That’s basically it. Has a foreign government ever sent assassins or special ops or what have you onto US soil to deal with a troublesome American?
Setting aside terrorist attacks such as the September 11, 2001 hijacking and suicide crashes into the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon, and pre-20th Century wars with England and France, there have been no official assassinations of US citizens by foreign agents within the continental United States (CONUS), and arguably no killings of American citizens by identified foreign agents on US territory outside the context of warfare. If foreign agents were assassinating Americans as portrayed in, say, The Americans, and that came to light it wouldn’t just be a “diplomatic row” but likely a prelude to major conflict.
However, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t trying:
Stranger
Just for context, is the OP asking about incidents like this?
Or this:
Yes to both @Cervaise and @Northern_Piper
The KGB carried out a couple on US soil, though not as many as Hollywood would have you believe:
Krivitsky was not a US citizen.
Stranger
Henry Liu, a Taiwanese man who had become a naturalized U.S. citizen, was assassinated in California in 1984 by the Taiwanese KMT government. A movie was later based off of this, Formosa Betrayed. (Random note: I auditioned for a role in that movie when I was in college)
Ah I didn’t see that prerequisite. I think that’s a no then.
I’d say there are very few cases even if you expand to all the major western powers. There was a nuclear stand off going on and that’s the kind of action that while not an overt act of war, is definitely a step in that direction.
This was a famous case but she was not the target:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/world/europe/uk-dawn-sturgess-novichok-salisbury.html
There is this case though undertaking a dangerous diving operation hungover and out of shape is as likely as being killed by the Soviets:
Ronni Moffitt, an American citizen, was murdered in by the Pinochet government in Washington, DC. Her husband, also in the car survived. They were not the primary target of the assassination.
You’ll have to judge this yourself. (I have a very strong feeling about this.)
In the early 90s Haiti was in turmoil with the coup against Aristide (who later returned to power). The Haitian ex-pat community in Miami had some people who were pro-Aristide.
Shortly after the coup a hit list of such people was made. People were hired. Killings ensued.
One of the murdered folks had joint Haitian-US citizenship. Dona St. Plite, a radio-journalist.
While some of the hired guns were found, the persons who ordered and paid for the hits are “officially” not known. But you don’t have to be Columbo to figure this one out. Given the nature and form of the hit list that was recovered.
There was a related plot against a Sikh activist & US citizen in New York around the same time (Gurpatwant Singh Pannun), but it was foiled by US authorities.
The guy who invented the Theremin, a fellow named - oddly enough - Theremin - came to the USA in 1929 and apparently disappeared back to Russia in 1938. Stories were he had been kidnapped by the KBG.Others claim he chose to go back for assorted reasons. Unclear if he became an US citizen in that time.
I recall some story too about a Russian sailor who jumped ship in the USA; she married, had a child, then was kidnapped back to Russia by the KGB. Again, not sure if she became a US citizen. As we see with Trotsky, it seems Stalin had a limited patience for Russians who left the motherland.
I’d just like to comment that HeyHomie asks the best questions around - it’s like he’s keeping the Factual Questions spirit (& practice) alive, and I thank him for that!
Thank you, you are too kind.
Simas Kudirka. Jumped off his trawler onto the deck of a US Coast Guard cutter. The Americans allowed the Soviets onboard to drag him back.