EXECUTIVE Committee member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Mervyn Williams has cautioned that Guyana could face a Venezuela-style collapse if citizens elect leaders who are already under United States sanctions.

Speaking at a recent PNCR-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) rally meeting, Williams drew comparisons to Venezuela’s economic downfall under President Nicolás Maduro, who was sanctioned shortly after assuming office.

Maduro is currently under sanctions, and has a US$50 million reward offer for his arrest after being directly linked to drug smuggling operations. He and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials have been linked to a range of offences, including narco-terrorism, corruption. and drug trafficking.
“There is a risk! The President of Venezuela was sanctioned after he became the president,” Williams said, adding: “The whole country collapsed, and we have got to deal with the migrants of Venezuela in our midst, and we understand the suffering that they have to endure.

“We are good citizens of the Earth and we reach out to them; we embrace them, we empathise with them, and we offer them support, because we know of their suffering.”
In what sounded more like a warning than a question, Williams asked the swell of APNU supporters at the rally, “Do you want another country to embrace you, because you elected people who are sanctioned?”

Williams’ unease comes against the backdrop of heightened concerns over the US-sanctioned Mohamed family and their involvement in Guyana’s political affairs.
In August 2024, the Bank of Guyana confirmed that all banks in the country had closed accounts belonging to Nazar Mohamed, his son Azruddin, and their companies, Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World, and Team Mohamed’s Racing.

The move followed sanctions imposed on June 11, 2024, by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for their alleged roles in corruption.
The consequences have been far-reaching. Persons affiliated with the Mohameds have lost visas, while candidates of their political outfit, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), were discouraged from continuing to hold accounts with certain local banks as said financial institutions sought to protect their ties with correspondent US banks.

OFAC has also warned that non-US persons risk being sanctioned if found providing material support to the Mohameds, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had also raised the alarm, stating that Guyana could face “crippling international consequences” if Azruddin Mohamed, who has been positioning himself for political office, were to be elected.

“This country could face sanctions and big trouble with the United States of America if he is elected. His sanctions, they are serious sanctions,” Dr. Jagdeo stressed.
The United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot recently echoed those concerns, labelling any attempt to integrate an OFAC-sanctioned individual into Guyana’s government as “problematic”.

“Yes, we are concerned anytime an OFAC-sanctioned individual has the potential to become a member of government… It’s problematic in multiple ways,” Ambassador Theriot said, warning that such developments could carry both diplomatic and economic repercussions.