VICE-PRESIDENT Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has maintained that Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, father of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) presidential candidate, Azruddin Mohamed, failed to directly answer a central question regarding his alleged visit to the Venezuelan Embassy.

Dr. Jagdeo was at the time responding to comments made by the elder Mohamed in the Stabroek News over the weekend.

He stated that rather than confirming or denying whether he had been to the embassy, Mohamed sought to divert attention by framing the matter as a political attack.

“Nazar Mohamed did not answer the yes-or-no question of whether he visited the Venezuelan Embassy,” Jagdeo stated adding, “Instead, he engaged in semantics and deflection by shifting focus to what he described as a political smear campaign against his son.”

Dr. Jagdeo further added, “He frames the issue as allegations, as a tactic by the PPP/C to discredit Azruddin Mohamed and his We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) movement, but gave no direct confirmation or denial about his visit to the Venezuelan Embassy.”

Further, he said, “In fact, he goes as far telling the Stabroek News, ‘I’m not going to answer that.’ So, to put it plainly, he did not say yes or no; he avoided the question. He does not address the factual question of whether he himself visited the Venezuelan Embassy.”

Just last week, the VP flagged the reported frequent engagements between OFAC-sanctioned businessmen and the Venezuelan Embassy and noted that the visits were a concern for national security.

Dr. Jagdeo defended Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, who raised an alarm over “grave concerns” for Guyana’s sovereignty, democracy and vital international partnerships.

He said that the minister’s summoning of the Venezuelan Ambassador was not because an “ordinary citizen” was going to the embassy but because of the previous alarms raised by members of the United States (US) Congress.

In recent weeks, members of the U.S. Congress have issued stern warnings to Guyana.
Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar said, “We remain deeply concerned about efforts to undermine democracy in Guyana… Individuals sanctioned for illicit activities must not be allowed to jeopardise this vital relationship.”

Meanwhile, Congressman Carlos Gimenez accused the Maduro regime of backing “pro-Maduro puppet candidate Azruddin Mohamed,” pointing to his status as a sanctioned individual by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).