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USA Today
21 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
New House cartel task force wants intel agencies to target fentanyl trade
New House cartel task force wants intel agencies to target fentanyl trade The U.S. intelligence community said drug cartels were responsible for more than 52,000 fatal drug overdoses in the space of 12 months. Show Caption Hide Caption How fentanyl reaches the US and the role of Trump's China tariffs US President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods, citing Beijing's failure to stop the export of chemicals used to produce fentanyl. unbranded - Newsworthy The new task force was created by the House Intelligence Committee in a rare show of bipartisanship. 'The United States cannot allow Mexico, our neighbor and largest trading partner, to devolve into a failed narco-state run by violent cartels,' Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Tx., said. Mexico's cooperation in the fight against fentanyl traffickers is one element of Trump's ongoing trade war. WASHINGTON – In a rare moment of congressional bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats on June 4 announced a new Cartel Task Force to best weaponize U.S. spies and intelligence analysts against Mexican fentanyl trafficking and human smuggling organizations. The task force will be run through the House Intelligence Committee and led by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. The task force will hold hearings on how to improve intelligence collection against drug cartels, and conduct site visits for on-the-ground insight into the U.S. fight against fentanyl and migrant smugglings, Crenshaw said. The Cartel Task Force is an 'actionable response' to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, said committee chairman Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark. In that assessment, the ODNI highlighted smuggling and drug cartels – and the fentanyl crisis in particular – as perhaps the top threat to U.S. security. 'Terrorist insurgency' 'Cartels are largely responsible for the more than 52,000 U.S. deaths from synthetic opioids in the 12 months ending in October 2024 and helped facilitate the nearly three million illegal migrant arrivals in 2024, straining resources and putting U.S. communities at risk,' the ODNI said in its report released March 11. More: Blue Lotus, Four Horsemen, Hydra and Pelican Bones: How the US fights the fentanyl crisis 'The United States cannot allow Mexico, our neighbor and largest trading partner, to devolve into a failed narco-state run by violent cartels,' Crenshaw said in a statement. 'The situation in Mexico has escalated from a drug war to a full-scale terrorist insurgency.' Mexican officials including President Claudia Sheinbaum have denied the cartels constitute any kind of insurgency but have pledged to work closely with Trump in fighting them. In a lengthy X post in February, Sheinbaum said her administration had seized more than 40 tons of drugs, including 20 million doses of fentanyl, since taking office in October. 'What we heard from the IC leaders in our worldwide threats hearing earlier this year tells us that this is an important endeavor,' Crawford told USA TODAY, referring to the U.S. intelligence community. Members of the House Intelligence Committee, with special security clearances, have 'unique access that other committees don't have, that can inform policy and make recommendations' to the full Congress, he said. Crenshaw said the task force will also look at ways the U.S. and Mexico can work more closely together. 'Together, we will develop actionable, integrated solutions to neutralize this evolving threat and safeguard American lives,' he said. Ranking Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut praised the bipartisan nature of the task force and said it would 'propose concrete solutions to help protect American lives and interests.' Mexico's top cartels The two main Mexican trafficking organizations are the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cartels, and U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials say both have tentacles that reach deep into the United States and around the world. Besides narcotics trafficking, Sinaloa, CJNG and other groups are also involved in human trafficking, the arms trade and 'other illegal and destabilizing activities,' the ODNI report said. More: Koi fish, bananas and puppies: the ingenious ways smugglers bring illegal drugs into the US Both the Senate and House intelligence committees held hearings on the annual worldwide threat assessment earlier this year. "For the first time, the