标签： Guyana

On a reflective Wednesday evening, October 14, 2026, at Georgetown’s Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Guyana’s Vice President and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo delivered a landmark call for cross-party collaboration during a tribute event honoring the late former opposition leader Robert Corbin. Corbin, who led the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and previously served as Deputy Prime Minister, passed away on October 4 after an extended battle with illness.

Jagdeo’s remarks centered on a pressing plea for Guyana’s two long-dominant political forces to abandon decades of race-based political rhetoric and historical animosity, framing renewed collaboration as not just a benefit for the nation, but an existential necessity for both parties. “The future of Guyana will require these two parties to work together in some framework, in some form – it is an unavoidable necessity,” Jagdeo told the assembled crowd, which included sitting PPP government ministers, PNCR supporters, members of the legal community, and former PNCR members who have since joined alternative political blocs or aligned with the PPP. “Only through this cooperation can we deliver on the dreams of Guyanese who were forced to flee the country seeking better opportunity abroad, and of those who call this nation home today.”

The former president (1999–2011) warned that failure to embrace this new, enlightened approach to governance would leave both parties vulnerable to extinction, noting that young Guyanese voters no longer adhere to rigid, decades-old party loyalties. “Today’s young people support candidates and parties based on individual issues, not blind ideological alignment,” he explained. “Their support is fluid, and outdated political thinking will not hold their allegiance long-term.” Jagdeo added that the PNCR must reevaluate its core philosophy and adapt to shifting global and domestic challenges to remain a relevant force in the new Guyana.

Addressing the historical rift between the two parties, Jagdeo argued that racial division was a damaging legacy imposed on the nation that continues to hold Guyana back from reaching its full potential. “Until our parties grow, mature, and move past the hurts of our shared history, until we recognize how that era of division harmed us for generations, we cannot deliver the transformative leadership this country deserves,” he said.

In his tribute to Corbin, Jagdeo praised the late PNCR leader for his bold, forward-thinking decision to lay the groundwork for cross-party cooperation during Jagdeo’s presidential tenure, a choice that drew fierce internal criticism from PNCR hardliners and ultimately contributed to Corbin stepping down as party leader. Rejecting posthumous claims that Corbin “sold out” his party to the PPP, Jagdeo emphasized that Corbin was a fierce, unwavering advocate for the PNCR in all negotiations – he simply held a larger vision for national progress over partisan gain. “That is the furthest thing from the truth,” Jagdeo said of the “sellout” claims. “Robert Corbin defended his party fiercely in every engagement we had, but he never lost sight of what was best for the entire country.”

Jagdeo noted that collaboration with Corbin was always productive because the late leader’s decades of experience in government and party leadership gave him a practical understanding of the limits of executive action. “He never demanded the impossible from any government,” Jagdeo added. The two leaders launched their cross-party engagement with the full backing of the PPP executive, recognizing that their parties shared a common origin as a single political bloc in 1950, with only the persistent “boogeyman of race” dividing them. “There were few fundamental differences between us – we all recognized that coming together was good for Guyana,” Jagdeo said.

Admitting that decades of opposition had eroded trust between the two parties, Jagdeo acknowledged that meaningful collaboration will require intentional work to rebuild that foundational faith. He pointed to the 2001 constitutional reform process, which delivered the most inclusive governing framework in the Commonwealth, but noted that persistent mistrust has created ongoing friction in implementing power-sharing provisions at the legislative level. Bringing that same mistrust into executive government would lead to crippling policy paralysis, Jagdeo warned – the single greatest threat to effective governance anywhere in the world.

As PPP General Secretary, Jagdeo shared that his party has already adapted its own thinking to meet modern local and global challenges, working to become more receptive to new ideas and even the perspectives of political opponents. “Opponents do not take positions against us because they hate us as individuals – more often than not, their ideological framework leads them to those stances,” he explained.

Former PNCR executive member Lurlene Nestor, who spoke on behalf of a US-based PNCR affiliate group, echoed tributes to Corbin, highlighting his lifelong commitment to humility and economic redistribution to lift up marginalized Guyanese communities. “You cannot hold public office, enrich yourself, and let families live on the street,” she said, echoing Corbin’s core political values.

The push for PPP-PNC unity has a long history in Guyana: the last major round of unity talks in 1985, led by then-opposition PPP leader Cheddi Jagan and ruling PNC leader Forbes Burnham, collapsed after Burnham’s sudden death in August of that year. The subsequent PNC government led by Desmond Hoyte soon abandoned its socialist framework, aligned with the United States, and transitioned to a market-oriented economy.

On a late Monday night near midnight, a shooting incident outside the Georgetown residence of Prem Narine, Senior Superintendent and intelligence chief of the Guyana Police Force, has thrown the high-stakes extradition case of two local businessmen into turmoil, with the Guyanese government formally updating United States law enforcement authorities on the unfolding developments. The incident comes as Narine serves as the key witness in preliminary extradition hearings for Azruddin Mohamed and his father Nazar “Shell” Mohamed, who are wanted by U.S. authorities to stand trial on charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering linked to their cross-border gold trading enterprise.

