Trump raises possibility of Venezuela becoming 51st US state while promoting oil deal

US President Donald Trump has publicly raised the idea of Venezuela becoming the 51st state of the United States. The Guardian and Anadolu Agency both reported the remark.

According to The Guardian, Trump spoke on Tuesday at a campaign rally in Texas. The Guardian gives the location as "Corpus Christ, Texas", likely meaning Corpus Christi.

The Guardian quoted Trump as saying Venezuela "will become a prosperous country, and who knows? Maybe some day soon it’ll become a prosperous 51st state." He added: "That’s possible."

The oil deal

According to The Guardian, Trump used the rally to promote a US oil agreement with Venezuela's interim government. The Guardian describes that government as backed by the Trump administration. Trump pointed to a tanker off the Texas coast that he said carried oil from Venezuela. The Guardian quoted him as saying the tanker had "one million barrels of oil on it".

"We’re celebrating the greatest oil victory in history," Trump said, according to The Guardian.

Shortly before taking the stage, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "By unleashing Energy Dominance from Alaska, all the way down to Venezuela, I have made the Western Hemisphere the Energy Capital of the World." In a separate social media post, he said US fuel prices "will soon come plummeting down", according to The Guardian.

Context

According to The Guardian, the US attacked Venezuela in January. US forces captured Nicolás Maduro, the country's long-serving leader, in a raid on his Caracas residence. Maduro was taken to New York to face criminal charges. The Guardian reports that no elections have been held in Venezuela since he was detained.

The Guardian also reports that the US entered a war with Iran in February. Iran then closed the Strait of Hormuz, which The Guardian says carries 20% of the world's oil supplies. US gas prices rose nationwide. The Guardian assesses that the war is the source of the urgency behind the Venezuela oil agreement.

Trump has spoken of acquiring several countries and territories, including Greenland, Canada and Mexico, according to The Guardian. US midterm elections are scheduled for the week after the rally. Citing opinion polls, The Guardian reports that Trump's approval ratings have fallen to record lows.

What each side says

Trump says the agreement will cover billions of barrels of oil. He also said: "The oil provided is being provided to the United States at zero cost to the American taxpayer." He says US fuel prices will soon fall sharply.

Critics, who are not named in The Guardian's report, say the Trump administration has not pushed for a transition to democracy in Venezuela.

What the reports do not show

Beyond Trump's claim that the agreement will cover "billions" of barrels, the reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not describe its terms, such as precise volumes, pricing or duration. They do not include independent verification of the tanker's cargo or of the zero-cost claim. They do not include any response from Venezuela's interim government or other Venezuelan actors. They do not include an administration response to the critics. They do not indicate any formal plan regarding Venezuelan statehood. The Anadolu Agency item reviewed by Vocemundi consists only of a headline and a brief summary that repeats it.

Analysis

The remark combines two separate issues: a stated aspiration about Venezuela's political future and a concrete energy policy claim. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi include no formal statehood proposal, so the comment's practical weight remains unclear. It could be read as campaign rhetoric ahead of the midterms, or as a signal of longer-term intentions. The oil claims, including volumes, cost to taxpayers and falling fuel prices, can be tested as details of the agreement emerge. Reactions from Venezuelan actors, and any move toward elections there, would be key indicators of how the arrangement is received beyond Washington.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.