Top security heads say gangs, terrorists most pressing U.S. threats

Gangs, cartels, and terrorists present the greatest immediate threats to the lives and livelihoods of Americans, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Gabbard’s testimony centered on her office’s annual report assessing national and international threats facing the United States. Other security and intelligence heads also testified before the committee, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Timothy Haugh, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse.

Transnational criminal groups seriously threaten Americans by trafficking synthetic opioids like fentanyl into the country, according to the report. Data collected from October 2023 to October 2024 showed over 52,000 killed by synthetic opioids, which represented a nearly 33% decrease from previous CDC data. The report cited the availability of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone as a possible reason for the decrease. Gabbard highlighted other dangerous gang activities across the Western Hemisphere, including human trafficking, extortion, weapons smuggling, kidnappings, forced labor, and sex trafficking. It’s believed that cartels aided over 2 million of the illegal migrants encountered on the U.S. southwest border last year, Gabbard said.

She also named attacks and propaganda from extremist Islamic groups as another immediate threat to the United States. Groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have increased efforts to spread radical ideology and recruit radicalized individuals domestically, Gabbard said. She cited the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans as an example of someone not directly tied to a terror group, but who was inspired by their propaganda to commit violence.

What longer-term threats were mentioned? The report also cited long-term threats facing Americans from countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran targeting the United States specifically through cyber attacks and nuclear weapons development. A number of committee members, namely Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., focused questioning on an alleged incident in which top security officials included a reporter in a group chat discussing military operations in Yemen.

What longer-term threats were mentioned? The report also cited long-term threats facing Americans from countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran targeting the United States specifically through cyber attacks and nuclear weapons development.

Sen. Angus King, D-Maine, took issue with the report not listing global climate change as a pressing threat to national security, noting that it had been featured in nearly a dozen previous annual reports. When questioned, Gabbard stood by the decision, saying that officials were instructed to focus only on extreme and critical direct security threats. A number of committee members, namely Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., focused questioning on an alleged incident in which top security officials included a reporter in a group chat discussing military operations in Yemen.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report for more on the alleged security breach in the text chat.