U.S. invites Portuguese government to meeting on “far-left terrorism”

Portugal will be represented at a US-led international meeting tomorrow on what the Trump administration describes as the “resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism”.

According to an exclusive report by Expresso, the government has decided to send its ambassador, rather than a minister, ‘signalling a lower-level diplomatic presence’.

The meeting, organised by the U.S. State Department under Marco Rubio, in Washington, is scheduled as bringing together representatives from more than 60 countries to discuss cooperation against groups ostensibly linked to the Antifa (short for anti-fascist) movement.

The department told Expresso that invitations have been sent to countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia. It described the event as a ministerial meeting on the “overlooked threat posed by the resurgence of transnational far-left terrorism”.

The initiative follows a broader effort by the Trump administration to classify Antifa-linked groups as terrorist organisations, and expand international cooperation on intelligence sharing and security operations.

According to documents cited by The Washington Post and reported by Expresso, the US argues that transnational far-left groups are increasingly coordinating across borders and using organised political violence.

Expresso notes however that independent analysts dispute whether such groups pose a threat comparable to other forms of violent extremism.

The issue has minutely surfaced in Portuguese politics. During a recent parliamentary hearing, Interior Minister Luís Neves was asked by the (far-right) CHEGA party whether Portugal faced a greater threat from the far-right or the far-left.

“The far right has killed people, and is not considered terrorist,” Neves replied.

Could this be at the root of the current ‘problem’ the minister appears to be facing from CHEGA? Expresso does not develop this possibility, instead reporting that several European governments have privately expressed unease over Washington’s invitation – questioning both the short notice and the meeting’s underlying premise.

Diplomats quoted by The Washington Post said some countries see far-right extremism, rather than far-left activism, as the more pressing security threat – while others question the relevance of the agenda altogether.

One unnamed European diplomat told Expresso simply: “We don’t have Antifa.”

The report says the Trump administration has already labelled several European groups—including Germany’s Antifa Ost and organisations in Greece and Italy—as foreign terrorist organisations, despite security experts noting that the groups have largely been associated with vandalism and assaults rather than fatal attacks.

By accepting the invitation, albeit at ambassadorial level, Portugal is seeking to balance its commitment to international security cooperation with the more cautious approach adopted by many European Union partners, Expresso explains.

Neither Washington nor the Portuguese government have disclosed details of Portugal’s planned intervention, or what outcomes are expected beyond strengthening international intelligence-sharing and operational cooperation against what the United States terms “left-wing political terrorism.”

It may be a coincidence, but this meeting (with such short notice given that guests are expected to travel thousands of kms in many cases) comes as the Trump administration’s immigration police  (ICE) have been involved in the deaths of three people in the matter of days, sparking protests among communities affected with many saying they no longer feel safe at the hands of what they see as increasingly overbearing U.S. authorities.

Source: Expresso/ international press