Jagdeo: Link may exist between Mohamed and Maduro’s regime

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday affirmed that the government gave no directive to lobby firm Continental Strategy to establish any formal link between Azruddin Mohamed and Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro.

“However, if our lobbyists—leveraging their extensive networks in the United States—have managed to cultivate such an association, and if a US congressman has now echoed that connection in a public tweet, then the possibility of a link does exist. That link may pertain to the illegal export of Venezuelan gold. I will leave it at that,” said Dr Jagdeo.

US Congressman Carlos Gimenez, in a recent post, made damning allegations against Mohamed.

“In the US Congress we are alarmed by the regime in Venezuela’s attempt to undermine Guyana through its pro-Maduro puppet candidate Azruddin Mohamed, who is sanctioned by OFAC,” the congressman tweeted.

Mohamed later accused the government of using Continental Strategy to go after him, a claim the government has denied.

Dr Jagdeo explained that the government had engaged the US lobbying firm to assist in preserving international support for Guyana on the Guyana-Venezuela territorial issue.

“No one in our government directed the firm to go after Mohamed. Their role is to keep US policymakers informed on issues critical to our sovereignty, especially as Venezuela continues its claims,” Jagdeo said.

Dr Jagdeo also warned that if Guyana appeared to tolerate individuals sanctioned for ties to Maduro’s regime, the United States could become conflicted in its support of Guyana’s border position.

“You cannot have two sanctioned individuals—Maduro and someone linked to him—claiming legitimacy. It undermines our case,” he stressed.

Azruddin Mohamed was sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) based on serious allegations, including gold smuggling, tax evasion and money laundering.

“These are not petty charges. Reuters reported, more than a year before the sanctions, that multiple US agencies were investigating Mohamed for drug smuggling from Colombia, laundering for Russian mafias, and gold smuggling,” Dr Jagdeo stated.

He accused Mohamed of attempting to mislead the public by downplaying the severity of the sanctions at one of his political engagements with supporters.

“He said the sanctions will be lifted soon, but then couldn’t name the lawyers he supposedly hired to do that. That is not how this works,” Dr Jagdeo said.

Following the US sanction, the government swiftly revoked Mohamed’s cambio licence, mining leases and other privileges.

“If we had not shut down his operations, our country could have faced secondary sanctions. Our banks, our payment systems—everything could have been compromised. You wouldn’t have been able to use your credit card or shop online. The stakes were that high,” Dr Jagdeo explained.

He also rejected claims that the PPP was targeting Mohamed due to political rivalry.

“He was not sanctioned by the PPP. He was sanctioned by the United States Treasury. Our government had to act to protect the financial system,” Dr Jagdeo declared, contending that Mohamed’s campaign of victimhood is baseless.