Venezuela Says It Removed Nuclear Material After U.S. Strike Near Former Reactor

Venezuela revealed it carried out a secure operation to contain, extract, and transport by land and ship the remaining nuclear material from the RV-1 Experimental Reactor, which ended its operational cycle in 1991, after the level of risk increased following a U.S. military attack in January.

"The military attack carried out on Jan. 3, 2026, in the vicinity of the IVIC (Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research) facilities, just 50 meters from the old reactor, objectively increased the level of risk and confirmed the urgency of executing an operation that Venezuela had been requesting for a long time," the government said in a statement.

The extraction, land transport, and shipment of the remaining nuclear material took place between April 18 and April 29 from IVIC, in Miranda state, to the docks of Puerto Cabello, in Carabobo state.

The Venezuelan government said authorities from the Ministry of Science and Technology participated in the operation, along with the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the United Kingdom, which handled the specialized maritime transport.

According to the statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency supervised safeguards, carried out technical verification, institutionally accompanied the process, and trained Venezuelan personnel involved in the operation.

The government explained that the RV-1 Experimental Reactor, designed by scientist Humberto Fernández-Morán, ended its operational cycle in 1991. Venezuela and the IAEA later agreed in 1997 to shut down the facility and begin the partial removal of spent nuclear fuel and technical custody of the remaining material.

"The material that was not extracted during operations carried out in the late 1990s remained under safe cooling, control, and storage conditions while the international actors responsible for its origin, reception, and safeguards adopted the corresponding measures," the statement added.

The RV-1 reactor was Venezuela's only nuclear reactor and one of the first research reactors in Latin America. Built under the U.S.-backed "Atoms for Peace" program during the 1950s, the reactor reached criticality in 1960 and was later used for scientific research and isotope production.

In January, Venezuelan authorities said U.S. attacks damaged military installations, parts of the national electrical grid, health facilities, civilian homes, and areas within IVIC.

IVIC director Alberto Quintero told EFE at the time that the attacks damaged the electrical network, affecting service distribution in at least half of the institute's 24 research centers, where nearly 1,800 people work, as well as the water pumping system.

The Venezuelan government did not specify the final destination of the nuclear material removed from the facility.

Originally published on Latin Times