GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC -The Presidential candidate of the newly formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political party, Azruddin Mohamed, on Wednesday denied that he had been frequenting the Venezuelan Embassy and that he is seeking a visa to visit the South American country.
“Produce the Evidence! I Have Never Visited the Venezuelan Embassy! I, Azruddin Mohamed, categorically reject and denounce the baseless, malicious, and politically motivated lies being peddled against me. I never visited the Venezuelan Embassy, nor have I applied for a visa to travel to Venezuela,” Mohamed said in a statement.
“I never visited the Venezuelan Embassy, nor have I applied for a visa to travel to Venezuela. This smear campaign aims to divert attention from the exposure of PPP (People’s Progressive Party) corruption, which is gaining traction on social media.
“The PPP is attempting to divert attention from the truth and suppress the voices exposing their wrongdoing. To this end, I challenge the Venezuelan Embassy to produce the proof. Present any record of my entry to the Embassy. Show the Guyanese people a single shred of documentation of me applying for a visa,” Mohamed added.
Earlier, the Guyana government confirmed it had summoned Venezuela’s Ambassador Carlos Amador Perez Silva, regarding what it described as the frequent visits to the Embassy by the Mohamed family.
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.
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.
Mohamed is one of six candidates contesting the position of President during the elections. The others are the incumbent, President Irfaan Ali of the PPP), 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.
OFAC had sanctioned the billionaire businessman 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 no interest in interfering in your elections”.
Speaking at a public meeting on Tuesday night, Vice President and PPP/C general secretary,
Bharrat Jagdeo maintained that there was “evidence” that Mohamed was seen visiting the Venezuelan Embassy often.
“Now, there is evidence of him going to the Venezuelan Embassy,” Jagdeo said, casting doubt on the Venezuelan diplomat’s explanation to Todd.
“It may be more than applying for a visa. It’s a more deep-seated connection we have to explore,” said Jagdeo.
But Mohamed has since called on the Venezuelan Ambassador to provide evidence that he had ever applied for a Venezuelan visa, accusing the Guyana Foreign Minister of coercing the Venezuelan ambassador into misleading the public, adding that it “speaks to the lengths this administration is willing to go using his ministers as pawns.
“It also exposes the fact that the government of Guyana is in cahoots with the government of Venezuela. If backdoor meetings are being had to concoct lies, such deception puts our territorial integrity at risk. With leaders like this, our sovereignty could be bartered away behind closed doors. All of Guyana must recognize this for what it is: the Ali administration is in bed with the Government of Venezuela, and this presents a looming danger to our national sovereignty.”
Guyana and Venezuela have a long-running border dispute regarding the ownership of the Essequibo region. This oil-rich region 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.
and then  political party, Azruddin Mohamed, on Wednesday denied){kind=link}