On May 11, 2026, Trump told Fox News he was ‘seriously considering’ making Venezuela the 51st U.S. state, explicitly citing its vast oil reserves, which he claimed were worth $40 trillion. The statement was swiftly rejected by Venezuelan officials as an affront to national sovereignty.
This is especially disturbing given that the United States is already the world’s largest oil producer, generating approximately 13.6 million barrels of crude oil per day, with total petroleum liquids reaching roughly 22–24 million barrels daily. The U.S. also has enormous technically recoverable domestic reserves, with some estimates suggesting enough potential supply to meet current demand for generations.
This is not about necessity. It is about power, dominance and control. Sovereignty, human dignity and international law must prevail over greed disguised as strategy.
- Cedar