Rodriguez Rejects Trump's '51st State' Remarks

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st US state after President Trump said he was "seriously considering" the move. "We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history," said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a US military operation that ousted then-President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela is "not a colony, but a free country," she added.

• Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was "seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state," according to a post by America Reports co-anchor John Roberts on social media.

• "That would never have been considered, because if there is one thing we Venezuelan men and women have, it is that we love our independence process, we love our heroes and heroines of independence," Rodriguez said, per AFP.
• Rodriguez went on to say that Venezuelan and US officials have been in touch and are working on "cooperation and understanding."
• She 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.

• Before addressing Trump's comments, Rodriguez defended her country's claim to Essequibo at the United Nations' highest court, telling judges that political negotiations—not a judicial ruling—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.
• 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.
• Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when Maduro threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state.