, and other states, hostile to the united states, the cost of hostage diplomacy will continue to rise. what is your reaction to that? does this deal and others like it set a precedent, a negative one, going forward? >> well, look, this is not the first kind of deal like this. it is a large one. and i think because of all the moving pieces here and who we

got back, this was an agreement definitely worth doing. look, as you know, there is always a risk of that downside in the years, which is why you have to weigh each of these. i think the message that president biden and vice president harris sent was that we are determined to get our people home and in this case, our diplomacy with the chancellor of germany, with the prime minister of slovenia is what made it happen. those personal relationships that president biden has forged. >> meantime, senator, the pentagon announced earlier this week that accused september 11th mastermind khalid sheikh mohammed and others reached a plea deal that would spare them from the death penalty. eric holder told nbc news he's angry about the deal, going after political hacks in congress for blocking the justice department from trying them from federal court.

what is your reaction to the deal? >> i'm not going to second guess these prosecutors who were dealing with this case in a military court, with respect to what they arrived at. however, eric holder's right. i remember very well efforts that i supported, his efforts to allow the united states to try ksm and others in federal courts. and it was overwhelmingly republicans who blocked that effort. they did not want to allow us to move the trial from guantanamo to courts within the united states. and so, you know, those politicians that are, you know, upset now are some of the same people who blocked eric holder as attorney general from prosecuting those cases in the united states, in federal courts. >> how do you feel about ksm not having to face the death

penalty? >> well, i would have preferred the approach that eric holder had pursued. but, again, i think that given what the prosecutors, the military prosecutors had to work with, that they have probably gotten the best agreement that they could get under the circumstances. so i'm not going to second guess them, but i will second guess those politicians, mostly republican politicians, who blocked that ability to bring this case to federal courts in the united states, where as eric holder said, he was planning to pursue the death penalty. >> and, senator, i focus our attention on venezuela if i could. secretary of state antony blinken last night recognized that the united states recognized that the maduro has

been arresting people, he's going to create education camps for those opposed to him. what is your message to the venezuelan people? >> well, we stand with the venezuelan people who overwhelmingly it turns out voted for gonzalez and against maduro. this was why many of us called immediately for transparency, for the maduro government, regime to release the results and there is a reason, jose, that they hid those results. they're seeing results that were released by some of the opposition figures from about 80% of the polling places that gonzalez has, you know, won comfortably here. this is clearly an effort to deny the will of the people, and the united states will continue to stand with the people of venezuela. >> so what will releasing maduro's election committee's

votes, what would that in any way do to forward the situation? >> well, first of all, it would show what the truth is, which is that maduro lost, right? he is trying to cling on to this claim of legitimacy that he won. when all the evidence shows otherwise. so this is why secretary blinken did, in my view, the right thing, recognizing the real winner here, gonzalez. and this is why the united states is now going to use its levers and influence to push for a negotiation, to have a transition to the truly elected leader gonzalez. now, obviously we know maduro and his cronies do not want to go quietly into the night. the united states needs would work with the partners and

allies in the region to ratchet up the pressure on the venezuelan people. >> senator chris van hollen, a pleasure to see you, thank you for your time. >> thank you. good to be with you. next, we're going to dig into vice president harris' record on immigration. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. a. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. that's why you need zevo traps. zevo goes wherever bugs do— working 24/7, using blue and uv light to attract and trap flying insects, with no odor and no mess. getting rid of the bugs you see, and even the ones you don't. for effortless protection everywhere in your home. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. to catch up to twice the bugs, try zevo max.

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president harris' record on immigration is under the political microscope. joining us now, julia ainsley. good morning. you looked at harris' record on immigration. what did you find? >> this is something we are not going to stop hearing about, especially as the trump campaign heats up and continues to put pressure on harris for her role being a border czar. we heard his vice presidential pick jd vance at the border yesterday accusing harris of inaction on this issue and blaming her for what has been a record number of migrants under the biden administration, while not acknowledging they have seen a fall in recent months. here is what we looked at and learned. we dug into her record. since rising to the top of the ticket, vice president kamala harris' handling of the border under renewed scrutiny and attack. but they say border czar is an unfair label.

the job she was assigned was to address the root causes of immigration, in central america. >> we can chew gum and walk at the same time and address the root causes that cause people to make the trek. >> reporter: after that announcement, harris visited mexico and guatemala. while in mexico, harris forged an agreement that led the u.s. to commit $4 billion in direct assistance to central america. and over $5.2 billion in private investment in the region from u.s. companies. the white house says those investments are creating jobs and have connected more than 4.5 million people to the internet. and brought more than 2.5 million people into the formal financial system. in guatemala, she garnered pushback from immigration advocates for telling migrants don't come to the u.s. >> do not come. >> you had a message for would be migrants, don't come. why should they believe you when they know people are getting in? >> people who are here for generations, we know the history

