A US TV anchor claimed President Donald Trump told him he is “seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state”.
John Roberts, Fox News co-anchor and White House correspondent, said he was told so by the US President over the phone.
This is not the first time such a claim is made in the US. A similar one was made in March, when Mr Trump weighed in after Venezuela beat Italy in their World Baseball Classic semifinal match, as Fox News reported.
After the game, the US President teased statehood for Venezuela by writing on Truth Social the following message: “Wow! Venezuela defeated Italy tonight, 4-2, in the WBC (Baseball!) Semifinal. They are looking really great. Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”
An attack was launched on the Venezuela in January, following months of rising tensions between the two nations. Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and were then taken to the US.
Mr Trump later told the media “we are going to run the country” and added Mr Maduro and hiw sife would “face American justice”. At the time, Caracas rejected allegations made against Mr Maduro and his government – including claims from the US that the Venezuelan leader is the head of a “narco-terrorist cartel”.
In the US, Mr Maduro and his wife faced federal weapons and narco-terrorism charges, among other crimes. Back in January, Mr Trump said that the oil industry in Venezuela had gone “bust” and claimed that the US companies will need to go in and “start making money for the country”. He also warned that the US was “ready” to launch a second, larger attack on the country that Mr Trump branded a “second wave”.
He thanked the armed forces for their “breathtaking speed, power, precision and competence”, and claimed that no US servicemen were killed in the operation that brought Maurdo down.
Mr Trump also announced that the Americans would “run” the country until “such a time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” of power.
