FBI Director Confirms Criminal Gangs and Islamic Terrorists Are Exploiting the Border
Testifying in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee Monday afternoon, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed dangerous gangs, criminals and smugglers connected to the Islamic State terrorist organization are exploiting the U.S. southern border with Mexico and freely entering the country.
"From an FBI perspective we are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border," Wray said under questioning from Ranking Member Marco Rubio. "There is a particular network that has, where some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties that we're very concerned about and that we've spent an enormous amount of effort with our partners investigating."
Wray testified alongside Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns, State Department Intelligence and Research Assistant Secretary Brett Holmgren, National Security Agency Director Timothy Haugh and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse about the threats facing the U.S.
Prior to the hearing, DNI Haines released an annual report detailing the threat assessment made by U.S. government intelligence agencies.
"Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) threaten U.S. and allied public health systems, exploit the international financial system, and degrade the safety and security of the United Stat~s and partner nations. Mexico-based TCOs are the dominant producers and suppliers of illicit drugs to the U .S. market, including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and South American-sourced cocaine," the report states. "ISIS will remain a centralized global organization even as it has been forced to rely on regional branches in response to successive leadership losses during the past few years. External capabilities vary across ISIS's global branches, but the group will remain focused on attempting to conduct and inspire global attacks against the West and Western interests."
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