Trump intel officials testify on threat from drug cartels as Dems press them on leak of attack plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's top intelligence officials stressed to Congress the threat they said was posed by international criminal gangs, drug cartels and human smuggling, testifying in a hearing Tuesday that unfolded against the backdrop of a security breach involving the mistaken leak of attack plans to a journalist.

The annual hearing on worldwide threats before the Senate Intelligence Committee offered a glimpse of the new administration’s reorienting of priorities at a time when President Donald Trump has opened a new line of communication with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and as his administration has focused national security attention closer to home to counter violent crime that officials link to cross-border drug trafficking.

“Criminal groups drive much of the unrest and lawlessness in the Western Hemisphere," said Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence. Atop a long list of national security challenges, she cited the need to combat cartels that she said were “engaging in a wide array of illicit activity, from narcotics trafficking to money laundering to smuggling of illegal immigrants and human trafficking.”

The hearing occurred as officials across multiple presidential administrations have described an increasingly complicated blizzard of threats.

In the committee room, it unfolded in split-screen fashion: Republican senators hewed to the pre-scheduled topic by drilling down on China and the fentanyl scourge, while Democrat after Democrat offered sharp criticism over a security breach they called reckless and dangerous.

“If this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee said of the exposed Signal messages. Added Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon: “I am of the view that there ought to be resignations.” “An embarrassment,” said Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who shouted down CIA Director John Ratcliffe as he demanded answers.

Gabbard and other officials did note the U.S. government's longstanding national security concerns, including the threat she said was posed by countries including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

China, for one, has heavily invested in stealth aircraft, hypersonic weapons and nuclear arms and is looking to outcompete the U.S. when it comes to artificial intelligence, while Russia remains a “formidable competitor” and still maintains a large nuclear arsenal.

The hearing arrived against the backdrop of a starkly different approach toward Russia following years of Biden administration sanctions over its war against Ukraine.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a lengthy call with Trump to an immediate pause in strikes against energy infrastructure in what the White House described as the first step in a “movement to peace.”

Terrorism, too, featured prominently in the hearing.

“The direction for the FBI is to track down any individuals with any terrorist ties whatsoever, whether it be ISIS or another foreign terrorist organization,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “And now to include the new designations of the cartels, down south and elsewhere."

But the elevation of international drug trafficking as a top-tier threat was a notable turnabout in focus given that the U.S. government over the past four years has been more likely to place a premium on concerns over sophisticated Chinese espionage plots, ransomware attacks that have crippled hospitals and international and domestic terrorism plots.

Tuesday's hearing took taking place one day after news broke that several top national security officials in the Republican administration, including Ratcliffe, Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, texted attack plans for military strikes in Yemen to a group chat in a secure messaging app that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic.

The text chain “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi-rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” journalist Jeffrey Goldberg reported. The strikes began two hours after Goldberg received the details.

“Horrified” by the leak of what is historically strictly guarded information, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said he will be demanding answers in a separate hearing Wednesday with his panel.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, joined at center by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, testifies as the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, center, is flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, as the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, left, joined at right by Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., questions Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe about texted war plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a group chat that included the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, left, confers with Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., during a hearing on worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From left, FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse, appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a hearing on worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From left, FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse, appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a hearing on worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, center, is flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, as the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, joined at right by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, answer questions as the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FBI Director Kash Patel, joined at right by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, answers questions as the Senate Intelligence Committee holds its worldwide threats hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

CHATHAM, Ill. (AP) — A car smashed through a building Monday afternoon, killing four children and injuring several others during an after-school program in a small city outside of Springfield, Illinois, police said.

Officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. to calls about a vehicle ramming through the building, fatally hitting four people before exiting the other side, Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Tarter said.

Those killed were between the ages of 4 and 18, Illinois State Police said in an emailed statement. Several other people were hurt and taken to hospitals.

It wasn’t immediately known what led up to the crash or whether it was intentional.

It's is one of several recent instances of people driving vehicles into groups of people across the globe. Only two days earlier, a car plowed through a crowded street during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, killing 11.

The Illinois driver, who was uninjured, was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, Tarter said. Police haven't said if the driver was arrested or taken into custody.

“I am horrified and deeply saddened by the deaths of children and numerous injuries in Chatham this afternoon," Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing – something that no parent should ever have to endure.”

He said his office was monitoring the situation and was ready to lend support.

The struck building and facilities house Youth Needing Other Things Outdoors, which holds after-school programs and summer camps, according to its website.

As evening fell, police cars with lights flashing still blocked streets leading to the building. On its Facebook account, the Chatham Police Department asked for prayers.

“A terrible tragedy has occurred here that has affected all of us,” the message ended.

Associated Press reporter Lisa Baumann contributed to this report from Bellingham, Washington.

Emergency vehicles block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, Ill. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)

Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, Ill. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)

Police block a road leading to a building where a car smashed through during an after-school program, killing several people and injuring others, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, Ill. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)

This image taken from video provided by WCIA shows first responders working the scene after a car smashed through a building during an after-school program, killing multiple people Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, Ill. (WCIA via AP)

This image taken from video provided by WCIA shows first responders working the scene after a car smashed through a building during an after-school program, killing multiple people Monday, April 28, 2025, in Chatham, Ill. (WCIA via AP)