Venezuelan debt, 'key' issue at Trump-Rodríguez meeting, while Rubio keeps focus on Cuba and Iran

President Donald Trump and the interim leader of the Venezuelan regime, Delcy Rodríguez, held their first face-to-face meeting on Tuesday since U.S. forces captured dictator Nicolás Maduro in January, in a meeting that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, described as "short but important" and which focused on the restructuring of Venezuela's sovereign debt, estimated at more than $164 billion.

The meeting took place at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan, during a reception that Trump hosted for foreign leaders on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly. In addition to Trump and Rodríguez, participants included Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.

Venezuela's debt: "Key" to success

On Wednesday, Marco Rubio placed debt restructuring at the center of the meeting. "There's a lot that needs to be fixed in order for Venezuela to be successful. So we discussed the steps that remain to make that happen. Debt restructuring is key to that," he told reporters. "We want to be helpful in that regard. It has to be done in the right way."

The magnitude of Venezuela's sovereign debt remains undetermined. Caracas severed ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2019 and has only recently resumed relations, so the figures accepted by international organizations remain provisional. Transparencia Venezuela estimated that debt at around $164,000 million as of the end of 2024.

Cuba: "No one is going to invest in Cuba under the current governance model"

The Secretary of State addressed the situation in Cuba, a topic Trump also mentioned in his Tuesday speech to the General Assembly, when he stated that the communist regime is under “great pressure—the biggest pressure they’ve ever been under” and that “it’s an absolutely failed state.”

"No one is going to invest in Cuba under the current governance model," Rubio stated, adding that Havana has an "opportunity to make changes, to start putting their country on an irreversible path toward progress and a better future. And that involves both political and economic freedom." The Secretary of State, who is of Cuban origin, confirmed that the United States will remain committed to this issue.

During a meeting with Latin American leaders on Tuesday, Trump joked about Rubio’s Cuban family roots and suggested someone could “drop” him in the middle of Cuba so he could “figure out the rest.”

The Cuban delegation walked out of the hall in protest when Trump began speaking about Cuba and called it a "failed state" during his address to the General Assembly.

"Iran can never have a nuclear weapon"

On Iran, Rubio was clear: "Iran can never have a nuclear weapon." The Secretary of State made these remarks in the context of meetings that U.S. officials, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, held with the Iranian delegation for three hours on Tuesday, a meeting that Trump described as "very productive."

The Iranians are misreading our political system, Rubio warned, referring to Tehran's perception that Trump is constrained by the November midterm elections.

"I think the Iranians misread our system. I think the Iranians are under this illusion that Democrats are going to win in November, and the president will no longer be able to do things against them. I just don’t think they understand our system very well," he said.

President Trump said on Tuesday: “I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly?”