U.S. Hosts Conference on 'Far-Left Terrorism' With Representatives From Over 65 Countries: What to Know

Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes opening statement during an event titled "Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism" at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 2026. —Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a conference on “ far-left terrorism ” on Thursday with representatives from dozens of countries in attendance. The meeting was aimed at garnering international support to combat what the State Department described as “the resurgent threat” of such terrorism. “This is a distinctive and unique evil. It has always been driven by a hatred above all else, a hatred for civilization itself. It is a revolt of the worst against the best, a revolt of the weak and the cowardly against the strong and the good,” Rubio said in his opening remarks. “This is an international conference because we are facing an international—we are facing a transnational threat,” he went on, adding, “We have no choice but to confront this menace together. We will either cooperate across our borders or the terrorists will continue to exploit the gaps between them.” Thursday’s conference comes as the Trump Administration has repeatedly blamed left-wing groups for rising political violence in the U.S. and made them a focus of its counterterrorism efforts in a reversal of past policy under the Biden Administration, even as data shows that right-wing extremists have been responsible for a greater share of deadly attacks. Read More: Trump Called for a Crackdown on the 'Radical Left.' But Right-Wing Extremists Are Responsible for More Political Violence Here’s what to know about Thursday’s conference, and the facts about the ideologies driving political violence around the U.S. Which countries were represented at the conference? In attendance at Thursday’s event were 66 nations, according to a State Department spokesperson, who provided the list of attendants to TIME. The countries with officials present were Albania, Argentina, Au