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Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez has rejected President Trump’s suggestion that he is “seriously considering” making Venezuela the 51st US state.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: In an interview on Monday with Fox News, President Trump said he was “seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state.” The remark wasn’t entirely out of nowhere. Trump previously posted “STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?” on Truth Social after Venezuela defeated Italy at the World Baseball Classic in March, and he has made similar annexation suggestions about Canada, Greenland, Panama, and Cuba.
What’s going on now: Rodríguez pushed back directly during her appearance at the International Court of Justice, where the final day of hearings was wrapping up on a separate territorial dispute Venezuela has with neighboring Guyana. “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history. Venezuela is not a colony, but a free country.”
Rodríguez added that Venezuelan and US officials remain in contact and are working on “cooperation and understanding,” which appears to be her way of signaling that Caracas is willing to keep working with Washington on energy and economic deals without conceding actual sovereignty. The White House didn’t respond right away to a request for comment on the statehood line, though spokesperson Anna Kelly wouldn’t comment on the plans during her own Fox News interview, saying Trump is “famous for never accepting the status quo” and praising Rodríguez for “working incredibly cooperatively” with the US.
White House assistant press secretary Olivia Wales separately framed the broader US-Venezuela relationship in upbeat terms in a statement to The Independent. “As the President has said, relations between Venezuela and the United States have been extraordinary. Oil is starting to flow and large amounts of money, unseen for many years, will soon be helping the great people of Venezuela. Only President Trump can be credited for the revitalization of this newfound partnership – and the best is yet to come!”
This all comes as Rodríguez is facing rising internal backlash from hardliners within the Chavismo political movement (with prominent figures like longtime state TV host Mario Silva accusing her inner circle of “cowardice” and “treason” for working with the US.
