NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2026--
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), through member Bonvenu Bank, awarded $500,000 in Pathway Fund grants to five organizations in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area that will support resolving heirs’ property issues. The funding is part of more than $1 million awarded to 13 Louisiana nonprofits by FHLB Dallas through Bonvenu Bank.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506001821/en/
“Supporting families as they work to secure clear title to their homes is essential to strengthening communities across Louisiana,” said Bonvenu Bank Vice President of Community Development Michael Colston. “Bonvenu is proud to partner with FHLB Dallas to help these organizations provide the legal, financial and educational resources residents need to preserve generational assets and build long-term stability.”
The following organizations received funding in or near New Orleans:
Heirs’ property is land or a home passed down without a will, so many family members end up owning it together. Over time, that shared ownership makes it hard to prove who legally owns the property or to sell or borrow against it.
“Heirs’ property issues can create significant barriers for families trying to maintain ownership, access disaster assistance or build wealth,” said Greg Hettrick, senior vice president and director of Community Investment with FHLB Dallas. “Through the Pathway Fund and the commitment of members like Bonvenu Bank, we are able to support organizations that are making a real difference by helping families protect their homes and secure their futures.”
In December 2025, FHLB Dallas and 15 participating member institutions awarded $4.3 million in Pathway Fund grants to 42 organizations engaged in initiatives aimed at preventing or addressing heirs’ property issues. The 2026 application window opens Monday August 3 and offers $3 million. Learn more about the Pathway Fund and how to apply.
About Bonvenu Bank
Bonvenu Bank is a community bank in Louisiana that offers a variety of banking services for individuals and businesses. Formerly Citizens National Bank, Bonvenu Bank was established in 1985, and has 14 full-service branch locations throughout Louisiana. Committed to offering an elevated banking experience, Bonvenu strives to build a prosperous future for the communities it serves. Bonvenu Bank has been a leading financial partner for businesses and individuals in Northwest Louisiana for 40 years.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $97.1 billion as of March 31, 2026, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 780 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.
The Petra Foundation was one of five organizations in the New Orleans area that received an FHLB Dallas Pathway Fund grant through Bonvenu Bank to address heirs' property issues. $500,000 was given out in the New Orleans area through Bonvenu Bank.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Venezuela ’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez told journalists Monday that her country had no plans to become the 51st U.S. state after President Donald Trump said he was “seriously considering” the move.
Rodríguez was speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the final day of hearings in a dispute between her country and neighboring Guyana over the massive mineral- and oil-rich Essequibo region.
“We will continue to defend our integrity, our sovereignty, our independence, our history,” said Rodríguez, who assumed power in January following a U.S. military operation that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela is “not a colony, but a free country,” she added.
Speaking to Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump said he was “seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st US state,” according to a post by Fox News' co-anchor John Roberts on social media. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Trump has made similar comments about Canada.
Rodríguez went on to say that Venezuelan and U.S. officials have been in touch and are working on “cooperation and understanding.”
Before addressing Trump's comments, Rodríguez defended her country’s claim to Essequibo at the United Nations' highest court, telling judges that political negotiations — not a judicial ruling — will resolve the century-old territorial dispute.
The 62,000-square-mile territory, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana, is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also sits near massive offshore oil deposits currently producing an average 900,000 barrels a day.
That output is close to Venezuela’s daily production of about 1 million barrels a day and has transformed one of the smallest countries in South America into a significant energy producer.
Venezuela has considered Essequibo its own since the Spanish colonial period, when the jungle region fell within its boundaries. But an 1899 decision by arbitrators from Britain, Russia and the United States drew the border along the Essequibo River largely in favor of Guyana.
Venezuela has argued that a 1966 agreement sealed in Geneva to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the 19th-century arbitration. In 2018, however, three years after ExxonMobil announced a significant oil discovery off the Essequibo coast, Guyana’s government went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling.
Tensions between the countries further flared in 2023, when Rodríguez’s predecessor, Maduro, threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. Maduro was captured Jan. 3 during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Rodríguez did not address the referendum in her remarks, but she told the court that the 1966 agreement is designed to allow negotiations between Venezuela and Guyana to resolve the territorial dispute. And she accused Guyana’s government of undermining the agreement with the “opportunistic” decision to ask the court to address the dispute.
“At a time when the mechanisms established in the Geneva agreement were still fully in force, Guyana unilaterally chose to shift the dispute from the negotiating arena to a judicial resolution,” she said. “This change was not accidental; it coincided with the discovery in 2015 of the oil field that would become world-renowned.”
When hearings opened last week, Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, told the panel of international judges that the dispute “has been a blight on our existence as a sovereign state from the very beginning.” He said that 70% of Guyana’s territory is at stake.
The court is likely to take months to issue a final and legally binding ruling in the case.
Venezuela has warned that its participation in the hearings does not mean either consent to, or recognition of, the court’s jurisdiction.
Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.
FILE - Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez waves after bidding farewell to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright following their meeting at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
