New Delhi, May 12 -- Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Monday (May 11) dismissed reported comments by US President Donald Trump suggesting Venezuela could become the "51st US state."

Rodriguez made the remarks while attending hearings at International Court of Justice in The Hague over the long-running territorial dispute between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana concerning the oil-rich Essequibo region.

"We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history," Rodriguez told journalists.

Venezuela is "not a colony, but a free country," she added.

Rodriguez was responding to remarks Trump reportedly made during an interview with Fox News on Monday.

According to anchor John Roberts, Trump...