Trump Announces He Will Meet Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in New York — the First Sit-Down Between a U.S. President and a Venezuelan Leader in Eleven Years — and Lifts Her Country's Drug Blacklisting Over "Positive Progress," While Rick Scott Calls Her "the Head of the Drug Cartels" and Maria Elvira Salazar Calls the Meeting a "Necessary Evil"
Eight months after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolás Maduro and installed his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as acting president, the White House announced Trump will meet her on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York — the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a Venezuelan head of state since 2015. Days before the announcement, Trump also removed Venezuela from the list of countries deemed to have failed their anti-drug-trafficking commitments, citing "positive progress" under Rodríguez. The planned meeting split Florida Republicans: Sen. Rick Scott called Rodríguez "the head of the drug cartels" and warned a photo with Trump would insult Venezuelans, while Rep. María Elvira Salazar — who has previously called Rodríguez the head of Venezuela's secret police and "one of the thieves" who destroyed the country — defended the meeting as part of Trump's strategy of engaging "bad actors" to open space for "good actors," calling her a "necessary evil for now."
“There's a lot that needs to be fixed in order for Venezuela to be successful. Debt restructuring is key to that. … [Venezuela has] probably the world's largest sovereign debt that has to be restructured, [and] it has to be done in the right way. [Rubio called the meeting "short but important."]”