Washington, D.C. — Dalena Reporters | November 5, 2025
A former CIA operative has warned that China and Russia are increasingly deploying “sex spies” to the United States in covert missions designed to seduce vulnerable individuals, extract confidential information, and compromise national security through manipulation and emotional blackmail.
The ex-intelligence officer, J. Michael Waller, detailed the alarming trend in an interview, revealing how seductive operatives — often posing as students, business executives, or social contacts — strategically build romantic relationships with targeted Americans, especially those in positions of influence or access.
According to Waller, the tactics involve long-term psychological conditioning rather than quick interactions. Operatives study their targets’ emotional weaknesses, personal struggles, and ambitions with the aim of creating emotional dependence that eventually allows access to sensitive information.
He recounted one instance where a Chinese government-linked woman approached him abroad with extensive prior knowledge about his background and personal life, raising early suspicion about her true motives.
U.S. counter-intelligence teams have warned for years that hostile governments use human-relationship espionage in parallel with cyber-warfare, hacking operations, and diplomatic infiltration. However, experts believe China’s and Russia’s renewed focus on intimate intelligence operations reflects an evolving security threat that blends psychological manipulation with strategic espionage.
National security agencies note that victims may include government staff, military personnel, tech-industry professionals, contractors, and academic researchers — individuals who may unknowingly become gateways to confidential databases or diplomatic information.
The U.S. government recently introduced stricter rules restricting interactions between embassy officials and foreign nationals in high-risk countries, including China, in response to rising concerns over “honeypot” intelligence recruitment. Intelligence veterans argue that digital security systems cannot fully protect classified information when adversaries target emotional vulnerabilities rather than computer networks.
Experts emphasize the need for expanded counter-espionage awareness training within government institutions, universities, and private-sector technology companies, particularly as foreign powers intensify hybrid intelligence strategies combining romance, social media influence, and cyber intrusion.
The warning adds to growing fears within Washington that geopolitical rivals are widening their espionage toolkits as global tensions deepen, and that the battlefield of intelligence now includes not only technology and diplomacy — but also human desire, trust, and emotional exploitation.