In a significant nonproliferation effort, the United States has completed the removal of all remaining enriched uranium from a legacy research reactor in Venezuela. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) confirmed the operation on Friday.
The NNSA said the mission removed 13.5 kilograms — roughly 30 pounds — of uranium from the RV-1 reactor, which is located at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) near Caracas. The uranium had been enriched above the critical 20 percent threshold, making it a potential proliferation risk.
The RV-1 reactor operated for three decades before it was shut down in 1991. Venezuelan authorities with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) permanently closed it in 1997. Over the years, most of the spent nuclear fuel was removed, but the enriched uranium remained under technical custody at the site. It was considered surplus material that had never been used for any nuclear power program.
Complex, Multinational Operation
The operation was a joint effort involving the United States, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and the IAEA. According to the NNSA, the work happened quickly. Technical teams visited the site less than six weeks before the uranium was removed. Experts from the NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation and Venezuelan scientists securely packaged the uranium into a spent fuel cask. The IAEA monitored the entire process to maintain nuclear safeguards.
From the reactor site, a convoy escorted the material about 100 miles overland to the Venezuelan port of Puerto Cabello. At the port, the cargo was placed on a specialized ship provided by the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Transport Solutions. The vessel then sailed to the United States, arriving in early May. U.S. officials confirmed the material was offloaded and taken to the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.
A nighttime convoy, protected by the Venezuelan military, moved the fuel container from the IVIC to the port in late April. The entire journey—over land and sea—was conducted under tight security because highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons if it falls into the wrong hands.
What Will Happen to the Uranium
The Savannah River Site will handle the material. The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has taken custody of the casks. Technicians will process the uranium at a facility called H-Canyon, which can handle highly radioactive materials. The goal is to turn the enriched uranium into high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU. This type of fuel can be used in advanced nuclear reactors for civilian energy programs.
NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams said the operation took only months, not years, because of direct White House involvement. The NNSA attributed the speed of the effort to the three-phase plan for Venezuela pushed by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The removal comes just months after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in January.
A Broader Global Effort
This mission fits into a long-running global push to reduce the use of highly enriched uranium in civilian research reactors. Since 1996, the NNSA has secured or confirmed the disposition of more than 7,350 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and plutonium from dozens of countries. The IAEA has similarly supported work to repatriate over 6,930 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and helped convert more than 100 research reactors to run on low-enriched uranium, which poses far less risk.
The successful removal means no enriched uranium remains in Venezuela. Officials said the mission also shows how international partners can work together to lower nuclear risks.