Donald Trump Says He Is Seriously Considering Making Venezuela the 51st U.S. State

President Donald Trump told Fox News correspondent John Roberts on Monday, May 11 that he was “seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state.”

“By MOLLY QUELL and REGINA GARCIA CANO THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U”

Boston Herald

USA Today reported that the remarks came more than five months after the United States captured now-former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and it said Trump has again suggested his administration would try to annex the oil-rich country.

Boston Herald

The same coverage tied the idea to the U.S. intervention that removed Maduro from power, describing that Trump has signaled he would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”

Fox News said Trump’s motivation included Venezuela’s oil, quoting him as saying “Venezuela loves Trump,” and it also described U.S. officials courting oil companies for investments as the administration manages Venezuela’s oil sector.

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez pushed back on the idea while speaking to reporters on Monday in the Netherlands, telling the Associated Press that her country had no plans of being annexed by the United States.

Rodríguez said, “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” and she added that Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country.”

Fox News

USA Today reported that Rodríguez spoke at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, while the same article said Trump’s earlier January remarks included a plan to work with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez during a transitional period.

The Daily Beast also quoted Roberts’ account of Trump’s phone call, saying Roberts posted on X that Trump told him he was “seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state…,” and it framed the statehood talk as part of a broader pattern of Trump floating annexation ideas.

USA Today said Trump cannot legally declare Venezuela the 51st state without congressional approval or Venezuela’s consent, quoting Article IV’s requirement that “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union.”

“The map of the Americas could be on the verge of a radical and historic redrawing”

International Business Times UK

The article also described how the U.S. has eased sanctions on Venezuela’s petroleum while Trump prioritizes U.S. companies’ access to the OPEC nations' oil reserves, and it noted that OPEC is “a group of 12 oil producers.”

Fox News reported that exports in April reached more than 1 million barrels per day, the highest level since 2018, as the administration continued to manage Venezuela’s oil sector and court energy investment.

The Times of India said the U.S. has reopened its embassy in Caracas and that direct flights between the two countries resumed last month, while it also quoted Trump describing U.S. operations in Venezuela as “military genius” and it noted that Rodríguez “has not announced a clear timeline for democratic elections.”