GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Social media commentator Mikhail Rodrigues, widely known by his online alias “Guyanese Critic,” has been ordered by the High Court to pay $8 million in damages to former government minister Simona Broomes. The ruling follows a libel and defamation lawsuit Broomes filed in response to a series of claims Rodrigues made about her during a livestream earlier this year.
The allegations stem from Rodrigues’ January 24 broadcast of his morning show They Break News. In that episode, the commentator made a number of serious accusations about Broomes — at least 14 by the former minister’s count — prompting her to seek $450 million in damages.
Through her attorney Dexter Todd, Broomes argued that Rodrigues falsely portrayed her as being involved in illegal and unethical activities, including operating a brothel and engaging in human trafficking.
In a written judgment, the court concluded that Rodrigues had indeed defamed Broomes in his January 22 livestream, which aired on his Facebook page. Among the claims, Rodrigues suggested Broomes was a human trafficker and involved in a “whorehouse” business — assertions the court deemed libellous and damaging to her reputation.
For those remarks, the court ordered Rodrigues to pay $5 million in general damages.
A separate claim from the same broadcast alleged that Broomes shut down several mining operations in the interior to benefit her own mining interests. The court found this to be another instance of defamation and awarded an additional $3 million in damages.
Beyond the financial penalties, Rodrigues has also been ordered to remove all related defamatory content from his social media platforms and any associated websites. The court made it clear that interest on the damages will accrue from the date the claim was filed.
Broomes, who served as a minister under the previous APNU+AFC administration, has been largely quiet about the case in public. However, the outcome marks a significant legal and personal vindication as she works to defend her name against what she described as “a campaign of falsehoods.”
Rodrigues, known for his often confrontational and unfiltered commentary, has not publicly responded to the ruling as of Friday.
