Donald Trump Wants Venezuela to Be 51st State-Is It Possible?

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is weighing making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state, months after removing President Nicolas Maduro from power.

Trump told Fox News that he is “seriously considering” statehood for the South American country, noting that there is $40 tillion in oil there and that “Venezuela loves Trump.”

This isn’t the first time that Trump has floated the idea of Venezuelan statehood. After the country defeated Italy in the World Baseball Classic in March, the president wrote on Truth Social, "Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”

Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada a state and annex Greenland, as well. The U.S. has not added a new state since Hawaii in 1959.

Can Venezuela Become the 51st State?

While it is possible for Venezuela to become part of the United States, it is unlikely.

Article IV of the U.S. Constitution allows Congress to admit new states, generally through a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate, plus the president's signature. However, Venezuela’s government and people would first have to agree to give up their national sovereignty and seek admission to the United States.

The Congressional Research Service said in a 2021 report that potential factors to consider in debates about statehood include whether there is popular support for a status change within a territory, whether that support is sufficient for Congress and whether altering political status is in the national interest and in a territory's interest.

Historically, new states have usually entered the Union from U.S. territories rather than from independent foreign countries. Before statehood, territories normally have a local government, a permanent population, and residents who support becoming a state. Alaska and Hawaii, for example, were U.S. territories for years before becoming states in 1959. Texas is a famous exception because it was once an independent republic before voluntarily joining the United States in 1845.

U.S. ‘Running’ Venezuela After Maduro Capture

Former Venezuelan leader Maduro and his wife were captured by the U.S. on January 3 in Operation Absolute Resolve, a joint military and law enforcement mission. The mission followed a 2020 indictment from the Justice Department on multiple federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

After the mission was completed, Trump said at a press conference that the U.S. would "run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." Secretary of State Marco Rubio then suggested the U.S. would allow Maduro's subordinates to govern, saying, "We're going to judge everything by what they do."

Maduro's former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, is currently Venezuela’s acting president. The nation's high court said Maduro is still president, but his "forced" absence resulting from a "kidnapping" makes him unable to perform his duties.

Trump Also Wants Canada as the 51st State

Trump has said that Canada should be the 51st state as well, a position that multiple Canadian leaders have publicly opposed. The president has said that the U.S. "subsidizes" Canada through trade and defense spending, and has claimed that Canadians would benefit from lower taxes, stronger military protection, and closer economic ties if Canada joined the Union.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau warned that Trump's rhetoric was not a joke; in February 2025, he insisted there was "not a snowball's chance in hell" Canada would join the U.S. Current Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump directly that Canada "is not for sale, won't be for sale, ever," and emphasizing that the two countries deal with each other as sovereign nations.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.

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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 11:14 AM.