annual threat assessment lists foreign illicit drug actors as the very first threat to our country," including Mexican cartels and Chinese chemical manufacturers, said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. President Donald Trump campaigned on taking a more aggressive stance against Mexican cartels and the Chinese groups supplying them with precursor chemicals to manufacture fentanyl, which has killed more Americans than any other drug by far. Mexico's cooperation in the fight against fentanyl traffickers is one element of Trump's ongoing trade war. With support from some lawmakers including Crenshaw, Trump has also declared Mexican cartels terrorist organizations -- and some have suggested Washington should send the U.S. military to kill cartel leaders on their own turf.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House Intel chair: U.S. needs more efforts in Central, South America to beat China
House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) said Sunday that the United States must do more in the Western Hemisphere to keep China's growing influence at bay across Latin America. 'We sort of repositioned a lot of assets to address the global war on terror in two theaters, Iraq and Afghanistan — broadly the Middle East, and we sort of neglected our own neighborhood,' Crawford told NewsNation's Chris Stirewalt in an interview on 'The Hill Sunday.' Crawford described it as his most pressing international concern facing the U.S. 'It's the Chinese malign influence that's taking place throughout the hemisphere,' he said. 'It's them carving out a niche politically, economically, and I hope not militarily — but we're also seeing sort of an interest there.' Crawford, an Army veteran picked to lead the influential House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in January, said he has seen how China built relationships in the region as the U.S. focused elsewhere. He noted the U.S. adversary has established and improved relationships through trade deals, infrastructure backing, and other moves. 'We haven't really done much in the way to engender any kind of a real kind of relationship that is concrete,' he said, specifically citing Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. 'We're not doing that, and we should be.' Crawford said he believes those countries would prefer to work with the U.S. over China, but the U.S. hasn't done enough to forge partnerships. 'I've met with heads of state in most every country in the hemisphere, and they'll all tell me, 'You're our preferred partner,' and then they'll turn around and get an agreement with China,' Crawford told Stirewalt. 'What are we doing to give them some options, to give them alternatives? And the fact is, we haven't.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
House Intel Chair: U.S. needs more efforts in Central, South America to beat China
House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) said Sunday that the United States must do more in the Western hemisphere to keep China's growing influence at bay across Latin America. 'We sort of repositioned a lot of assets to address the global war on terror in two theaters, Iraq and Afghanistan — broadly the Middle East, and we sort of neglected our own neighborhood,' Crawford told NewsNation's Chris Stirewalt in an interview on 'The Hill Sunday.' Crawford described it as his most pressing international concern facing the U.S. 'It's the Chinese malign influence that's taking place throughout the hemisphere,' he said. 'It's them carving out a niche politically, economically, and I hope not militarily — but we're also seeing sort of an interest there.' Crawford, an Army veteran picked to lead the influential House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in January, said he has seen how China has built relationships in the region as the U.S. focused elsewhere. He noted the U.S. adversary has won over relationships through trade deals, infrastructure backing, and other perks. 'We haven't really done much in the way to engender any kind of a real kind of relationship that is concrete,' he said, specifically citing Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. 'We're not doing that, and we should be.' Crawford said he believes those countries would prefer to work with the U.S. over China, but the U.S. hasn't done enough to forge partnerships. 'I've met with heads of state in most every country in the hemisphere, and they'll all tell me, 'You're our preferred partner,' and then they'll turn around and get an agreement with China,' Crawford told Stirewalt. 'What are we doing to give them some options, to give them alternatives? And the fact is, we haven't.'
