US President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared a map graphic on his Truth Social platform showing Venezuela overlaid with an American flag and labelled “51st State.”
The controversial post came while Trump was travelling to China for a high-level summit. It followed comments a day earlier from Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, who said her country had “never” considered becoming the 51st state, even after US forces captured ousted leader Nicolas Maduro in January.
On Monday, Trump told Fox News he was weighing the idea of making the South American nation a new US state, after repeatedly claiming he had influence over the oil-rich country in recent months.
Rodriguez has meanwhile overseen improving relations with the United States since assuming leadership, introducing reforms that reopened Venezuela’s mining and oil sectors to foreign investors, particularly from the US.
Opposition figures in Venezuela have continued to push for elections. However, Rodriguez, when asked on May 1 about the possibility of a new vote, said she “didn’t know” and suggested it would happen “sometime.”