GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana's government has summoned Venezuela’s Ambassador Carlos Amador Perez Silva, regarding the frequent visits to the embassy by the family of the presidential candidate, Azruddin Mohamed.
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd. (File Photo)Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd, confirmed that the Mohameds, who have been sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), have been making frequent visits to the Venezuelan embassy in Guyana.
The political leader of the We Invest Party (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed, is one of six candidates contesting the position of President during the elections. The others are the incumbent, President Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Aubrey Norton of the main coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Nigel Hughes of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement and the leader of the Assembly for Liberty & Prosperity (ALP) movement, Dr. Simona Broomes.
The billionaire businessman had been sanctioned by OFAC in June 2024 for allegedly evading US$50 million in taxes payable to the Guyana government on more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold exports.
Following the sanctions, the Bank of Guyana revoked the Mohameds’ cambio and gold trading licences. Since then, Demerara Bank Limited, GBTI, and now Citizens Bank have all shut down accounts linked to individuals associated with the family.
The United States has denied any involvement in seeking to determine the outcome of the September 1 general and regional election here with its Ambassador Nicole Theriot saying “we have absolutely no interest in interfering in your elections”.
In an interview with the state-owned Department of Public Information (DPI) Todd confirmed that he had summoned the Venezuelan diplomat over concerns as to the purpose of the frequent visits by the Mohameds to his embassy.
“You can recall that we have had Congressmen in the United States of America who have been very vocal in connecting the Mohameds to Nicolas Maduro and his regime, particularly as it relates to smuggling…that is of concern to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Government of Guyana, and of course it will be of concern to the people of Guyana,” Todd said.
He said the Venezuelan Ambassador “confirmed that the Mohameds visited the embassy to apply for visas to go to Venezuela, specifically Caracas”.
Todd said that given Guyana is in the midst of general and regional elections, the people of Guyana must remain vigilant, and any attempt at foreign interference to subvert the will of the people must be rejected outright.
“I think that is a concern as a people and as a nation because that can pose a threat to our sovereignty, particularly this moment that we have our regional and national elections, and we have seen previously that you can have foreign interference…we have to ensure that we are very cautious because we cannot rule out any attempt by Venezuela to use any option available to derail our electoral process.”
Guyana and Venezuela have a long running border dispute regarding the ownership of the Essequibo region, an oil-rich region that makes up about two-thirds of Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens.
Earlier this week, Georgetown said it had received confirmation from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Venezuela had submitted its Rejoinder in the case concerning the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899, within the time-limit fixed by the Court in its Order of 14 June 2024.