Scottish Sun
23-05-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
UFO zooms past cruise ship at ‘almost imperceptible speed' in eerie video as onlookers gasp ‘what was that?!'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MYSTERIOUS flying object has left onlookers stunned as it whizzed by a docked cruise ship in the evening hours. The unidentified object was captured on film as the camera focused on the liner in the port. 4 The ocean liner was in port when the UFO was captured on a webcam. Credit: Jam Press 4 The alleged UFO appeared to be saucer-shaped Credit: Jam Press 4 The object appeared to be made of a dark metallic material Credit: Jam Press As it centered on the docked vessel, a saucer-shaped object was snapped whizzing past the lens at great speed, as reported by What's The Jam. When the footage was slowed down, the alleged UFO appeared to be made of a dark, shiny metallic material. The object seemed to be flying at an almost imperceptible speed. It was filmed by a live webcam on the coast of Cozumel near Cancun, Mexico on May 18. One local said, 'What was that? 'It flew by so fast. What do you think?' A second added: 'Interesting…' Another added: 'An insect, what else?' A fourth remarked: 'A big bird?' The sighting comes after footage surfaced in April of mysterious flying objects menacing a US warship as it faced off against two "Tic Tac" aircrafts. Sailors aboard the USS Jackson claimed to have seen four UFOs in total. The objects were seen taking off in "synchronized" flight off the coast of southern California. The incident took place in February 2023. Chilling new UFO footage shows US warship facing off with 'Tic Tac' aircraft as four mysterious objects menace destroyer "All we witnessed was all four of them. All in synchronous, jetting into the abyss," stunned sailors told News 8 at the time. ARE UFO SIGHTINGS RISING? There has been an uptick in UFO sightings since 2024. In December, strange lights were seen in the sky above several US states, most notably New Jersey. Officials claimed that people were likely seeing civilian aircraft, government, military, or drones in the night sky. While the Pentagon insisted at the time that the objects were not dangerous, NJ officials demanded answers. Shortly after the sightings, the House Intelligence Committee held a classified, closed briefing. "One question people should be asking is this: given that this week's official statement said sightings were caused by people misidentifying ordinary drones, aircraft, helicopters, and stars, why was the House Intelligence Committee briefing classified?" world-renowned UFO expert Nick Pope told The U.S. Sun. Pope also expressed his reservations about the response from then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the flying objects. "While I don't want to make this a party political issue, there's no getting away from the fact that one of the people assuring us there's no threat is [Mayorkas], who's been responsible for the chaos at the Southern border for the last few years," Pope said. "This hardly inspires confidence."
The Irish Sun
23-05-2025
- General
- The Irish Sun
UFO zooms past cruise ship at ‘almost imperceptible speed' in eerie video as onlookers gasp ‘what was that?!'
A MYSTERIOUS flying object has left onlookers stunned as it whizzed by a docked cruise ship in the evening hours. The unidentified object was captured on film as the camera focused on the liner in the port. Advertisement 4 The ocean liner was in port when the UFO was captured on a webcam. Credit: Jam Press 4 The alleged UFO appeared to be saucer-shaped Credit: Jam Press 4 The object appeared to be made of a dark metallic material Credit: Jam Press As it centered on the docked vessel, a saucer-shaped object was snapped whizzing past the lens at great speed, as reported by When the footage was slowed down, the alleged UFO appeared to be made of a dark, shiny metallic material. The object seemed to be flying at an almost imperceptible speed. It was filmed by a live webcam on the coast of Cozumel near Cancun, Mexico on May 18. Advertisement One local said, 'What was that? 'It flew by so fast. What do you think?' A second added: 'Interesting…' Another added: 'An insect, what else?' Advertisement Most read in The US Sun A fourth remarked: 'A big bird?' The sighting comes after footage surfaced in April of mysterious flying objects Sailors aboard the USS Jackson claimed to have seen four UFOs in total. The objects were seen taking off in "synchronized" flight off the coast of southern California. Advertisement The incident took place in February 2023. Chilling new UFO footage shows US warship facing off with 'Tic Tac' aircraft as four mysterious objects menace destroyer "All we witnessed was all four of them. All in synchronous, jetting into the abyss," stunned sailors told News 8 at the time. ARE UFO SIGHTINGS RISING? There has been an uptick in UFO sightings since 2024. In December, strange lights were seen in the sky above several US states, most notably New Jersey. Advertisement Officials claimed that people were likely seeing civilian aircraft, government, military, or drones in the night sky. While the Pentagon insisted at the time that the objects were not dangerous, NJ officials demanded answers. Shortly after the sightings, the House Intelligence Committee held a classified, closed briefing. "One question people should be asking is this: given that this week's official statement said sightings were caused by people misidentifying ordinary drones, aircraft, helicopters, and stars, why was the House Intelligence Committee briefing classified?" world-renowned UFO expert Nick Pope told The U.S. Sun. Advertisement Pope also expressed his reservations about the response from then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the flying objects. "While I don't want to make this a party political issue, there's no getting away from the fact that one of the people assuring us there's no threat is [Mayorkas], who's been responsible for the chaos at the Southern border for the last few years," Pope said. Read more on the Irish Sun Advertisement "This hardly inspires confidence." 4 The webcam captured the moving object despite its speed Credit: Jam Press
