Washington has hailed the operation as a major security victory amid a dispute between it and Iran over a larger stockpile
The United States has triumphantly announced that it has removed highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Venezuela in what the US Department of Energy (DOE) hailed as a victory for America and “the world.”
In a statement on Friday, the DOE said it had completed the work “the removal of all remaining uranium from the legacy research reactor” in the South American nation and transferred to the United States for processing and reuse. The amount released was 13.5 kg (30 pounds).
move “sends another signal to the world of a restored and renewed Venezuela,” the statement reads. Also hail “The effective leadership of President (Donald) Trump” on that matter.
Washington reestablished ties with Caracas after US forces kidnapped and jailed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January on narco-terrorism charges. The uranium removal was coordinated by Venezuela’s Ministry of Science and Technology, the DOE statement said.
Despite the dramatic language surrounding the operation, the material had not been publicly linked to any threat of rapid spread. The uranium came from a Cold War-era civilian reactor near Caracas established under the “Atoms for Peace” program that ran from the mid-1950s to the 1970s.
US nonproliferation officials argue that any civilian stockpile of HEU, regardless of size, poses a long-term threat of theft, diversion, or smuggling and must eventually be removed from circulation. Venezuela’s evacuation closely resembles dozens of similar HEU removal operations conducted over the past three decades as part of regular US-backed and IAEA-backed nonproliferation programs targeting civilian research reactors.
Even at the height of Washington’s animosity against Maduro, US accusations against Caracas focused more on drug trafficking and corruption, and not on any nuclear threat from Venezuela to the US.
The announcement of the withdrawal comes as the United States has reached a standoff with Iran over its largest stockpile of enriched uranium, estimated at about 440 kilograms, which Trump has repeatedly described as a major threat to American security.
Washington has demanded Iran surrender, export, or reduce its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, pushing for a long-term freeze on enrichment as well as strict verification measures. Iranian officials have rejected these claims as “maximalist,” insisting on enrichment is a sovereign right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
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