US Completes Secret Mission to Remove Highly Enriched Uranium From Venezuela

Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator National Nuclear Security Administration Brandon M. Williams testifies before a Senate Committee on Armed Services Committee hearing to examine the 2027 budget for the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 13, 2026. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty ImagesA U.S.-led team successfully removed about 30 pounds of highly enriched uranium from Venezuela earlier this month in a secret mission, the U.S. State Department announced May 14.“By leading the removal of dangerous nuclear material from Venezuela, the United States is safer and has strengthened nuclear security worldwide,” State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott said in a statement.