US President Donald Trump sparked debate after a report claimed he is considering the idea of making Venezuela the 51st state of the United States. The discussion comes months after the Trump administration removed former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from power. Trump also spoke in the past about bringing places such as Canada, Greenland, Panama and Cuba closer under US control.
Fox News reported that Trump raised the idea during a telephonic interview with the media group on Monday. It claimed that Trump was “seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state.” Fox News later reported that Trump discussed Venezuela’s massive oil reserves as a major reason behind the idea. “There is $40 trillion in oil there and ‘Venezuela loves Trump,’” Fox News reported quoting the president as saying.
What US President Trump earlier said
Trump has repeatedly praised the new direction of Venezuela after the removal of Maduro. Trump recently described the Venezuelan operation as “military genius,” reported Times Of India. “Venezuela is a very happy country right now,” Trump said last week.
“They were miserable. Now they’re happy. It’s being run well. The oil that’s coming out is enormous, the biggest in many years,” said Trump. He added, “The big oil companies are going in with the biggest, most beautiful rigs you’ve ever seen.”
Trump also hinted at statehood earlier this year after Venezuela defeated Italy in the World Baseball Classic. In a post on Truth Social in March, he wrote, “Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”
Back in January, Trump openly declared that the United States would run Venezuela for a temporary period.
“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he said, reported The USA Today. “We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela,” he said.
Trump later said the United States planned to sell large amounts of Venezuelan oil overseas. “We’re in the oil business,” he said.
In another Truth Social post, Trump claimed interim Venezuelan authorities had agreed to transfer between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.
“This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” Trump wrote. He added that Energy Secretary Chris Wright would oversee the operation.
Can Trump legally make Venezuela a US state?
The US Constitution places limits on adding new states into the Union. Article IV says Congress must approve any admission of a new state, reported The First Post. The law states, “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union.”
That means Trump cannot unilaterally declare Venezuela part of the United States.
According to Newsweek, most modern US states first existed as American territories before statehood. Alaska and Hawaii became states in 1959 after years under US territorial control.
Texas remains one of the rare exceptions because it entered the Union as an independent republic in 1845. Legal experts say Venezuela would also need to consent to any annexation or statehood arrangement. That support appears unlikely.
Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez rejected the idea on Monday.
“That would never have been considered,” Rodríguez told reporters. “If there is one thing we Venezuelan men and women have, it is that we love our independence process,” he added. “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” she added.
Rodríguez said that officials from Caracas and Washington remain in contact and are discussing “cooperation and understanding.”
Oil remains the biggest reason behind Washington’s renewed focus on Venezuela.
The country holds some of the world’s largest crude reserves. The Trump administration has pushed American companies to return and rebuild Venezuela’s struggling energy industry.
Trump’s top energy adviser Jarrod Agen told Politico that the administration had entered a “stability phase.” “And that’s really about getting the energy deals flowing and getting funds in there for the everyday activities of Venezuela,” Agen said.
Trump earlier claimed US oil firms planned to invest US$100 million in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
Chevron remains the only major American oil company with significant investments inside Venezuela. Other firms such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left after former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez nationalised oil assets nearly two decades ago.
According to Fox News, Venezuela’s oil production crossed 1 million barrels per day in April for the first time since 2019. A White House spokesperson told the outlet, “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 revitalisation of this newfound partnership,” the spokesperson added. A coalition of over 40 Latin American human rights organisations issued a joint statement earlier this year, reported The Independent.