Venezuela's acting president rejects Trump's 51st state proposal
Delcy Rodríguez said Venezuela has never considered becoming a U.S. state, responding to Trump's recent remarks about the possibility.
10:33 PM
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez rejected President Donald Trump's suggestion that Venezuela could become the 51st U.S. state, stating Monday that her country had never entertained such a proposal.
Rodríguez made the remarks in The Hague, Netherlands, after attending hearings at the International Court of Justice regarding a territorial dispute between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana over the Essequibo region. When asked by a journalist from the Venezuelan state broadcaster Telesur about Trump's recent comments on the matter, Rodríguez said the idea would never be considered.
"That would never be considered, because if there is something that we, Venezuelans, have in common, it is love for our independence process," Rodríguez said, according to the sources.
Trump has stated he was "seriously considering" making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state. The U.S. president has claimed control over Venezuela's oil sector following the capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. military incursion on January 3. Rodríguez, who was Maduro's vice president, assumed interim leadership after his removal.
The acting president was in The Hague for the final day of hearings at the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial body of the United Nations, where Venezuela is pressing its claim to the Essequibo territory, which is currently controlled by Guyana. The dispute over the region intensified after the American oil company ExxonMobil discovered offshore oil fields there in 2015. The territory is described as mineral- and oil-rich.
Rodríguez's comments came during a press appearance following her participation in the court proceedings on the territorial matter.