Milei aligns the Argentine nuclear sector with Washington’s interests

In recent months, Javier Milei’s government has consolidated a movement towards a deeper rapprochement with the United States in the sensitive nuclear energy sector in Argentina. In a scenario where international observers indicate that North American demand for uranium could exceed current projections, Buenos Aires signals its intention to transform the country into an “unconditional ally”, integrating itself into Washington’s supply and technology chain.

Although there are no official documents proving the direct transfer of the nuclear development program to foreign control, the change in strategic course is evident through cooperation agreements and privatization decrees.

Strategic cooperation and the FIRST program

The central milestone of this partnership occurred on September 19, 2025, when Argentina became the first Latin American nation to join the program ironically called US FIRST (an acronym in English for Critical Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology). The initiative, coordinated by the US Department of State, focuses on developing infrastructure for the use of small modular reactors (SMRs).

According to analysts in the nuclear energy sector, the movement suggests a change in priority: instead of focusing exclusively on the development of autonomous national technology, the country seeks to insert itself into the North American technical and political ecosystem under the justification of international security and non-proliferation.

Opening to private capital and state assets

Internally, Milei’s strategy advances on state assets. Decree 695/2025 authorized the sale of 44% of the shares of Nucleoeléctrica Argentina SA, a public company responsible for the operation of fundamental nuclear plants such as Atucha I, Atucha II and Embalse.

The State maintained, however, 51% of the controlling interest, divided between the Energy Secretariat and the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). Specialized engineers and independent observers warn that this partial privatization could represent the handover of a strategic sector under the direct influence of foreign interests, facilitating access to assets that took decades to be developed by the Argentine State.

The future of the CAREM-25 project

One of the points of greatest tension lies in the future of Carem-25, a low-power nuclear reactor entirely designed in Argentina. While the Milei government argues that the new policy would enable the delivery of small modular reactor units within five years, sector technicians report paralysis and severe budget cuts in the original Argentine design project. Estimates indicate that between 70% and 85% of the civil work has already been completed, but with no clear forecast for resumption.

The doubt that lingers among nuclear energy observers is whether Argentina would be willing to sacrifice its own technological sovereignty – the development of its own modular reactor – to become a consumer market and an extractive arm for uranium from Patagonia and provinces such as Salta and Mendoza, meeting the energy needs of its northern neighbor.