THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Venezuela has “never” contemplated becoming the 51st United States (US) state, as suggested by US President Donald Trump following the capture of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, the country’s acting president said on Monday.

“That would never have been considered, because if there is one thing we Venezuelan men and women have, it is that we love our independence process, we love our heroes and heroines of independence,” Delcy Rodriguez told reporters as she left a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Since the United States captured Maduro on January 3, Trump has boasted of controlling the oil-rich Caribbean country, and reportedly told Fox News on Monday that he was “seriously” considering making Venezuela the 51st state.

In a post on his Truth Social network in March, the US leader wrote: “Good things are happening to Venezuela lately! I wonder what this magic is all about? STATEHOOD, #51, ANYONE?”

Asked about the prospect of US statehood, Rodriguez insisted her government was working with “a diplomatic cooperation agenda” with the United States.

Since taking over from longtime strongman Maduro, Rodriguez has overseen a thawing of relations with Washington while under heavy pressure to meet Trump’s demands for access to the country’s vast fossil fuel reserves.

Trump has repeatedly praised Rodriguez, who has passed reforms opening Venezuela’s mining and oil sectors to foreign companies, notably from the US.

Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president, has also pushed through an amnesty law that led to the release of hundreds of political prisoners, though some 500 remain behind bars.

The acting leader was in The Hague for a hearing at the United Nations’ top court over a centuries-old dispute with Guyana over an oil-rich region, in her first trip outside the Caribbean since assuming power.

In March, Washington and Caracas re-established diplomatic relations broken off by Maduro seven years prior.

The Venezuelan opposition has demanded elections.