Delcy Rodríguez, head of the Venezuelan interim government, rejected this Monday from The Hague the proposal by President Donald Trump to turn Venezuela into the 51st state of the United States, stating that this "would never be envisaged."
Rodríguez's statement came hours after Trump stated that he is "seriously" considering the annexation of Venezuela, during a phone call to Fox News in which the president cited Venezuela's oil reserves, valued at 40 trillion dollars, and argued that "Venezuela loves Trump."
Rodríguez was in The Hague representing the Venezuelan regime before the International Court of Justice in a hearing regarding the territorial dispute over Esequibo with Guyana when a journalist from Telesur asked him about Trump's remarks.
"That is not foreseen, it would never be foreseen, because if there is one thing we Venezuelans cherish, it is our love for our process of independence, and our love for our heroes and heroines of independence," Rodríguez replied emphatically.
At the same time, the official acknowledged that Venezuela and Washington are working on "a diplomatic cooperation agenda" and admitted that Venezuela "is the country with the largest oil reserves on the planet and also some of the largest gas reserves," adding that "the way forward is cooperation for understanding between the countries."
It's not the first time Trump has expressed this idea. On March 17, after Venezuela's victory over Italy by 4-2 in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what all this magic is about. Statehood, number 51, anyone?"
The geopolitical background is crucial. On January 3, 2026, Operation Absolute Resolution resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores by the Delta Force unit of the U.S. military, who were transported to a federal court in New York on charges of narcoterrorism.
Since then, Washington has effectively controlled Venezuelan oil exports. On January 7, Trump announced that Venezuela would deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality oil to the U.S., with the revenues under direct control of Washington.
The rhetoric of the "51st state" is a recurring theme in Trump's discourse, which he has applied to Canada since November 2024 and to Greenland since 2019, always arguing in terms of strategic resources or geopolitical positioning.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, approximately 303 billion barrels, equivalent to 17% of global reserves, concentrated in the Orinoco Belt.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented a three-phase plan for Venezuela to the Senate: stabilization with control of oil, economic recovery with an investment of 100 billion dollars, and democratic transition with free elections before the end of 2026.
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