President Donald Trump has called for Venezuela to become the 51st state of the United States, with an elected governor replacing the president.
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"Let's make Venezuela the 51st state. Instead of presidents, we'll have elections for governors," Trump said at a campaign rally.
Currently, the US has 50 states and Trump has repeatedly proposed that Canada join the US, sometimes saying Canada could be the 51st state.
Trump has also proposed Greenland and Venezuela as potential candidates to become the 51st US state.
On January 3, the US launched a major military offensive against Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, which resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Maduro and his wife were then taken to New York to stand trial under US law on charges of "narcoterrorism." The Venezuelan Supreme Court then appointed Delcy Rodriguez as interim president.
Since then, the US has tightly controlled Venezuela's oil industry to divert its energy flows and involve US companies in developing oil reserves to limit the influence of competitors.
The two countries have agreed to expand US involvement in the country's oil sector to revive production and modernize facilities.
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