U.S. Removes Highly Enriched Uranium From Venezuela in Secret Nuclear Security Mission

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The United States has completed a secret nuclear security mission to remove roughly 30 pounds of highly enriched uranium from Venezuela, transferring the material from the country’s shuttered RV-1 research reactor to a secure U.S. facility in South Carolina.

The State Department announced the operation May 14, saying the U.S.-led effort strengthened global nuclear security and reduced the risk that dangerous material could fall into the hands of hostile regimes, smugglers, or terrorist networks.

“By leading the removal of dangerous nuclear material from Venezuela, the United States is safer and has strengthened nuclear security worldwide,” State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott said.

The uranium was removed from Venezuela’s RV-1 reactor, the country’s first and only nuclear reactor. The pool-type reactor, designed by General Electric, operated from 1961 to 1991 and was used for physics and nuclear research before later being repurposed for gamma-ray sterilization of medical supplies, food, and other materials.

According to the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, the uranium had been enriched above the 20 percent threshold, making it highly enriched uranium. After the reactor’s research mission ended in 1991, the material became surplus.

The operation was carried out by the NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation in coordination with the State Department, officials in Washington and Caracas, experts from the United Kingdom, Venezuela’s Ministry of Science and Technology, the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Officials said President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio advanced a three-phase plan to accelerate the removal, completing in a matter of months what had originally been expected to take up to two years.

“The safe removal of all enriched uranium from Venezuela sends another signal to the world of a restored and renewed Venezuela,” said Brandon Williams, administrator of the NNSA. “Thanks to President Trump’s decisive leadership, the dedicated teams on the ground completed in months what would have normally taken years.”

In late April, Venezuelan officials and technical teams prepared the uranium for removal. Specialists packaged the material into a spent fuel cask, escorted it about 100 miles over land to a Venezuelan port, and transferred it to a specialized carrier supplied by the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Transport Solutions.

The material arrived in the United States in early May and was transported to the Savannah River Site, a Department of Energy complex in South Carolina, where it will be processed and reused.

Dr. Matt Napoli, deputy administrator of the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, traveled to Venezuela to oversee the mission.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the men and women who carried out this vital mission,” Napoli said. “NNSA’s long history in removing nuclear material and the team’s extensive know-how were key to this success.”

The removal comes amid renewed Trump administration efforts to secure enriched uranium from unstable or adversarial regions. Trump has also said he is determined to obtain enriched uranium connected to Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has not handed over more than 900 pounds of enriched material, according to estimates cited in reports.

Highly enriched uranium is a major concern for nonproliferation officials because it can be used in nuclear weapons and is harder to detect than some other radioactive materials. The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned that crude nuclear explosives can be made with relatively small amounts of enriched uranium, making the material especially attractive to terrorist groups.

Since 1996, the NNSA and its predecessor offices have removed or confirmed the disposition of more than 16,250 pounds of highly enriched uranium and plutonium from dozens of countries.

The operation marks a clear victory for nuclear security, U.S. diplomacy, and regional stability. In a dangerous world where rogue actors seek weapons of mass destruction, removing even one stockpile of highly enriched uranium is not a symbolic achievement — it is a concrete step toward protecting innocent lives.

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