Story perspectives

U.S. Removes 13.5 kg Uranium from Venezuela Reactor

5/10/2026

Summary

NNSA Removes Venezuelan Uranium

The National Nuclear Security Administration removed all enriched uranium from Venezuela’s RV-1 reactor.
The team extracted 13.5 kg of highly enriched uranium, casked it, moved it 100 mi to a port and shipped it on a U.K. carrier.
The cargo arrived in the United States in early May and was taken to the Savannah River Site.
Since 1996 the agency has removed over 7,350 kg of highly enriched uranium and plutonium worldwide.

Summary

Rodríguez Orders Removal

President Delcy Rodríguez’s government asked for uranium removal from the RV-1 reactor after a U.S. strike on 3 January damaged the IVIC grid.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Caracas in February to coordinate uranium removal with the United Kingdom and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The RV-1 reactor, funded by $300,000 Atoms for Peace money and designed by Humberto Fernández-Morán, ran from 1960 to 1991 before becoming a gamma-ray sterilization plant.

History

Historical Context

After the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the United States channeled more than $300 million via the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program to secure weapons-grade material worldwide. Building on that effort, the NNSA oversaw the 2020 recovery of thousands of kilograms and, in 2024, coordinated the removal of 13.5 kg of HEU from Venezuela’s RV-1 reactor with the United Kingdom and the IAEA, illustrating the program’s lasting diplomatic impact.

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NNSA Removes Venezuelan Uranium

The National Nuclear Security Administration removed all enriched uranium from Venezuela’s RV-1 reactor.
The team extracted 13.5 kg of highly enriched uranium, casked it, moved it 100 mi to a port and shipped it on a U.K. carrier.
The cargo arrived in the United States in early May and was taken to the Savannah River Site.
Since 1996 the agency has removed over 7,350 kg of highly enriched uranium and plutonium worldwide.

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