Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has issued a chilling warning about what he calls one of the most underestimated national security threats facing the United States — a coordinated campaign by foreign adversaries to infiltrate and cripple the nation’s critical infrastructure from within.
Speaking during a Senate Intelligence Committee briefing on Thursday, Rubio said that new classified intelligence reports reveal a “silent invasion” already underway, involving foreign operatives, cyberattacks, and corporate acquisitions aimed at weakening the U.S. from the inside out.
“This isn’t a theory or a movie plot,” Rubio said. “It’s happening right now. Our food systems, our energy grids, and even our water supply are being probed and compromised — not with missiles or bombs, but with data breaches, fake investments, and influence operations.”
According to Rubio, intelligence agencies have identified a network of shell companies and tech firms linked to Chinese and Russian state entities that have quietly purchased or invested in U.S. agricultural land, food distribution centers, and logistics hubs. The senator described this as “economic warfare disguised as business.”
“They’re not just buying land for profit,” Rubio warned. “They’re positioning themselves to control the food supply chain, access key transportation routes, and gather data on U.S. distribution systems. If conflict ever arises, they’ll already have leverage inside our own country.”
The revelation follows several recent incidents that raised alarm within national security circles. In May, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that hackers linked to a Chinese state-backed group had successfully breached portions of the U.S. energy grid in the Midwest, targeting companies that manage power transmission and distribution.
Though no physical damage occurred, experts said the attack served as a “warning shot” — demonstrating that America’s grid could be remotely disrupted.
“This was a test,” Rubio said. “They wanted to see how far they could get — and they got too far.”
Beyond cyber threats, Rubio highlighted the danger of foreign ownership of farmland, a concern that has grown rapidly in recent years. Chinese entities currently own an estimated 383,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land, including farmland near military bases and energy infrastructure.
“This is not about xenophobia — it’s about national security,” Rubio said. “When you allow adversarial nations to buy property next to our most sensitive installations, you are creating vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a crisis.”
Rubio also pointed to the increasing use of AI-driven disinformation and social media manipulation as tools of soft infiltration. Intelligence officials have documented thousands of fake online accounts spreading polarizing narratives aimed at undermining trust in U.S. institutions.
“These operations aren’t meant to win elections,” he said. “They’re meant to convince Americans that democracy itself doesn’t work — and that’s how you destroy a nation without firing a single shot.”
Rubio called for immediate bipartisan action to strengthen America’s resilience against these multi-front threats. He proposed new legislation to ban foreign ownership of critical infrastructure, tighten restrictions on foreign land purchases, and increase funding for cybersecurity and counterintelligence operations.
“Every day we wait, the risk grows,” he said. “We cannot afford to be naïve or complacent. The next major attack on the United States won’t come from a warplane — it’ll come from a server, a spreadsheet, or a farmland deed.”
Several members of the Intelligence Committee, including Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), expressed support for Rubio’s warnings, agreeing that the issue transcends party lines. “We’ve been too slow to recognize the scale of this threat,” Warner admitted. “This is not about ideology — it’s about survival.”
Former intelligence officials echoed the urgency of Rubio’s comments. James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence, said the warning aligns with long-standing concerns about foreign hybrid warfare tactics designed to “erode American sovereignty piece by piece.”
Rubio concluded his remarks with a stark message: “If the American people knew what I’ve seen in classified briefings, they wouldn’t sleep tonight. But awareness is the first defense — and now we can’t say we weren’t warned.”
The senator’s warning has already sparked calls for emergency hearings in both chambers, as lawmakers scramble to assess how deep the infiltration might already be — and whether the U.S. still has time to stop it.
