Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (L) and Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at ILEA Budapest on December 12, 2025
Dávid Vaszkó / europeanconservative.com
On December 12th, the Department of State said it is offering a reward of up to $10 million “for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of four European-based groups designated by the U.S. government as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).”
The press release announcing the move was issued in Hungarian and English by the American embassy in Budapest. Not coincidentally, Thomas G. DiNanno, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, was in Hungary that day for what was his first official visit abroad since he took office in October.
In fact, one of the four terrorist groups listed in the press statement is not unknown in Hungary: the notorious Antifa Ost, better known in Central Europe as the ‘Hammerbande.’ It was members of this extreme leftist organization that brutally attacked nine innocent people—who the attackers decided “looked like” neo-Nazis based on their choice of clothing—with telescopic batons and hammers in broad daylight on the streets of Budapest in 2023. One 61-year-old security guard was left with a fractured skull and lasting facial paralysis. While the United States government has not lost its moral compass and is resolutely cracking down on Hammerbande and its ilk wherever they operate, the left-liberal majority of the European Parliament (abetted by some in the ‘center-right’ European People’s Party) refuses to lift the immunity of one of the main suspects of the Budapest terrorist attacks, Italian MEP Ilaria Salis (The Left-GUE/NGL), unashamedly shielding her from accountability.
In what will hopefully be a wake-up call to European establishment politicians, the Under Secretary, one of the chief USG officials responsible for advancing counter-terrorism efforts, was in Budapest on Friday to discuss ways of working across agencies and borders to counter violent extremism, with a special focus on Antifa. One of his engagements was at an event titled ‘U.S.-Hungary Security Dialogue’ at the International Law Enforcement Academy Budapest. Delivering opening remarks ahead of the Under Secretary’s address, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest Caroline Savage said that the Dialogue was about how to protect Western civilization and stated unequivocally that far-left terrorist groups like Antifa pose a threat to “our way of life.”
In his remarks, Under Secretary DiNanno highlighted that the United States is forging a strategic partnership with Hungary to disrupt geocriminality, including an increasingly threatening far-left terrorism. He stressed that the governments of both the United States and Hungary are committed to defending the sovereignty and security of their nations, with the United States Government ready to provide help to Hungary in combating organized terror. The Under Secretary recalled that President Trump has designated Antifa groups based in Germany, Greece, and Italy as terrorist organizations and noted appreciatively that Hungary was the first nation in the European Union to follow suit. He nailed down that far-left terrorism
wears the cloak of antifascism, but their behavior mirrors 1939-style fascism.
He pledged that extremist violence will not be tolerated by the U.S., adding that not only the perpetrators themselves, but also their “enablers, financiers, and sponsors” must be revealed and brought to justice.
Under Secretary DiNanno spoke with europeaconservative.com following closed-door talks with Hungarian government officials, including Péter Sztáray, State Secretary for Security Policy and Energy Security at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
DiNanno shared that he and his colleagues had an “incredibly compelling and troubling briefing” from their Hungarian counterparts, in which some of the real-time CCTV footage from the 2023 Antifa attack in Budapest was shared. The Under Secretary described the type of violence seen on the video as “extremely concerning,” adding:
We have to stop this before it metastasizes.
Addressing the broader issue of terrorism rooted in extreme ideologies, the Under Secretary—who used to serve as Senior Advisor to the White House after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack—recalled that, since 9/11, security threats have “morphed,” noting that “our adversaries operate in extremely gray areas.” According to the Under Secretary, while governments tend to move slowly, today they cannot afford that “luxury,” having to respond to the challenges of an “extremely dangerous world” and the gaps created by the “erosion of borders and financial regulations” that criminal organizations exploit. DiNanno also underscored that far-left groups like Antifa are “insidious” and “incredibly evil,” as they take advantage of the very liberties, such as free speech, that democracies are built on.
He also made a point of stressing, however, that the U.S. counterterrorism apparatus built worldwide after 9/11 has been largely successful, preventing an additional major attack on U.S. soil, thanks to the fact that the approach to violent extremism and radical Islam
endured through multiple presidential administrations of both parties.
It is the same tools the U.S. government agencies brought to the counterterrorism fight that need to be used in the fight against far-left or far-right radical ideology, DiNanno added, noting that he is in Europe precisely to talk about how that type of information can be shared with his government’s partners in Europe. He also indicated that his trip is “really the start” of the bilateral security cooperation and more will follow. He expressed conviction that his Hungarian counterparts “are going to be great partners,” adding that the challenge is to get other countries to come along bilaterally, with potentially “other law enforcement or intelligence sharing arrangements that worked in the past.”
When asked about the significance of effective border control, the Under Secretary reiterated that it is a key factor in curbing transnational terrorism and criminality. Referencing the recently released U.S. National Security Strategy, he declared,
Effective border control is a choice.
He noted that since President Trump entered office, “illegal immigration has essentially gone to zero in the United States.” Comparing that to what is happening on the European continent, alluding to the scathing assessment of the state of Europe that the national security strategy outlines, he stressed that “this sort of [European] decline is a choice.”
When asked about the United States’ posture on attacks on religious minorities and Christian communities worldwide, Under Secretary DiNanno said under the Trump administration, “violence is never acceptable again.” He recalled the violent protests and antisemitism seen in the United States over the last year on American college campuses, stressing that “almost the minute President Trump was inaugurated and Secretary Rubio came into office, we began to put consequences in play.” With the new antisemitism envoy hopefully confirmed in the coming weeks by the Senate, DiNanno said, “you’ll see the same results that you’ve seen on the border: quick, decisive, worldwide.” In terms of religious freedom, the Under Secretary noted that Secretary Rubio has been “crystal clear on the religious freedom issue, as has President Trump,” who has “engaged aggressively in Nigeria.”
As we reported, on October 31st, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) and directed the House Appropriations Committee to prepare a report on the situation of Christians in the country, declaring on Truth Social that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and that the United States stands “ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world.”
