Trump said he wants to make Venezuela the 51st state.

More than five months after the United States captured now-former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump has reiterated that his administration may seek to annex the oil-rich country. USA Today.

On May 11, Trump told Fox News correspondent John Roberts that he was "seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st state."

However, the current leadership of the South American country quickly rejected this idea.

On the subject: Trump calls himself 'acting president of Venezuela': it's just a joke for now

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, told reporters in the Netherlands on May 11 that her country has no intention of becoming part of the United States.

"We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history," she said at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, noting that Venezuela "is not a colony, but a free country."

Following the US military operation in Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, Trump made it clear that he intends to at least temporarily rule the country and its oil infrastructure.

"We will govern this country until we can ensure a safe, orderly, and balanced transition," Trump said in January. "We want peace, freedom, and justice for the great people of Venezuela."

In the following months, Trump relied on Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president, to ensure stability in Venezuela, but also sought priority access for American companies to OPEC oil reserves.

White House Assistant Press Secretary Olivia Wales said: "As the President has noted, the relationship between Venezuela and the United States is developing exceptionally well. Oil is starting to flow, and large cash flows not seen in years will soon benefit the people of Venezuela."

Not only Venezuela

Venezuela is not the only country Trump has mentioned as a possible new state over the past 15 months of his second term.

Citing national security concerns, he has repeatedly expressed a desire to acquire Greenland. The island's geographic location could be important for ballistic missile warning systems.

"We need Greenland for national security purposes," Trump asserted in December 2025. "Look along the coast—there are Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it. We have to have it."

At the beginning of his second presidential term, when relations between the US and Canada worsened due to the threat of high trade tariffs, Trump proposed that it become the 51st state.

In late November 2025, during a dinner in Florida with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he declared that the country should renounce its sovereignty and join the United States, and even called Trudeau "the governor of the great state of Canada" on social media.

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Could Trump Make Venezuela the 51st US State?

Under the US Constitution, Trump cannot legally declare Venezuela the 51st state without the approval of Congress or the consent of Venezuela itself.

Article IV states: "New States may be admitted into the Union by the Congress; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of another State; nor shall any State be formed by the union of two or more States, or parts of them, without the consent of the legislatures of the several States concerned, and of the Congress."

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