2025 was a year when the Trump administration both broadened U.S. definitions of terrorism and extended the reach of enforcement against transnational criminal groups.
The State Department started by designating eight Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in February, then kept going: adding the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, the leaders of Venezuela and more. The Treasury Department, in coordination with the U.K., later imposed sweeping sanctions targeting the Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate, for operating scams that have cost Americans billions of dollars.
As it all unfolded, Kharon research connected the dots—between a Gaza aid conference and Hamas, between IT startups and the Sinaloa Cartel, and more.
Read the Brief’s top five stories of the year about terrorism and transnational criminal organizations here:
The State Department started by designating eight Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) in February, then kept going: adding the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, the leaders of Venezuela and more. The Treasury Department, in coordination with the U.K., later imposed sweeping sanctions targeting the Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate, for operating scams that have cost Americans billions of dollars.
As it all unfolded, Kharon research connected the dots—between a Gaza aid conference and Hamas, between IT startups and the Sinaloa Cartel, and more.
Read the Brief’s top five stories of the year about terrorism and transnational criminal organizations here:
