FBI Director Kash Patel has described the ongoing World Cup as 'the biggest lift in FBI history, in American history' during a mid-flight interview aboard the bureau's Gulfstream jet. The tournament, which kicked off Thursday with 48 teams, 36 base camps and 11 stadiums, represents what Patel calls 'the biggest security challenge the FBI ever faced'. The FBI, along with the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for protecting the event 'not just here but overseas', with the agency serving as the lead domestic U.S. intelligence agency for the World Cup that the country is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico. The 3 million visitors, including heads of state, pose additional security challenges alongside threats from drones, spies, terrorists, drunken fans, cartels, and pyrotechnics.
FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey has clarified the meaning of America First policy during a virtual press briefing on Wednesday. According to reports from Business Standard, Bailey stated that 'America First does not mean America alone' and emphasized that the FBI will 'leave no stone unturned' to hunt down and bring to justice those who would harm the US and its allies. This clarification comes as the agency addresses what it identifies as three of the most significant threats facing the world today.
As reported by Business Standard, Bailey discussed industrial-scale scam compounds, nihilistic violent extremism (NVE), and transnational narcotics trafficking during the press briefing. He noted that while these threats victimize Americans daily, their deadly impact across Southeast Asia is growing at an exponential rate. The FBI official described NVE as violence motivated by hatred of society and a drive to cause collapse through indiscriminate chaos, with members advocating destruction across the world by glorifying mass killers and promoting animal cruelty. Recent conflicts in the Middle East, such as with Iran, have resonated with some U.S.-based violent extremists and could further exacerbate anti-U.S., anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, or anti-Muslim grievances.
The FBI has assembled a joint operations center of foreign police from 46 of the 48 participating countries — minus Iran and Haiti — to deliver real-time threat information from their home countries. The agency is responsible for 300,000 background checks of players, coaches and personnel, while state and local authorities will handle security outside venues and counterdrone measures. Drones represent one of the biggest threats, as Patel explained they are 'one of the biggest ways that people who want to conduct adversarial attacks can effectuate them cheaply and from a distance, and with not much planning.' The FBI launched a counterdrone training program in October 2025, graduating 70 local police in host U.S. cities.
As reported by Business Standard, Bailey outlined the FBI's approach to combating these threats through international cooperation. The agency is 'aggressively targeting' every link in the fentanyl supply chain and working with partners throughout Asia to identify and destroy precursor chemicals before they reach cartel laboratories. The FBI is supporting sanctions, enforcement actions, and intelligence sharing while targeting criminal networks that profit from death. Patel emphasized that the 'best way to defeat transnational threats is through time-tested and trusted transnational partnerships'.
According to Business Standard reports, Bailey highlighted the FBI's expanded capabilities under the current administration. He noted that the agency is 'working shoulder to shoulder with every one of our law enforcement partners globally' through new anti-terrorism authorities provided by President Trump and his administration. The FBI official emphasized that the agency will 'tirelessly work to neutralise' those trafficking in fentanyl, stating that the FBI's mission remains clear: 'We will protect the American people. We will defend our homeland. And we will take the fight directly to those who threaten us.'
