MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

White House “51st state” trolling tests Caracas's oil opening

The “51st state” map had appeared in earlier posts by the US administration, alongside references to the annexation of Greenland

The official White House account on Tuesday published a series of messages on social media platform X suggesting the annexation of Venezuela to the United States under the formula of the “51st state,” a discursive shift that strains the bilateral rapprochement built since the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro on 3 January. The first post shows a map of Venezuela covered with the US flag and the caption “51st State”; eight minutes later, a video revives Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement of Maduro's capture, with footage of the former leader being flown to New York. The publication comes at a moment of apparent stagnation in the economic opening that acting President Delcy Rodríguez has pushed from Caracas to attract US investment.

The Trump administration had recognized Rodríguez as head of state after the January operation, restored diplomatic relations, reopened the embassy in Caracas, and removed the Chavista leader from its sanctions list, clearing the way for US private-sector activity in Venezuela's oil sector. US President Donald Trump described the bilateral relationship in April as an energy “joint venture” and credited Venezuelan crude with the “total independence” of the United States from Middle Eastern oil. Yet foreign investment has not arrived at the pace anticipated and Venezuela's economy has shown no signs of takeoff, despite new laws regulating hydrocarbons and mineral extraction.

Full circle moment pic.twitter.com/6hkxyGNo8J

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 12, 2026

Rodríguez responded from The Hague, where she was defending Venezuela's claim over the Essequibo region before the International Court of Justice this week. “President Trump knows that we have been working on a diplomatic agenda of cooperation. That is the course and that is the path,” the acting president said, recalling that Venezuela “has the largest oil reserves on the planet” and one of the largest gas reserves. “The path is cooperation for understanding among countries,” she insisted.

The first regional leader to react was Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who after months of détente with Washington once again challenged the Republican. “This official White House tweet is an idea completely contrary to that of Simón Bolívar,” he wrote on X. “This new idea in the US government cannot be carried out without the will of the Venezuelan people, who would have to be asked to betray their son: Simón Bolívar, founder of Gran Colombia and of Venezuela's liberty.”

The “51st state” map had appeared in earlier posts by the US administration, alongside references to the annexation of Greenland. Several federal agencies maintain official profiles with a consolidated pattern of provocative messages, including AI-generated memes. The White House offered no official clarification on the political scope of the message.