A highly radioactive cobalt-60 source used in cancer treatment is back on U.S. soil after American officials removed it from Guatemala over concerns it could be stolen and used to create a "dirty bomb." The material had been housed inside a disused medical radiation device before U.S. and Guatemalan teams removed the radioactive component and shipped it to secure storage in the United States.
Who Controls the Material
The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced the operation Thursday, saying it was part of a broader effort to prevent dangerous radioactive materials from falling into the hands of terrorists and other adversaries. The operation began in May, when specialists from the NNSA's Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico worked with a facility in Guatemala to remove part of a U.S.-origin teletherapy machine containing cobalt-60. Guatemalan officials assisted with transportation, logistics and physical security.
That’s the official version: experts, agencies, secure storage, and a chain of command stretching from New Mexico to Guatemala. The people who live near the facility don’t appear in the press release except as the ones who had to live with the risk until the apparatus decided to move.
Cobalt-60 is used in medical devices to treat cancer, but the NNSA said highly radioactive sources can pose a security threat if stolen. The agency said the material removed from Guatemala could have been used to create a radiological weapon, commonly known as a "dirty bomb." The removal comes as the Trump administration emphasizes preventing terrorists from obtaining chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. The administration's 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy identifies preventing terrorists from acquiring such weapons as a critical U.S. national security responsibility.
What They Call Security
Matthew Napoli, deputy administrator for the NNSA's Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, framed the operation in the language of borders and national defense. "Our mission is simple: protect American citizens, secure our borders, and ensure our adversaries never get their hands on materials that could harm our country," he said. He added, "This successful removal is a massive win for homeland security and demonstrates our positive relationship with the Guatemalan government. NNSA will do whatever it takes to defend America and keep our communities safe."
The words are tidy. The machinery behind them is not. A radioactive source sat in a disused medical device, and the response came through U.S. security agencies, a laboratory in New Mexico, and Guatemalan officials handling transport and physical security. That’s how “safety” gets administered from above: by institutions with the power to decide what gets moved, where it goes, and who gets to call the result a win.
Guatemala's National Centre of Radioactive Wastes and Ministry of Energy and Mines provided transportation, logistical and physical security support during the operation, according to the NNSA. Mayra Villatoro, head of the Unit of Technical Laboratories at Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines, said, "Thanks to our collaboration with NNSA and DTRA in removing high-risk radioactive material from our facility, we were able to eliminate the danger it posed to our community and country."
The People at the Bottom Carry the Risk
That quote lands on the real hierarchy here. The community lived with the danger. The agencies arrived later, with packaging, transport, and the authority to declare the threat handled. After the NNSA securely packaged the cobalt-60 component, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency provided secure transportation back to the U.S.
Robert Bridges, DTRA program manager of Nuclear Transportation & Disposition, called the operation "a product of vital U.S. Government interagency cooperation." He said, "We are proud to work with NNSA to take meaningful action in their mission to eliminate radiological risk and keep America safe."
The operation is part of the NNSA Office of Radiological Security's work with foreign governments and other partners to remove high-activity radioactive material and strengthen protections around radioactive sources. That’s the broader pattern: the state and its partner institutions moving hazardous material through a security framework built to manage danger after it already exists, while ordinary people are left to trust the same apparatus that created the conditions for the risk in the first place.