Guyana Election Scandal: WIN Party faces backlash over alleged Maduro ties and sovereignty concerns

Guyana: Amid concerns over the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party's alleged ties to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been accused by the U.S. of running a drug cartel, the party is embroiled in another scandal that has drawn attention from Caribbean citizens and U.S. officials. The controversy began when the party posted a video on its official Facebook page featuring an election message delivered in Spanish by a middle-aged woman.

The video, which was removed just 20 minutes after being uploaded, has raised further concerns among those who saw it about the WIN party's potential involvement with the sanctioned Venezuelan government.

It allegedly raised strong concerns over Guyana’s sovereignty, democracy and vital international partnerships, as many public figures have argued that the Venezuelan President Maduro is in the lookout of seeking Guyana's government through the sanctioned WIN party’s president Azruddin Mohammed, claims that Azruddin has denied. 

Tensions over Guyana’s sovereignty 

Reportedly in June 2024, OFAC sanctioned Nazar, his son Azruddin, along with all their businesses, including Mohamed’s Enterprise, Hadi’s World, and Team Mohamed’s Racing after allegations that they had under-declared more than 10,000 kilograms of gold exports, defrauding Guyana of over US$50 million in taxes between 2019 to 2023. 

Fast forward to 2025, Nazar and his son Azruddin Mohamed have both been sanctioned by the U.S. in connection with a gold smuggling scandal and money laundering operations linked to Venezuela.

Azurddin is now running for office as the next president of Guyana through the WIN party, an act that has been frowned upon both nationally and internationally as many have raised concerns over the position that he will keep Guyana in if he does win in the September 1, 2025 elections. 

With many calling Azurddin a pro-Maduro puppet candidate whilst pointing out his status as a sanctioned individual by the  Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). 

To add to the intensity of the democratic situation, Nazar has recently been accused by the Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo of frequent visits to the Venezuelan Embassy in Guyana, raising further alarms on alleged plans between Azruddin of the WIN party, his father Nazar and The Venezuelan government to undermine Guyana’s sovereignty. 

Allegation that Nazar has denied but Jagdeo has stuck to his word saying that he is willing to stake his whole political career on the fact that Nazar did go to the Venezuelan Embassy.

Jagdeo further asked for the police and army to interrogate Nazar over his frequent visits to the Venezuelan Embassy, as these are sensitive times and they cannot get off freely without answering , “they have to answer now”. 

Emphasizing that the Government must act in the interest of Guyana’s sovereignty if there are even allegations that seek to undermine Guyana's sovereignty and lay claim to a large portion of its territory.