for guatemala for centuries, they want to stay, they don't want to leave. but they need opportunity. they need assistance. >> reporter: also pressed by nbc's lester holt about why she hadn't visited the border, a criticism from republicans. >> this whole thing about the border, we have been to the border. we have been to the border. >> you haven't been to the border. >> and i haven't been to europe. >> reporter: two weeks later, harris made a trip to el paso where she toured border facilities. after that trip, her public facing work on immigration largely fell off. she made one more central american trip for the inauguration of honduras' new president in 2022. and held two in person meetings with the presidents of mexico and guatemala in d.c. since harris' work began, immigration from guatemala, el salvador and honduras has fallen dramatically. from over 86,000 in march 2021 to just over 25,000 in june 2024. but some experts say harris shouldn't get much credit for that. how much credit can harris take

for that decline from central america? >> i don't think that immigration has been one of her top priorities. >> reporter: andrew is the president of the nonpartisan think tank migration policy institute. >> i'm not sure how much vice president harris has been engaged in those discussions outside of the private sector. >> reporter: migration from other parts of the world including venezuela, china, central asia and sub-saharan africa are all on the rise. harris' immigration record traces back to before she became vp, as california attorney general she regularly met with latin american officials to fight organized crime and as a senator in 2017, she led a group of democratic lawmakers who threatened to withhold votes on a federal spending bill that did not include protections for daca recipients. some agents are unconvinced by harris record so far. what reaction does the name kamala harris evoke among border

patrol agents? >> not a good one. a lot of people roll their eyes. nobody has seen any results from her, her efforts. >> reporter: meanwhile, on the campaign trail, harris is defending her immigration record, pointing to her work combatting transactional crime as california ag and the biden administration's border security bill. >> back the border security bill that donald trump killed and i will sign into law. >> now, the biden -- the harris campaign points of course to trump's record on immigration saying that his only solution are xenophobic policies that would separate families as he did in 2018. but, of course, we do know that under the biden administration there is numbers at the border that have fallen dramatically. there were just large drop. people we spoke to, especially immigration policy experts, say that's not really something that they should put all the credit on harris' shoulders for. >> julia ainsley, thank you very

much. up next, an opposition leader fears for her life and for the life of everyone in venezuela. we will talk about that next. you are watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. it's hard to run a business on your own. make it easier on yourself. with shopify, you can have your inventory, payments, and customers in sync across all the places you sell. start your journey with a free trial today.

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show me paris. xfinity internet customers can enjoy the ultimate entertainment experience and save on some of the biggest names in streaming, all for just $15 a month. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. 54 past the hour. to venezuela where an opposition leader called on venezuelans to gather tomorrow to show support for those imprisoned and in support of the true results of sunday's contested presidential elections. yesterday, "the wall street journal" published an op-ed in which she wrote, i'm writing this from hiding, fearing for my life. maduro did not win the presidential elections, she wrote. he lost.

i can prove it. i have receipts obtained from more than 80% of the polling stations. antony blinken issued a statement recognizing gonzalez as the winner. with us is an authorized spokesperson on behalf of the opposition. he joins us from washington, d.c. where he lives in exile. thank you for being with us today. what is going on in venezuela today as far as you see? >> thank you so much for having me. what we are having in venezuela is an elected president, gonzalez. it's the biggest margin in any presidential election in our country. even though this election was not free and fair. the regime, of course, behaving as a dictatorship is not

transferring power. is using military forces and interim agencies to repress and targeted repression. there are at least 700 illegal detention at the moment you are doing this interview to me. at least 19 people have been killed. we are ready for a peaceful and ordinarily transition in venezuela that will not only benefit venezuelans but the whole region. >> any transition in venezuela would depend on the person in charge of that regime. we are talking about chavez and now maduro that have been able to control the military using the vast resources of venezuela. the country with most petroleum reserves in the world. extraordinary amounts of gold and so many other minerals. how do you see this happening when maduro continues to be in

control of the state security apparatus? >> we need the armed forces to step up. we need the armed forces to behave institutionally, to obey the constitution and respect what the vast majority of venezuelans said last sunday. we have the proof with the voting record. we have the proof with counts that were made. we have proof with the exit polls. many of those soldiers are suffering the same problems as many venezuelans. they don't have electricity, water, internet. many have fled the country. many soldiers and police are part of those 8 million people that have fled. this is the moment to step up, to behave institutionally, obey the constitution and respect the vast majority of venezuelans that voted peacefully last sunday. that's what we are asking. that's a request. we are ready for a transition.

we are ready to govern venezuela and rebuild our nation. it deserves freedom, access to justice. >> i think it's important that people recognize that what we are talking about is going on in venezuela, but 8 million plus people from that country have been forced to leave over the last decade plus. many of them forced to come to the united states in their search for freedom. this is something that has a direct relation to what we in this country live through and will probably be dealing with. my question is, the secretary of state yesterday very clearly said, maduro lost the election. that's the united states' policy now. there are our countries, including brazil and cuba and nicaragua and mexico and honduras that are saying, no, we

want transparency but we're not against maduro leaving. very quickly, what do you need? >> two things very quick here. first of all, if maduro prevails, if maduro use every tool to keep in power, unfortunately, there will be more people fleeing. from 8 we get to 9 or 10 million. many will try to come to the u.s. at least 700,000 have come to the u.s. this is a thing that is affecting the region. we want people to stop fleeing. we want families reunited. the other countries have to respect. what they expressed last sunday was not transparent. many countries said that.