Just who is it that is claiming to know CNN's intentions? ZEROHEDGE, that's who. The article editorializes, "In one section of the interview, ****likely in an effort to create headlines,**** Yeung referred to Trump recently designating the cartel as foreign terrorists, opening up the possibility of targeting them with military force." They further editorialize, "Not satisfied with that answer, Yeung made ****another effort to get the cartel member to bash Trump.****"  
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I have a different interpretation of the facts. Facts: The CNN interview reports (with video) an interview with ONE member of the cartel who actually makes the drugs to be sold to others. From the transcript
http://transcripts.cnn.com/show/acd/date/2025-05-02/segment/01 :
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[...]
YEUNG (voice-over): He says he produces fentanyl for the Sinaloa cartel.
YEUNG: How safe or dangerous is this area to be in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Right now, all areas are dangerous.
YEUNG: The Mexican military are making a big effort to crack down on the drug production here. How are you responding to that and how does that impact your work?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): They're doing a good job. There are more of them now, so we have to find a way to keep doing this, to keep working. Of course, on a smaller scale, not the same as before. But it continues.
YEUNG: I mean, according to the Trump administration, you are a terrorist. I mean, the cartels have been labeled a foreign terrorist organization. What do you make of that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Well, the situation is ugly. But we have to eat.
YEUNG: What's your message to Donald Trump if he's watching this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): My respect. According to him, he's looking out for his people, but the problem is the consumers are in the United States. If there weren't any consumers, we would stop.
YEUNG: There is a lot of violence playing out on these streets here at the moment every day, right? I mean, people are dying on a daily basis. Children are afraid to go to school. Do you have any sense of remorse over your role and your involvement in this group?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Of course. Of course. Things are sad, but -- well, things are sad.
[...]
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A CNN news team meets with a cartel member, records the interview, and broadcasts the interview, probably editing out parts that were too garbled or unintelligible or too boring. Here is my interpretation: CNN wanted to report the facts from a risky and dangerous exclusive interview and let the listeners / viewers draw their own conclusions.  
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This was not a Sinaloa Cartel spokesperson, like Katherine Leavitt. This was a lower level guy who cooks the drugs and was expressing his personal opinions and feelings ("Do you have any sense of remorse?" "Of course. Of course.").
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He also says, "but the problem is the consumers are in the United States. If there weren't any consumers, we would stop." Editorializing: So maybe he is saying that the US should have DRUG INTERVENTION PROGRAMS and other forms of community support and not just bullets and bombs.  (If there is demand and you cut off Supply-A, someone will come along with Supply-B, ... then C, and D and so on.)  
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Or maybe you just prefer to have a 5-second headline and soundbite and not even read the article?