Paulos M. Natnael

On November 3, 2026, the United States Department of Justice disclosed one of the most consequential espionage operations involving Abiy Ahmed’s government. Abraham Teklu Lemma, an American government contractor with Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information access, pleaded guilty to conspiring with senior Ethiopian political, military, and intelligence officials to steal and transmit classified American intelligence between 2021 and August 2023. The material included satellite imagery, military intelligence, and information concerning armed conflicts in Ethiopia. Federal prosecutors confirmed that Ethiopian officials used the intelligence in military operations. On December 18, 2021, Lemma urged an Ethiopian contact to eliminate opposing fighters and requested drones. The American government has now established that highly classified U.S. intelligence was systematically delivered to Ethiopian officials during a devastating civil war. The identities of those senior officials remain undisclosed. The diplomatic chronology deserves serious attention. Fitsum Arega served as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Washington from April 2019 until May 2022, encompassing the beginning of the Tigray war in November 2020 and Lemma’s espionage conspiracy in 2021. A review of Fitsum’s X account reveals no surviving posts before February 2022. On February 9, 2022, Lemma traveled to Ethiopia after printing classified material. He remained there for approximately 80 days, returning to the United States around April 30. Two days later, on May 2, Fitsum published his farewell message. On May 3, Assistant Secretary Molly Phee hosted a farewell luncheon for him at the State Department. By May 22, Fitsum was posting from Addis Ababa. He subsequently assumed the Ethiopian ambassadorship in Canada in September 2022 and departed that position in August 2024. He later headed the Ethiopian Diaspora Service and now leads Immigration and Citizenship Services. His departure from Washington occurred during an active espionage conspiracy, immediately following Lemma’s extended visit to Ethiopia. Whether the two men had any contact during this period remains an important unanswered question. Fitsum’s successor, Seleshi Bekele, introduces another dimension. Previously Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy and a prominent figure in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations, Seleshi lost his cabinet position in October 2021 and subsequently became ambassador to Washington in May 2022. During his tenure, Lemma continued transmitting classified intelligence to Ethiopian contacts. The FBI affidavit describes an Ethiopian intelligence official who communicated with Lemma through encrypted messages, requested information about military command and logistics centers, and applied for an American visa in May 2022. Investigators identified this official through his telephone number, photographs, and an Ethiopian intelligence agency website displaying his name and government title. Lemma subsequently copied information from 85 intelligence reports between December 2022 and August 2023, following the Pretoria peace agreement. His activities continued as Ethiopia confronted the Oromo Liberation Army, growing tensions in Amhara, and instability across the region. He was arrested on August 24, 2023. Seleshi remained ambassador until his resignation in May 2024, approximately eight months after the espionage charges became public. The Ethiopian intelligence establishment adds another layer to this chronology. Abiy Ahmed previously led the Information Network Security Administration, INSA. Temesgen Tiruneh, who headed the National Intelligence and Security Service during the relevant period, also had a longstanding professional association with Abiy through INSA. Abraham Belay served as Minister of Defense during the Tigray war and was another senior figure in Abiy’s security establishment. The Justice Department has explicitly identified senior Ethiopian political, military, and intelligence officials as Lemma’s conspirators. It has not publicly named Temesgen, Abraham Belay, Fitsum, or Seleshi. Their institutional positions make the chain of command and the identity of Lemma’s handlers central questions. The FBI’s description of the May 2022 visa applicant offers a particularly specific avenue for identifying at least one intelligence contact. The espionage continued beyond the Pretoria Agreement of November 2, 2022. Abiy himself traveled to Washington for the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022, while Lemma remained active. In April 2023, Lemma communicated with an Ethiopian intelligence contact during another visit to Addis Ababa. The correspondence included discussion of developments in a neighboring country and arrangements for a meeting at a hotel. Sudan’s civil war began on April 15, just two days before one particularly revealing exchange, although the FBI has not publicly identified the neighboring country. The continued collection of American intelligence after Pretoria raises questions about the full scope of Ethiopia’s intelligence requirements, including the Tigray settlement, the OLA insurgency, emerging conflict in Amhara, and regional security developments. The diplomatic succession continued after Lemma’s arrest. Seleshi resigned in May 2024. Contemporary Ethiopian reporting subsequently indicated that Washington declined the proposed appointment of Lencho Bati as ambassador. Binalf Andualem eventually assumed the position in February 2025, leaving an approximately nine month interval without an ambassador. Viewed together, the sequence encompasses two successive Ethiopian ambassadors, an intelligence operation lasting more than two years, direct communications with Ethiopian security officials, the transfer of classified American military intelligence, and significant changes in Ethiopia’s diplomatic representation in Washington. The central questions remain unresolved: who recruited Lemma, who introduced him to his Ethiopian handlers, which senior officials received the intelligence, and what role, if any, did Ethiopia’s diplomatic mission play? The November 2026 guilty plea establishes the espionage operation and its military consequences. Identifying the officials who directed and benefited from it is now essential to understanding the full extent of the breach. @TeshomeAbebe18 @NeaminZeleke justice.gov/opa/file/1315686…⁠