Trump Considers Venezuela as 51st State

President Donald Trump stated he is seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state, citing the country's vast oil reserves during a phone call Monday with Fox News correspondent John Roberts.

Roberts posted on X that Trump highlighted Venezuela's oil wealth, estimated at 40 trillion dollars, and claimed strong support there, adding that "Venezuela loves Trump." The remarks, first reported by Roberts and Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, follow U.S. military action in January that removed former President Nicolás Maduro.

On January 3, U.S. forces conducted airstrikes and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at the Fort Tiuna military compound in Caracas. Maduro, now detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, faces charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice president, assumed leadership and has overseen limited reforms amid U.S. engagement.

Rodríguez rejected Trump's proposal Monday, telling reporters, "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...