US urges global crackdown on ‘far-left terrorism’ - NZ says focus on behaviour rather than labels

The United States is urging a global crackdown on “left-wing terrorism”, but New Zealand’s spy agency says it doesn’t use that term and the minister in charge says the focus should be on reporting concerning behaviour rather than “on descriptions”.

As the Herald reported this week, New Zealand was represented at a summit in Washington DC overnight where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for global cooperation to combat the “transnational threat” of “far-left terrorism”.

Rubio said the West had spent the past 25 years focused on fighting radical Islamic extremism, but there had been a “blind spot when it comes to extremist violence from the political left”.

He gave examples of what he considered left-wing violence, including riots after the death of George Floyd, attacks on immigration officers, and the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk.

“This is a distinctive and unique evil. It has always been driven by a hatred above all else, a hatred for civilisation 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,” said Rubio.

The event was accompanied by a press release from the White House saying the Trump Administration had “convened senior officials from around the world to launch an unprecedented global offensive against the transnational threat of Radical Left terrorism”.

US reports have shared concerns the crackdown may extend to domestic political groups that protest Trump, as well as the lack of recognition given to right-wing attacks in the speech.

The Trump administration spoke about the crackdown overnight. Photo / Getty Images

Before the event, the Herald asked Chris Penk, the minister responsible for the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, whether he held concerns about left-wing terrorism domestically or internationally.

Penk said the NZSIS saw a “range of violent extremist motivations, with no one ideology dominating”.

“The national terrorism threat level remains at ‘possible’, which we should not be complacent, and the NZSIS continues to work closely with its domestic and international partners to understand the current global threat environment.

“Rather than focus on descriptions, the most important point is that we all have a role to play in reporting concerning behaviour by individuals either to Police or the NZSIS, regardless of what the motivation might be.”

A spokesperson for the NZSIS said it didn’t use the terms “left-wing” or “right-wing” when describing different forms of terrorist motivations. Instead, it uses “identity-motivated”, “faith-motivated”, and “politically motivated” descriptors, as well descriptions related to single issues.

“NZSIS considers these terms better describe the nature of violent extremist motivations, and avoids oversimplification,” the spy agency said.

“In terms of the current threat environment, we continue to see a range of motivations with no one ideology dominating. Identity- and faith-motivated ideologies remain the most common, but we also see a small number of violent extremists motivated by political or single issues. There are also an increasing number of individuals with mixed, unclear or unstable motivations.

“NZSIS continues to work closely with its domestic and international partners to understand the current global threat environment, and to share New Zealand’s context. We note each Five Eyes partner has its own framework to describe its violent extremism environment.”

Minister Chris Penk said rather than focus on descriptions, the most important point was that people reported concerning behaviour. Photo / Annaleise Shortland

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters didn’t comment when asked for his view today.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said this week that attending the US’ event would allow New Zealand to hear about the US’ counterterrorism focus and talk about the Government’s approach to protecting the country.

A report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies research organisation in 2025 said the US had experienced an increase in the number of “left-wing terrorism attacks and plots, although such violence has risen from very low levels and remains much lower than historical levels of violence carried out by right-wing and jihadist attackers”.

“So far, 2025 marks the first time in more than 30 years that left-wing terrorist attacks outnumber those from the violent far right.

“Despite its decline this year, right-wing terrorism could easily return to previous high levels. It is important to resource counterterrorism efforts against both right- and left-wing terrorism and work with communities to gain their support against extremists.”

Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s chief political reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.