GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – In a fiery press conference today, Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, threw down a political gauntlet of the highest stakes. With cameras rolling and reporters leaning in, Jagdeo dared Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and his family to prove him wrong about a claim that has already stirred Guyana’s political waters.
“Prove me a liar now,” Jagdeo declared. “I am willing to stake my entire political career on the fact that he did go to the Venezuelan Embassy.”
The Vice President’s comments follow Tuesday’s disclosure from Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd, who revealed that “the Mohameds” had been spotted making frequent trips to the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown. Todd said he summoned Ambassador Carlos Amador Perez Silva for a meeting, during which the diplomat reportedly confirmed that the visits were linked to a Venezuelan visa application.
The Mohameds, however, have flatly denied it. Nazar’s son, businessman-turned-politician Azruddin Mohamed, issued a public statement refuting the allegations. But Jagdeo insists there’s evidence—and that Azruddin knows it.
The controversy comes against a backdrop of heavy scrutiny on the Mohamed family. In June 2024, the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Nazar, Azruddin, and several of their companies for gold smuggling, alleging that Mohamed’s Enterprise smuggled 10,000 kilograms of gold from Guyana between 2019 and 2023, dodging over US$50 million in duty taxes.
Since then, Azruddin has launched his own political party, We Invest in Nationhood, and announced himself as a presidential candidate. That move has drawn international attention, including from US Congressman Carlos Gimenez, who recently warned about possible Venezuelan influence in Guyana’s elections—pointing directly to Azruddin as a “pro-Maduro puppet candidate.”
Jagdeo today also revisited another flashpoint: the Mohameds’ trip to Barbados earlier this year. While the family described it as a vacation, Jagdeo claimed “every single Guyanese know differently,” suggesting intelligence indicated they met with US prosecutors to discuss a plea deal—a meeting he said “did not go well.”
“Since then, they have been looking for an exit strategy,” Jagdeo told reporters. And that, he argued, explains why a family member would turn up at the Venezuelan Embassy so close to national elections.
He reminded that Venezuela has no extradition treaty with the United States—an observation that added yet another layer to the political intrigue.
For now, the Mohameds remain adamant in their denials, but Jagdeo’s challenge has raised the stakes to an unprecedented level. The question gripping the nation: will anyone take up the Vice President’s dare, or will this latest political storm continue to swirl unanswered?
