ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia on Tuesday inaugurated Africa’s largest dam to boost the economy, end frequent blackouts and support the growth of electric vehicle development in a country that has banned the importation of gasoline-powered vehicles.
As reservoir waters flowed into the turbines of the Grand Renaissance Dam, Ethiopians dressed in colorful regalia viewed the ceremony on large screens across the capital, Addis Ababa, and celebrated the achievement with dancing to traditional music.
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A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jackson Njehia)
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
Members of Ethiopian National Defense Force parade during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
Ethiopian women wearing traditional clothes sing on the street as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is inaugurated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jackson Njehia)
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud looks on during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
Kenya's President William Ruto, second right, listens to a speech during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
“We will have enough power to charge our electric vehicles from the new dam,” said Belay Tigabu, a bus driver in Addis Ababa’s main bus terminal.
The almost $5 billion mega-dam, located on the Blue Nile tributary of the Nile River near Ethiopia's border with Sudan, will produce more than 5,000 megawatts and is expected to double national electricity generation capacity, according to officials.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, speaking during the launch, said the dam was a “big achievement” that would show the world what Africans are capable of accomplishing. Dozens of visiting African heads of state and government joined Abiy for the inauguration, with many expressing interest in importing power from Ethiopia.
“I am proud to announce we will soon be signing an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to receive electricity from the dam that will benefit our hospitals and schools,” said South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.
Kenyan President William Ruto said his nation is looking to sign a power purchasing agreement with Ethiopia based on the resources of the dam project, which he said was a “pan-African statement.”
Already an importer of Ethiopia electricity, Ruto said Kenya is seeking to alleviate the electricity deficit his country is experiencing. He said the dam “exemplifies the scale and ambition of African-led infrastructure and aligns with the Africa Union’s vision of continental energy connectivity.”
But Ethiopia’s new dam has faced controversy, with neighboring Egypt expressing concerns over reduced water flows downstream.
Egypt has long opposed the dam because of concerns it would deplete its share of Nile waters. The Arab world’s most populous country relies almost entirely on the Nile to supply water for agriculture and its more than 100 million people.
Tamim Khallaf, a spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Associated Press that the dam posed an “existential threat.”
“There was no prior notification, proper consultations, or consensus with downstream countries, thereby constituting a grave violation of international law,” he said.
Abiy assured his neighbors on Tuesday that Ethiopia does not plan to hurt them, and that they will have shared prosperity.
“I assure you that Ethiopia will never take away your rightful share," he said. "Today, I make this promise before my people. The hunger of our brothers in Egypt, in Sudan, or anywhere else is also our hunger. We must share and grow together, for we have no intention of harming anyone.”
There is a strong sense of pride in what Ethiopia has managed to accomplish with the completion of the dam.
A 20-year-old university student, Yabsira Misganw, who was advertising a new online shopping mobile app, said the new dam “will provide stable electricity and improve online services.”
Associated Press journalist Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.
A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jackson Njehia)
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
Members of Ethiopian National Defense Force parade during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
Ethiopian women wearing traditional clothes sing on the street as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is inaugurated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jackson Njehia)
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud looks on during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
Kenya's President William Ruto, second right, listens to a speech during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
A view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State and federal authorities are closely tracking online criticism and protests against the immigration crackdown in New Orleans, monitoring message boards around the clock for threats to agents while compiling regular updates on public “sentiment” surrounding the arrests, according to law enforcement records reviewed by The Associated Press.
The intelligence gathering comes even as officials have released few details about the first arrests made last week as part of “Catahoula Crunch,” prompting calls for greater transparency from local officials who say they've been kept in the dark about virtually every aspect of the operation.
“Online opinions still remain mixed, with some supporting the operations while others are against them,” said a briefing circulated early Sunday to law enforcement. Earlier bulletins noted “a combination of groups urging the public to record ICE and Border Patrol” as well as "additional locations where agents can find immigrants.”
Immigration authorities have insisted the sweeps are targeted at “criminal illegal aliens.” But the law enforcement records detail criminal histories for less than a third of the 38 people arrested in the first two days of the operation.
Local leaders told the AP those numbers — which law enforcement officials were admonished not to distribute to the media — undermined the stated aim of the roundup. They also expressed concern that the online surveillance could chill free speech as authorities threaten to charge anyone interfering with immigration enforcement.
“It confirms what we already knew — this was not about public safety, it’s about stoking chaos and fear and terrorizing communities,” said state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents New Orleans. “It’s furthering a sick narrative of stereotypes that immigrants are violent.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the intelligence gathering and referred the AP to a prior news release touting “dozens of arrests.” The agency has not released an accounting of the detainees taken into custody or their criminal histories.
