Venezuela

Country Spotlight

Venezuela has never possessed biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. It does not maintain a ballistic missile program but has cooperated closely with Russia and Iran on defense issues. Under former President Chavez, Venezuela expressed interest in developing nuclear energy capabilities, but ongoing financial challenges have put these plans on hold.

Region South America, Central America, and the Caribbean

1970 Ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, establishing a nuclear weapon-free zone in Latin America

1983 Signed an agreement with Brazil to facilitate cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy

2012 Began producing UAVs with Iranian assistance

Nuclear

Has never possessed or seriously pursued nuclear weapons; ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2018
Signed a general agreement on nuclear cooperation with Russia in 2008 and considers Russia an ally. Russia has flown Tupolev nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela three times since 2008.
Collaborated with Iran to search for uranium deposits in 2009

Overview of the Nuclear Disarmament Resource Collection

Database

Overview of the Nuclear Disarmament Resource Collection

Venezuela’s Search for Nuclear Power – or Nuclear Prestige

Report

Venezuela’s Search for Nuclear Power – or Nuclear Prestige

Biological

Has never possessed an offensive biological weapons program
Adopted legislation prohibiting the acquisition, manufacture, and development of chemical and biological weapons

Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation

Venezuela Overview

Fact Sheet

Venezuela Overview

Missile

Does not possess long-range ballistic or cruise missile programs
Has acquired Chinese anti-ship cruise missiles, expressed interest in purchasing Iranian missiles
Possesses Russian-made MANPADS and long-range S-300 surface-to-air missiles

Overview of The CNS Missile and SLV Launch Databases

Database

Overview of The CNS Missile and SLV Launch Databases

Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems

Chemical

Has never possessed an offensive chemical weapons program
Adopted legislation prohibiting the acquisition, manufacture, and development of chemical and biological weapons

Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation

Teaching Tool

Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation

NTI Tutorials

Interactive & Visualization

NTI Tutorials

Treaties and Regimes Memberships

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NPT

The NPT is a treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons through the three pillars of non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

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Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear explosion tests on Earth. It needs eight key countries to ratify before entry into force.

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Tlatelolco Treaty

The Tlatelolco Treaty prohibits Latin American states from acquiring, possessing, developing, testing or using nuclear weapons, and prohibits other countries from storing and deploying nuclear weapons on their territories.

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Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) bans the use, possession, testing, and transfer of nuclear weapons under international law.

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