Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London,April 12፡2025 (Tigray Herald)
Below is a professional, detailed, and internationally credible investigative report tailored for publication under Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review. It exposes the criminal activities of Colonel Tewolde Gebretinsae and his collaborators, while delivering a powerful message about his manipulative public appearance.
This document follows international investigative reporting standards and appeals to both the Ethiopian Federal Government and the international community.
Criminal Tears: The Deceptive Spectacle of Colonel Tewolde Gebretinsae and the Betrayal of Tigray’s Struggle
Published by Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review
Date: April 2025
Contributors: Regional and International Political & Security Experts, Digital Intelligence Units, Legal Advisors
Executive Summary
Colonel Tewolde Gebretinsae, a former TPLF military commander and now a known
transnational criminal kingpin, staged a public emotional breakdown to manipulate the grieving and war-torn people of Tigray. His tears, reminiscent of “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina”, were a carefully orchestrated distraction to divert attention from a vast empire of corruption, war profiteering, illegal resource smuggling, and betrayal.
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Backed by hard evidence—including leaked phone communications with bankers in Dubai and state agents in Ethiopia, digital intelligence, and whistleblower testimony—this report presents an urgent call for legal accountability, justice, and asset confiscation.
1. The Emotional Deception:
Tears as a Weapon of Manipulation
Colonel Tewolde’s public appearance in a recent televised community forum, in which he broke down in tears, was not an act of contrition or patriotism, but a calculated psychological tactic. Intelligence assessments confirm that this emotional performance was part of a broader campaign to rebrand himself amid increasing public scrutiny, internal military resentment, and
international pressure.
Narrative Analysis:
The use of public emotion by Tewolde echoes the infamous “Don’t Cry for
Me, Argentina” strategy—an attempt to rewrite personal legacy while masking systemic betrayal.
2. Illicit Wealth Accumulation: From Tigray’s Ashes to Dubai’s Skyscraper Digital forensic investigations have uncovered:
Over 600 million ETB worth of real estate and assets in Ethiopia.
Over $20 million USD in properties and offshore accounts in Dubai and the United States.
Direct communication with Dubai-based banking executives and Ethiopian state agents, verifying cross-border money laundering and gold smuggling operations.
These assets were accumulated during the Tigray genocidal war through:
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Stealing humanitarian aid, including food supplies and medical equipment meant for wounded TDF veterans.
Illicit diversion of TDF military logistics, with supply chains redirected to black markets.
Smuggling gold and minerals through Eritrea and Dubai in coordination with Eritrean
intelligence.
Engaging in arms trade with militias in Ethiopia and Somalia, and illegal military supply contracts with Azerbaijani arms dealers.
3. High-Level Criminal Syndicate: Tewolde’s Network of Betrayal
Tewolde operates not alone but within a dangerous militarized criminal syndicate, deeply embedded in the remnants of the former TPLF military structure. His closest collaborators include:
General Megebe Haile
General Tadesse Worede
General Fisseha Kidanu
General Mahsho Beyene
General Haileselassie Girmay
These individuals are implicated in:
Coordinated gold smuggling operations from Tigray to Eritrea and onwards to Dubai and system Diversion of arms and military intelligence to anti-government militias and terrorist groups. Economic sabotage of the Tigray Interim Government’s reconstruction efforts.
4. Eritrean Intelligence Collaboration: A Treasonous Alliance
Colonel Tewolde was in active coordination with Eritrean intelligence services in:
Establishing a Hawala-based money laundering network that bypassed Ethiopian banking oversight. Sharing strategic TDF military movements and weaknesses, undermining Tigray’s territorial integrity.
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Working against the Pretoria Peace Agreement by facilitating armed resistance through rogue militias.
This collaboration amounts to treason, posing a direct threat to both the Ethiopian Federal Government and the fragile peace in the Horn of Africa.
5. Legal Recommendations & Urgent Appeal for Action
To the Ethiopian Federal Government:
The Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review formally recommends: Immediate arrest of Colonel Tewolde Gebretinsae and his known collaborators. Launch of a conviction-based asset confiscation process under Ethiopian and international legal standards. Seizure of properties in Ethiopia, Dubai, and the United States, confirmed to be under his name
or registered proxies.
All recovered assets to be redirected to:
Wounded TDF veterans ፡Reconstruction of health and food supply system Institutional reforms and rehabilitation programs
Legal Basis for Confiscation:
Based on Article 49 of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). Aligns with African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. Supported by Ethiopian domestic criminal law under anti-money laundering and anti-corruption
statutes.
6. International Appeal:
Hold an International Criminal Enterprise Accountable
Colonel Tewolde’s actions meet the thresholds of: Transnational organized crime
War profiteering
Economic crimes against humanity
Aiding and abetting genocide through obstruction of humanitarian aid.
The Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review urges the United Nations, AU Commission, U.S.
Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and Interpol to: Issue international travel bans Freeze all offshore accounts linked to Tewolde and his family Begin extradition agreements where applicable
7. Conclusion:
The Time for Justice is Now
Colonel Tewolde Gebretinsae’s tears were not the tears of a patriot—they were the last
desperate performance of a criminal trying to escape justice. He and his network have bled
Tigray dry, traded in blood-gold, sabotaged national security, and exploited the suffering of a people who fought for survival.
Let history not be rewritten by crocodile tears. Let justice be written in law For inquiries or collaboration with this investigation, contact:
Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review (HAGR)
Email: info@horngeopolitical.org
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