General Secretary of the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) and Vice President of Guyana Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has maintained that Nazar “Shell” Mohamed visited the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown.
Speaking during his press conference today, Jagdeo challenged the Mohameds to prove him wrong.
“Prove me a liar now,” Jagdeo said. “I am willing to stake my entire political career on the fact that he did go to the Venezuelan Embassy,” he added.
On Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd had revealed that “the Mohameds” were seen frequently visiting the Venezuelan Embassy and as such, he had summoned the Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana Carlos Amador Perez Silva, to a meeting on the issue.
During that meeting, Todd said the Venezuelan Ambassador disclosed that the Mohameds were applying for a Venezuelan visa.
Nazar’s son, Azruddin Mohamed, had issued a statement denying the claims.
But Jagdeo has since maintained that there is evidence that Nazar visited the Venezuelan Embassy.
Both Nazar and Azruddin, as well as several of their companies, are sanctioned by the United States’ Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
After the sanctions were announced in June 2024, Azruddin launched a political party called “We Invest in Nationhood” and is running as the presidential candidate.
The Vice President insisted that Azuddin must be aware that his father visited the embassy.
Moreover, Jagdeo noted that Mohamed’s visit to the Venezuelan Embassy is a matter of concern in light of statements from US Congressmen.
US Congressman Carlos Gimenez recently raised concerns over what he had described as Venezuela’s attempt to influence internal affairs in Guyana, specifically through Mohamed whom he had labelled as a “pro-Maduro puppet candidate”.
Jagdeo reminded too of the controversial visit of Mohamed to Barbados, in what has since been widely speculated as a meeting with US prosecutors.
“They claimed they were in Barbados for a vacation, every single Guyanese know differently,” Jagdeo said.
He contended that intelligence suggests that the meeting with the prosecutors was to attempt to work out a plea bargain. However, according to Jagdeo, the meeting did not go well.
“Since then, they have been looking for an exit strategy,” he said.
This is why, just weeks before the upcoming national elections in Guyana, at least one family member has visited the Venezuelan Embassy, Jagdeo suggested.
“They all know that he [Nazar] did visit the embassy, and they know the purpose of the visit,” Jagdeo noted, reminding that there is no extradition treaty between Venezuela and the US.
The Mohameds were sanctioned for gold smuggling. OFAC stated that Mohamed’s Enterprise smuggled some 10,000 kg of gold out of Guyana between 2019 and 2023, and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes.
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