On May 6, the Trump White House released its 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy that found “legacy Islamist terrorists,” narcoterrorists, and violent extremists as the primary threats to their homeland. Now with the FIFA World Cup kicking off June 11 across North America, the document lands as the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are in the final weeks of preparing to host the largest sporting event on earth.
The threat level has increased considerably in recent months. In March, LBC exclusively reported that ISIS had been actively encouraging followers to target the 2026 World Cup, calling for mass casualty attacks. This month, Al-Qaeda released a new issue of its English-language periodical Inspire in video format, titled “Why We Call for Jihad Operations in the West,” encouraging lone wolf attacks inside Western countries. A Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) analysis published last week concluded: “The risk has never been higher.”
