Leaders of the U.S. intel community on Tuesday went before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss their recently published 2025 Annual Threat Assessment.
The panel of witnesses included Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse.
The committee hearing focused extensively on non-state actors—most notoriously, the drug cartels—that threaten American security and prosperity.
“Based on the latest reporting available for a yearlong period ending October 2024, cartels were largely responsible for the deaths of more than 54,000 U.S. citizens from synthetic opioids,” Gabbard said.
She noted that Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations—that is, the Mexican drug cartels—are the main suppliers of illegal fentanyl in the United States. She told the committee that the cartels were adapting to the Trump administration’s crackdown by getting precursor chemicals and equipment from China and India. She also pointed out that the cartels also are in charge of massive human-trafficking efforts at the U.S.’ southern border. […]
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