President at Texas campaign rally hails deal struck with post-Maduro government as ‘greatest oil victory in history’

President Trump has renewed his call for Venezuela to become the 51st U.S. state while celebrating a 1 million barrel oil shipment that he called a “gift.” Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said in May that her country has no plans to become a U.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Tuesday it welcomed the return of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to Venezuela, saying it hoped her presence would strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful campaign for democracy.

President Donald Trump has claimed that Venezuela sent him a gift of one million barrels of oil following what he described as the successful US takeover of the country. Speaking to reporters before departing for Texas,

President Donald Trump suggested to voters in Texas Tuesday that Venezuela could become a "prosperous 51st state" so the US could receive more oil. The post ‘Oil for Ourselves’: Trump Floats Making Venezuela a ‘Prosperous 51st State’ first appeared on Mediaite.

By Simon Lewis and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Venezuela's electoral infrastructure was designed to rig elections and so must be quickly replaced before a valid election can be held.

Lets make it. Lets make it the 51st state. And instead of a president, well have an election for a governor. How about that? You know, they have a lot of oil, Trump said.

Marco Rubio told reporters Venezuelans will not street-protest their way into democracy and that derailing the US-backed talks does great harm.

Swiss engineering company Sulzer on Tuesday said it ​had signed a five-year alliance ‌with Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA to develop key industrial infrastructure in ​the country and contribute ​to economic growth.

The democratic opposition leader knows her country’s challenges — and the shortcomings of the Trump administration’s alliance with the remnants of the Maduro regime.

The return of Machado, Venezuela’s most popular politician, now poses a dilemma for the Trump administration. It has promised to work toward elections in Venezuela, while installing as president one of the leading figures in Maduro’s repressive regime. The question: How much does it really care about Venezuelan democracy?

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who returned on Sunday after nearly a year away, will ​walk a tightrope as she seeks the elections her supporters want without running afoul of a US-backed negotiation process between the interim ‌government and other opposition groups.