On Truth Social, Donald Trump posted a map of Venezuela with a broken wall and the American flag unfurled across it. Caption? „51st state". That's how the US president operates today - not through press conferences but through memes that ministers then have to interpret.

This is not a flicker of humour. According to the latest reports, Trump is seriously considering the annexation of Venezuela. The plan includes taking control of Venezuela's oil industry, after the physical removal of long-time president Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested by US forces in January. On narco-terror charges.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump stated the main motive: „Venezuela has oil reserves estimated at 40 trillion dollars". And added - „Venezuela loves Trump". A speculative statement with no backing. But the kind of statement that in his style functions as „fact".

Under US supervision, Venezuelan oil exports in April crossed one million barrels a day - the first time since 2018. Exxon and ConocoPhillips - the two giants that scaled down operations in the country when Hugo Chávez nationalised the oil fields two decades ago - are now expected to return. And that's the real motive. Not „51st state". 40 trillion dollars of oil in the hands of American corporations.

Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, rejected the annexation idea. „Venezuelans value their independence above all else", she said. Realistically - when your predecessor has been arrested by the US military, his deputy doesn't have much room to manoeuvre. The declaration matters, but the reality on the ground is different.

Trump already has a history of these posts. Greenland, Canada, Cuba, Panama - all have been subjects of public statements about possible annexation. Not all of them come true. But the motive is clear - expanding America's borders, with economic and political weight. Venezuela with 40 trillion in oil is too big a catch to remain just a meme.

For the Balkans, this episode matters in two senses. First - it shows that borders in the 21st century are no longer sacred. When the president of the world's biggest power publishes memes with redrawn maps, it means presidents of smaller countries are taking up the same style. Moscow is already doing it. Beijing is testing the territorial limits of the Pacific. Ankara has it back on the table.

Second - when a meme like that can be the first step toward a real operation, all the jokes stop being jokes. The Balkans, with 30 years of unresolved borders, should be watching these signals. Venezuela today is the test case. Another day it could be Bosnia. Not now. But in the same style as Trump does it - with a single map on Truth Social.