GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – The United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, said on Wednesday that the United States is “deeply concerned” that Azruddin Mohamed, who has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on June 11, 2024, has decided to contest the upcoming national and regional elections in Guyana.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Ambassador Nicole Theriot, said:
“It is problematic in multiple ways” for the US government because it would have to avoid having anything to do with a sanctioned individual, even if he were to be a member of a parliamentary committee.
“We would have to be very careful in working with that committee. We would have to make sure that we didn’t work with him specifically. So, that’s a bit of an issue,” Ambassador Theriot said.
The US ambassador said that what concerns her even more is that, in the event an OFAC-sanctioned individual becomes part of an official within a government, it sends concerns within the private sector of the United States.
She said that US companies are often rethinking their relationships with a country where sanctioned individuals are members of government.
“We saw it in Afghanistan; we’ve seen it in other countries as well,” she said. “Sometimes those companies look to de-risk or to just cut ties with that country altogether.”
Ambassador Theriot said that Guyana is in a unique position right now in that many US companies are lined up to do business in Guyana, and they have been warmly welcomed by the government.
“If an OFAC-sanctioned person were to become a member of the government, I don’t want that to change,” the US ambassador said.
Asked whether Guyana remains a strategic ally to the United States, Ambassador Theriot said that there are multiple factors, such as food and energy security, and its defence of democracy make Guyana “an incredibly important partner for the United States.”
She denied that there has been any change with regards to the security cooperation between Guyana and the United States. The ambassador pointed to the legislation that was recently introduced by US Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to strengthen US security cooperation with Guyana and deter Venezuelan aggression.
“In fact, we are increasing our security cooperation…even further, past the security cooperation agreement that US Secretary Marco Rubio signed with Guyana’s Foreign Minister Hugh Todd. So, quite the opposite, we’re looking to get closer to Guyana and to make you an even closer partner,” ambassador Theriot said.
