There has been a resurgence of political terrorism, transnational in design and far left in doctrine. This threat demands a response that draws upon the distinct and combined strengths of every government, stressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the recent Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism.
In response, the Treasury Department is bringing the full weight of its authorities to defend the integrity of the U.S. global financial systems. Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence seeks to identify, disrupt, and disable illicit foreign funds that threaten the homeland.
The U.S. is extending its mission to meet an evolving threat, said Secretary Bessent. Old ideological boundaries are giving way to new operational alliances. “The unified front between international Marxism and radical Islamic movements need not share the same ultimate vision to share the same immediate enemy of free and self-governing societies,” noted Secretary Bessent.
“These terrorists understand an enduring truth. Societies are rarely subverted from afar until they have first been weakened from within.”
Some of these activities are overt: bombings, assassinations, and organized violence in our streets. Others are quieter: campaigns to suppress speech, intimidate political opposition, and sabotage our national institutions.
Regardless of the form they take, noted Secretary Bessent, “violence requires money, channels through which funding can move, and institutions behind which it can hide. Increasingly, legitimate nonprofit and charitable structures are being exploited as a mechanism to conceal the movement of illicit funds to support political terrorism.”
Nonprofits and charities are often thought of as good, but the very qualities that make these institutions worthy of the public’s trust can also make them appealing to those who endeavor to exploit them, explained Secretary Bessent. Treasury is expanding its efforts to identify organizations that abuse charitable and nonprofit structures as vehicles for illicit finance.
In the fall, the United States designated four far-left Antifa extremist groups abroad as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, denying them access to the U.S. financial system and depriving them of resources they need to carry out attacks.
Meanwhile, under President Trump, Treasury has also sanctioned 17 sham charities and nonprofit organizations for funding Hamas’s terrorist activities and operations. “As Treasury continues to map and disrupt the flow of funding that enables these entities to operate, no terror organization should delude itself into the belief that its financing lies beyond our reach,” warned Secretary Bessent.
“To be clear, in the fight against domestic terrorism, we must respect the constitutional rights, freedom of speech, association, and assembly of all Americans,” assured Secretary Bessent.
The Treasury Department will do its part to identify illicit funding; dismantle the networks that fund political terrorism; pursue those who enable political violence; and deepen collaboration with international allies for as long as this work requires.