Trump wants to make Venezuela the 51st US state. Is it legally and politically feasible?

Could Venezuela become the 51st US state?

US President Donald Trump is said to be considering doing so. The development comes months after the Trump administration deposed long-time Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Trump has previously threatened to annex Canada, Greenland, Panama and Cuba.

But what do we know? Can Venezuela become the 51st US state?

Let’s take a closer look.

What we know

According to John Roberts of Fox News, Trump is said to be seriously considering a move to make the South American nation of Venezuela the 51st state of America. “Just got off the phone with @realDonaldTrump... he told me he is seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state...” Roberts posted on X on Monday morning. Roberts’ Fox News colleague Bill Melugin wrote that Roberts told him Trump said that “there is $40 trillion in oil there and ‘Venezuela loves Trump.’”

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Trump on Monday described the Venezuelan operation as ‘military genius’, as per The Times of India. “Venezuela is a very happy country right now,” Trump said last week. “They were miserable. Now they’re happy. It’s being run well. The oil that’s coming out is enormous, the biggest in many years. And the big oil companies are going in with the biggest, most beautiful rigs you’ve ever seen.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has mused about making Venezuela the 51st state.

"Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?" Trump wrote on social media in March. The post came after Venezuela beat Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Trump in January said America will run Venezuela.

"We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said, as per USA Today. "We want peace, liberty and justice for the great people of Venezuela."

Trump said that the US will sell “large amounts of oil to other countries”. “We’re in the oil business,” he added. Days after the attack, Trump claimed that “interim authorities” were turning over “between 30 and 50 MILLION barrels of high-quality, sanctioned oil to the United States of America.”

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez has rejected any notion of becoming America's 51st state. AFP

“This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan immediately. It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“We’re in the stability phase,” Trump’s top energy adviser Jarrod Agen told Politico. “And that’s really about getting the energy deals flowing and getting funds in there for the everyday activities of Venezuela.”

Trump had said that US oil firms were ready to invest $100 million in the country to help rebuild its oil infrastructure. Chevron is currently the only US oil major invested in Venezuela. After ex-Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had nationalised Venezuelan oil two decades ago, firms such as Exxon and Conoco were forced out of the nation.

As per Fox News Digital, the country’s oil output in April crossed 1 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest levels since 2019. "As the President has said, relations between Venezuela and the United States have been extraordinary. Oil is starting to flow, and large amounts of money, unseen for many years, will soon be helping the great people of Venezuela," a White House spokesperson told the outlet. "Only President Trump can be credited for the revitalisation of this newfound partnership – and the best is yet to come!"

Can Venezuela become the 51st state?

According to Article IV of the US Constitution, not without the approval of Congress.

"New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress," Article IV reads.

According to Newsweek, new US states have usually been part of US territories – for example, Alaska and Hawaii in 1959. Both ex-territories had local governments, permanent populations, and locals who supported the move. However, Texas, which joined the Union in 1845, is a notable exception.

Trump also needs the consent of Venezuela. However, the country’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Monday told reporters her nation had no plans of being annexed by the United States.

The US Capitol is seen after sunset in Washington. Donald Trump will need to get approval from Congress if he wants to make Venezuela the 51st state. AP

"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," Rodríguez said. “We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history.” Rodríguez added that Venezuelan and US officials have been in touch and are working on “cooperation and understanding”.

Critics have slammed Trump’s statements.

“The Venezuelan people deserve a democratic transition, and for those responsible for serious human rights violations to be held accountable before the law,” a coalition of more than 40 human rights groups working in Latin America said in a joint statement earlier this year, as per The Independent. “However, this cannot justify the breakdown of international order or legitimise violent and unilateral means that impose the logic of the strongest,” they added.

FAQs

1. Can Venezuela legally become the 51st US state?

Yes, but only if the US Congress approves it and Venezuela consents to the move.

2. Has the US ever added a state like this before?

Most new states were former US territories, such as Alaska and Hawaii. Venezuela would be an unprecedented case.

3. What is Venezuela’s response to the idea?

Venezuelan officials have rejected the proposal and emphasised their commitment to national sovereignty.

With inputs from agencies