Summary Drug cartels led the US intelligence community's annual threat assessment for apparently the first time in the report's nearly 20 years. The assessment highlights cartels endangering Americans' health and contributing to regional instability. Fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids caused more than 52,000 deaths in the US in the 12 months ending in October 2024, according to the assessment. Climate change was omitted from the assessment, marking a reversal from previous intelligence