Washington —
The battle between the United States and authoritarian regimes is moving beyond the confines of cyberspace and increasingly is playing out on U.S. soil as countries like China and Iran target dissidents and minority groups in ever more brazen operations.
FBI senior counterintelligence officials Wednesday warned of new tactics and of “lines that are being crossed” by a growing number of countries, saying the U.S. is now facing an “inflection point” in trying to fend off transnational repression.
“The change that we're trying to highlight is sort of an increase in the level of threats, and threats of violence, threats of intimidation that cross lines we have not previously seen,” a senior FBI counterintelligence official told reporters, briefing them on the condition of anonymity under guidelines set by the bureau.
“China, Iran and other countries see this as a priority for them to stabilize their regimes and make sure that they continue to exist,” a second senior official said. “They're increasing the priority of this ... they're more willing to go on U.S. soil to go after dissidents.”
Wednesday’s warning from the FBI comes just days after the FBI arrested two New York City residents, charging them with operating a secret and illegal police station on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security.
“We cannot and will not tolerate the Chinese government's persecution of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in this country," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said while announcing the charges on Monday.
“We remain resolved and steadfast to fight against any efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to oppress and intimidate our residents,” he added.
FBI officials declined Wednesday to share details on just how many countries are engaged in transnational repression, which includes tactics like stalking, intimidation, or assault, against people residing in the U.S.
“We try not to rack and stack threats,” the first FBI official said, noting China and Iran “have been significant offenders.”
Other U.S. officials have pointed to indictments against suspects linked to Belarus, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And concerns about Russia are ever present.
But regardless of which government is behind the acts of repression, human rights organizations agree the threat is growing.
has tracked 854 physical incidents of transnational repression committed in 91 countries by 38 governments since 2014, including 79 incidents in 2022 alone.
China was the most prolific, according to the Freedom House data, engaging in 253 incidents of what the organization described as “direct, physical transnational repression” over the past nine years.
Turkey was second, followed by Tajikistan, Russia, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Iran and Rwanda.
FBI and other law enforcement officials also warn that many of these countries are becoming more sophisticated and more brazen in their efforts to silence critics in the U.S.
In its Worldwide Threat Assessment earlier this year, U.S. intelligence agencies said the Chinese government is actively monitoring Chinese students abroad, mobilizing Chinese student associations to help stifle dissent.
And when that is not enough, Beijing is willing “to enlist the aid of China-based commercial enterprises to help surveil and censor PRC critics,” the report said.
As for Iran, the report cautioned that Tehran “remains committed to developing surrogate networks inside the United States, an objective it has pursued for more than a decade.”
Some of Iran’s attempts have made headlines in the U.S., including multiple plots targeting Masih Alinejad, an Iranian American human rights activist and VOA Persian TV host.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department charged three members of an Eastern European criminal gang in connection with a plot to kill Alinejad outside her New York City home.
In a separate plot last year, U.S. prosecutors charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a murder-for-hire plot targeting former U.S. national security adviser Ambassador John Bolton.
In another case, last year, an official with China’s MPS was charged with trying to interfere with the congressional campaign of a U.S. military veteran who had been involved with the 1989 pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square.
China’s embassy in Washington, late Wednesday, rejected the FBI’s allegations.
“China’s police do not engage in ‘transnational repression and coercion’ against the so-called ‘dissidents’ and ‘dissenters,’” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email.