06/06/2026
Venezuelaâs Interim President Reaffirms National Sovereignty, Dismisses Trumpâs â51st Stateâ Suggestion.
The Hague, NetherlandsAP â
Venezuelaâs acting President Delcy RodrÃguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st US state after President Donald Trump said he was âseriously consideringâ the move.
RodrÃguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.
âWe will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,â said RodrÃguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President NicolÃĄs Maduro. Venezuela is ânot a colony, but a free country,â she added.
Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was âseriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state,â according to a post by Fox Newsâ co-anchor John Roberts on social media.
The exact context of Trumpâs remark remains unclear. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Trump has made similar comments about Canada.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly later declined to comment on Trumpâs plans in an interview of her own with Roberts on Fox News. Kelly said the president is âfamous for never accepting the status quo,â and praised RodrÃguez for âworking incredibly cooperativelyâ with the U.S.
RodrÃguez went on to say that Venezuelan and US officials have been in touch and are working on âcooperation and understanding.â
Before addressing Trumpâs comments, RodrÃguez defended her countryâs claim to Essequibo at the United Nationsâ highest court, telling judges that political negotiations â not a judicial ruling â will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.
The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.
That output is close to Venezuelaâs daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.
Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.
Venezuela has argued that a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. In 2018, however, three years after ExxonMobil announced a significant oil discovery off the Essequibo coast, Guyanaâs government went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling.
Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when RodrÃguezâs predecessor, Maduro, threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during a US military operation in Venezuelaâs capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
**Source: CNN**
Date: 06/06/2026
