Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday disclosed that he is leaving it to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to decide when it would question Nazar “Shell” Mohamed in relation to his visits to the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown.
In light of the government’s policy of strict enforcement regarding Guyanese engaging with Venezuela, especially where such engagement may pose a threat to Guyana’s sovereignty, the Vice President was asked at his press conference why the government has not yet acted to question Nazar about his visit to the Embassy, as well as his son, Azruddin Mohamed. This is especially since tweets made by United States Congressman Carlos Gimenez linked Azruddin to the Nicolás Maduro regime.
With regard to Nazar, Jagdeo noted that the latest information available to the government is video evidence showing his most recent visit to the Venezuelan Embassy, which he said took place a few weeks ago. Jagdeo stated, “So that is why it is surfacing now… the information has now come to light from that last visit. There may have been several visits before.”
He further noted that, at the time the U.S. Congressman made the post linking Azruddin to Maduro’s regime, the government did not have access to additional information.
On the matter of the government’s policy of questioning individuals who may threaten Guyana’s sovereignty, Jagdeo said that, given it is election season, the matter will be handled by the GPF and GDF. He added, “But that doesn’t mean that they get off freely. They need to answer now, which I’m hoping they would do.”
He underscored the seriousness of the U.S. Congressman’s post, adding, “They have more information available to them when they make these statements.” However, Jagdeo noted that the government now has evidence of a formal engagement between the parties, citing Nazar’s visit to the Embassy.
Notably, the Vice President also said that the explanation that Nazar applied for a visa is not one the government accepts. “This is an answer that we don’t believe – which is [he] went there to apply for a visa… the security forces are dealing with that matter, so I can’t deal with it. But I already made it clear that the U.S. Congressman had more information than we have when [he] made that statement. They clearly knew something was going on,” he added.
