Dear Editor,
I referred to my letter, published in Kaieteur News, July 26, 2025 edition, under the caption ” African youths and the upcoming elections”. I analyzed the political situation in the country, given the US sanctions on the Mohameds and Mr. Azruddin Mohamed decision to form the WIN party, and his decision to run in the elections. The government/PPP’s hostility, including the threat of a murder charge, to date, has not deterred Mr. Mohamed. Raising questions that are yet to be answered.
There is a view in some circles that there is no real rift between the Mohamads and the PPP. He is a tool used by the PPP to pull votes from the APNU coalition, allowing the PPP to win the elections. This is plausible, but stands in contradiction with the government’s declared policy of cooperation with the US, on sanctions matters, in the interest of preserving US/Guyana relations. In that context, the obvious question will be what does Mr. Azruddin expect to get in return for supporting the PPP agenda? A guarantee that the government will not move against him for breaking Guyana’s laws and will refuse the US request for extradition.
There is another view that the PPP and the Mohameds are “playing” the Americans – buying time. Exponents of this view premise their thinking on the fact that the US is pressuring both the Mohameds and the government. In doing so, it has forced them into a secret pact, an alliance of “mutual survival”. I have some difficulties with either proposition while conceding in the world of realpolitik, anything is possible.
How will Mohamed’s defiance of the US and the PPP play out, given the recent statement by the US Ambassador Nicole Theriot that Mohamed’s presence in government or parliament is of great concern to the US and its national interest? At the time of writing my previous letter, the US had shown no concern and no warrant for Mohamed’s arrest was issued. I observed that neither the PPP nor the US has played their “Trump” card in the matter and asked why. I concluded that after Mohamed met with the US officials outside Guyana, he probably struck an agreement that allowed him to continue his political march. The US Ambassador has since stated the US policy and its concern about Mahamed running in the elections. They have since followed up by announcing more sanctions on several people, including government officials, the police force and the business community.
This examination is not about justifying US actions, but with interrogating the US objectives. As an imperial power, caught in trying to reclaim lost image, the US wants the Guyana government to deal with the Mohameds through government-to-government cooperation, rather than through unilateral US measures to achieve its foreign policy objectives. In responding to questions posed, the US Ambassador insisted that the US has “no interest in interfering in the Guyanese elections…I was a little upset by that characterization simply because I was stating facts.” She continued, recalling that she was asked “what the sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) meant for working with such an individual.”
Taking the Ambassador’s explanation at face value, the sanctioning of the Mohameds and other Guyanese citizens are not necessarily tied to local politics but to the US pursuit of its policy on money laundering, drug trafficking, international crime, and related issues.
The ambassador said that at present, the US, at the request of the Guyana government, was providing training for the police: “The Embassy is personally funding some election-related training. We’re sending officers from the New York Police Academy to provide training on election security, crowd control, and how to handle any civil unrest that may arise.” Guyanese have not missed the inherent logic of this collaboration between the government and the US at this election time. It is intimidating to sections of the Guyanese community, to say the least. I guessed the Ambassador would say that it is just incidental, like the pursuit of sanctions in Guyana in this election period.
I have an intuitive feeling about the complex array of political forces and their competing interest in our high-stakes elections will soon reach a breaking point before election day as it relates to the Mohameds, the US, and the PPP/government, with their competing interests.
From the PPP and government’s perspective, there are two main points of pressure. First, they do not want to provoke the US during this sensitive election period. Second, taking decisive action against Mohamed and his Win party could cost the PPP support among Indian voters in the Muslim community. This is a risk Jagdeo is unlikely to take.
But he will not play the wait and see game for much longer and may well act before election day.
In closing, Mohamed’s self-interest leaves him with no option but to continue his defiance of the US and the PPP/Guyana government. Only time will tell the out-come.
Yours Sincerely,
Tacuma Ogunseye.