DHS has publicly detailed only six arrests stemming from the operation — all people with criminal histories — including a man they vaguely said was convicted of “homicide” and another convicted of sexual assault. The agency, which has several hundred agents on the ground in southeast Louisiana, has said it aims to make at least 5,000 arrests in the region over an operation expected to last up to two months.
“Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens harming them, their families or their neighbors,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
DHS and Republican leaders have framed the crackdown as targeting the most violent offenders. But the records reviewed by the AP identify only nine of the 38 people arrested in the first days as having criminal histories that rose beyond traffic violations — information the intelligence bulletins warn “should not be distributed to the media.”
New Orleans City Council President J.P. Morrell said the stated goals of the operation to arrest violent offenders did not align with the reality of what is taking place.
“There’s literally no information being given to the city of New Orleans whatsoever,” Morrell said. “If the goal was for them to come here and augment existing law enforcement, to pursue violent criminals or people with extensive criminal histories, why wouldn’t you be more transparent about who you’ve arrested and why?”
Morrell and other officials have said the crackdown appears to be a dragnet focused on people with brown skin, citing viral videos of encounters such as masked agents chasing a 23-year-old U.S. citizen returning home from the grocery store.
Law enforcement officials have been carefully tracking such footage and public reaction. “For some supporters, the videos with sounds of children crying in the background as their parents are placed under arrest, is weighing heavy on their hearts,” one briefing stated.
The records also shed new light on cooperation among state and federal authorities in an operation welcomed by Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. Both the FBI and Customs and Border Protection have stationed agents at the Louisiana State Analytical and Fusion Exchange, an intelligence and data sharing center that is closely following discussions on the online forum Reddit that local residents have used to exchange information about the immigration raids.
One briefing noted that some “have gone so far as to accuse agents of racially profiling Hispanic areas specifically.” Another flagged social media posts suggesting agents “are not keeping with the mission of targeting criminal immigrants only.” And a third pointed out that critics of the raids “bring up past hurricanes and the work done by immigrants” in their aftermath.
“The chatter is slower during the night, mainly just commenting on posts from earlier in the day,” one of the briefings states. “Once daylight arrives and agencies are back out, the chatter and new posts will pick back up.”
The briefings have identified no threats to law enforcement, but the fusion center has sought to debunk what it called false reports that a pedestrian was fatally struck by law enforcement. “It has been confirmed that this actually did not occur,” the center told law enforcement on Saturday.
One briefing described an incident involving “suspicious persons/protesters” who showed up early Saturday at an ICE facility in St. Charles Parish, where records show the detainees were expected to be processed.
Some local officials said they had been unaware of the state's role in the online monitoring. Louisiana State Police pledged “operational support” to immigration authorities and warned the public that troopers will arrest anyone who assaults a federal agent or causes criminal damage to property.
“The Louisiana State Police remains vigilant in monitoring social media activity related to protests, activism and other forms of public response,” Trooper Danny Berrincha, a state police spokesperson, wrote in an email to the AP. “Through the LSP Fusion Center, we actively track developments and facilitate the sharing of information and communication among our partner agencies.”
The fusion center also has tracked the tools used by protesters to foil federal immigration enforcement, highlighting social media links to whistle handouts, trainings on filming federal agents and the emergence of a hotline for reporting arrests. The surveillance extended to activist discussions about immigration authorities’ presence near an elementary school and recapped demonstrations inside the New Orleans City Council chambers and elsewhere.
“They can monitor me all they want,” said Rachel Taber, an organizer with the New Orleans-based grassroots advocacy group Union Migrante, which shares crowdsourced reports and videos of the federal immigration enforcement operations. “We are not doing anything illegal."
Beth Davis, a spokesperson for Indivisible NOLA, which has organized some of the trainings described in the law enforcement briefings, said it was sad authorities seemed preoccupied with law-abiding citizens. “That they feel threatened by a bunch of community organizers that have nothing other than phones and whistles blows my mind.”
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Mustian reported from New York.
FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Commander at large Gregory Bovino, center, walks on the street in New Orleans, La., Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Commander at large Gregory Bovino talks to the media in Kenner, La., Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - Customs and Border Patrol agents question occupants of a vehicle they pulled over, during an immigration crackdown in Kenner, La., Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - Wilma Fuentes yells at Customs and Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and some of his agents as they walk through a neighborhood during an immigration crackdown, in Kenner, La., Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
