May 10, 2026
Enriched Uranium Taken Out of Venezuela
Timothy Birdnow
I had no idea whatsoever!
FTA:
WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced the removal of 13.5 kilograms of enriched uranium from Venezuela’s RV-1 research reactor. The uranium, which had been unused since the reactor ceased operations in 1991, was securely transported to the U.S. for processing and reuse.
DETAIL: Officials said 13.5 kilograms, or roughly 30 pounds, of uranium enriched above the 20 percent threshold was safely packaged and transported about 100 miles across Venezuela before being shipped by a specialized British nuclear transport vessel to the United States. The material arrived in early May and was transferred to the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, where it will be processed for reuse in advanced nuclear energy programs. The National Nuclear Security Administration described the operation as a significant nonproliferation success, noting the uranium had remained at the reactor since research activities ended in 1991. NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams credited President Donald J. Trump’s leadership for accelerating the mission, saying work that normally would have taken years was completed within months. The operation comes amid renewed diplomatic and commercial ties between Washington and Caracas following Trump’s ouster of Venezuela’s Marxist dictator, Nicolas Maduro.
While this had been sitting around for some time it could easily have been turned into a couple of nukes if Maduro had been able to further enrich it. This goes to show how nuclear weapons are possible for anyone with nuclear reactors.
I wonder; did Trump strike Venezuela and take out Maduro because of this? Did the intelligence community think they were about to pursue a nuclear device?
And if Venezuela was reasonably close to a bomb without even trying what does that say about Iran, which WAS trying?
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
02:03 PM
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1
Or is this a bunch of malarkey?
Posted by: Dana Mathewson at May 10, 2026 08:37 PM (nxbxX)
2
First of all, "enriched above 20%" says nothing. To be usable for a bomb it needs to be enriched far, far more than that. Secondly, 30 pounds is a miniscule amount, and the effort to package and ship it is trivial. The Savannah River plant will probably consume it in a matter of minutes.
Posted by: Bill H at May 10, 2026 11:16 PM (FRG6e)
3
It's possible Dana.
Bill, I disagree; enrichment from 20% to above 90 is far, far easier than the initial enrichment to 20%. The first 20% is the really hard and time consuming part. Most nations with a clandestine program will enrich to 20% for that reason but stop because they are staying below the level that triggers international treaties. According to the classifications 20% is classified as "highly enriched".
Yes, the amount they are removing is low, too low for a decent weapon. But the point is they had the capabilities to enrich uranium and there may be more of this (this is public record and would hardly give us the full estimated amount.) This is rather like finding traces of gasoline at a fire - it's enough to make the FD suspicious.
It's certainly enough to make ME suspicious, given President Trump ordered an attack on Venezuela and extracted the guy running the place.
Bill, I disagree; enrichment from 20% to above 90 is far, far easier than the initial enrichment to 20%. The first 20% is the really hard and time consuming part. Most nations with a clandestine program will enrich to 20% for that reason but stop because they are staying below the level that triggers international treaties. According to the classifications 20% is classified as "highly enriched".
Yes, the amount they are removing is low, too low for a decent weapon. But the point is they had the capabilities to enrich uranium and there may be more of this (this is public record and would hardly give us the full estimated amount.) This is rather like finding traces of gasoline at a fire - it's enough to make the FD suspicious.
It's certainly enough to make ME suspicious, given President Trump ordered an attack on Venezuela and extracted the guy running the place.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at May 11, 2026 05:31 AM (oflqW)
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