CIA Director Visits Morocco to Assess Security Threats of Terrorist Organizations

Morocco's Director General of Territory Surveillance (DGST) Abdellatif Hammouchi, with the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns (MAP)
Morocco's Director General of Territory Surveillance (DGST) Abdellatif Hammouchi, with the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns (MAP)
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CIA Director Visits Morocco to Assess Security Threats of Terrorist Organizations

Morocco's Director General of Territory Surveillance (DGST) Abdellatif Hammouchi, with the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns (MAP)
Morocco's Director General of Territory Surveillance (DGST) Abdellatif Hammouchi, with the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns (MAP)

Morocco's Director General of Territory Surveillance (DGST) Abdellatif Hammouchi met on Friday with Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns at his office in Rabat.

The meeting focused on assessing the security situation and the associated risks at the regional levels and reviewed the security threats and challenges resulting from the tense situation in some regions of the world.

Burns was accompanied by some of his senior aides and the US ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar.

They also discussed the anticipated risks of terrorist organizations, especially in the Sahel-Sahara region.

The DGST stated that this meeting falls within the bilateral meetings between the two parties and constitutes an opportunity to follow up on the implementation of the outputs of the working visit Hammouchi made to the US.

During his visit to Washington, Hammouchi met the Director of US National Intelligence, Avril Haines, Burns, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, Christopher Wray.

The statement concluded that Burns' visit to Rabat reflects the strength and depth of strategic cooperation, security, and intelligence coordination between the DGST and the CIA at the regional and international levels.



Rubio Says US Hostage Envoy’s Direct Meeting with Hamas Was ‘One-Off’

Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Rubio Says US Hostage Envoy’s Direct Meeting with Hamas Was ‘One-Off’

Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler speaks during a US hostage and wrongful detainee flag raising ceremony at the State Department in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump's hostage envoy Adam Boehler's direct meetings with Palestinian militant group Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza was a "one-off situation" and as of now "hasn't borne fruit," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday.

"That was a one-off situation in which our special envoy for hostages, whose job it is to get people released, had an opportunity to talk directly to someone who has control over these people and was given permission and encouraged to do so. He did so," Rubio told reporters en route to Saudi Arabia.

"As of now, it hasn't borne fruit. Doesn't mean he was wrong to try, but our primary vehicle for negotiations on this front will continue to be Mr. Witkoff and the work he's doing through Qatar," Rubio said, in reference to Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

The discussions between Boehler and Hamas broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups the US brands as terrorist organizations.

A senior Hamas official on Sunday told Reuters that the meetings between Hamas leaders and Boehler in recent days focused on the release of an American-Israeli dual national being held by the group in Gaza.

Boehler told CNN on Sunday that the talks were "very helpful" and, in an interview with Israel's N12 TV channel, he said that the Trump administration was focused on getting all the remaining 59 hostages out and ending the war.

Witkoff told reporters at the White House last week that gaining the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old from New Jersey believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, was a "top priority for us".

Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering an Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.