Following the incident, Guyana’s Irfaan Ali-led administration confirmed in an official statement released Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice has received full briefings on what the government describes as “startling developments” connected to the shooting. Azruddin Mohamed, who also serves as Guyana’s Opposition Leader, was taken into police custody shortly after the incident alongside two other men: 25-year-old Mario Mohamed and 35-year-old Eugene Thorne, a driver, both residents of Timehri on East Bank Demerara.

According to Guyanese police allegations, the vehicle carrying the three arrested men passed Narine’s Kitty neighborhood Barr Street home twice moments before gunshots were heard. Investigators claim to have recovered a loaded .32 caliber handgun inside the vehicle, along with one spent .32 shell casing, while four additional spent 9mm shell casings were collected from the area outside Narine’s residence. The account has been fiercely disputed by Mohamed and his defense attorney Siand Dhurjon, who allege that law enforcement planted the firearm under the vehicle’s accelerator pedal during a post-arrest search.

The Guyanese government has drawn a direct connection between the shooting incident and prior threats made against the key witness, pointing to posts on Azruddin Mohamed’s Facebook page that published personal photographs of Narine, his wife, and his underage child alongside President Irfaan Ali. Under oath during prior extradition hearing proceedings, Narine formally told the presiding magistrate that he had received credible threats against his life and the safety of his family, specifically naming the younger Mohamed as a direct threat. Narine also testified under oath that according to Guyana Police Force intelligence, Azruddin Mohamed is linked to multiple unsolved killings and poses a tangible risk to national security.

In comments to reporters Tuesday, defense attorney Dhurjon flatly denied all allegations against his clients, asserting that there is no credible evidence to support any criminal charges. He argued that both the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Police Legal Adviser, as independent legal officers in a functioning democratic society, would be obligated to advise against pursuing charges due to the complete lack of probative evidence. Dhurjon added that the legal team is already prepared to file an immediate application for bail if formal charges are ultimately filed.

The Guyanese government has stressed that the incident carries sweeping, far-reaching legal ramifications that extend far beyond Guyana’s borders. While the current proceedings in Georgetown are only the preliminary extradition hearings that would precede a full criminal trial in the U.S. if the Mohameds are transferred, officials warned that the alleged plot to intimidate or harm the key witness threatens core principles of the rule of law on both sides of the bilateral relationship. “The ramifications here would not only affect the safety of witnesses testifying in the ongoing extradition case in Guyana, but it has implications for the criminal justice system of the United States of America,” the government’s official statement reads.

Administration officials have emphasized that multiple serious criminal charges are under active consideration in connection with the Monday night incident, and vowed that the state will deploy all available legal authority to protect witnesses participating in judicial proceedings. “The investigations are ongoing by the law enforcement agencies of the State. The State has a duty to protect its justice system from interference and perversions. Witnesses are key to any justice system. They must always feel safe when they testify,” the statement concluded.

A high-stakes legal clash over the extradition of two Guyanese billionaire businessmen, father and son Nazar “Shell” Mohamed and Azruddin Mohamed, who are wanted by United States authorities, has unfolded before Guyana’s Court of Appeal, with prosecutors and defence counsel clashing sharply over the validity of American reassurances against re-extradition to a third nation.

The pair stand accused by a US Grand Jury in an 11-count indictment of involvement in wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering connected to their gold trading operations, specifically for improper gold sales routed through Dubai. The US Treasury Department has already imposed sanctions on the Mohameds, alleging they intentionally evaded gold export taxes owed to the Guyanese government. American authorities are seeking to extradite the men to stand trial in a federal court based in Florida.

At the core of the legal standoff is a dispute over the terms of the 150-year-old extradition treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, which Guyana inherited upon gaining independence from British rule in 1966. Defence barrister Roysdale Forde, arguing on behalf of the Mohameds, has challenged the legality of the extradition process, arguing that the US diplomatic assurance banning re-extradition to a third country carries no legal weight under Guyanese law.

Forde stressed that the existing bilateral extradition framework does not include any provisions allowing for informal diplomatic assurances to override statutory requirements. He also pointed to a critical timing discrepancy: the US issued its non-re-extradition assurance in early December 2025, two full months after Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond granted Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman authorization to move forward with the extradition hearing in October 2025. Under Guyana’s Fugitive Offenders Act, all required legal arrangements must be finalized at the time a suspect is taken into custody, Forde explained, meaning the belated assurance cannot meet the law’s requirements. He added that the Act requires explicit statutory provision and ministerial approval for extradition to any third country, a framework that simply does not exist in this case.

The Mohameds have also launched a broader constitutional challenge to multiple provisions of the Fugitive Offenders Act, arguing the clauses violate their constitutional rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement, and equal protection under the law. Attorney General Anil Nandlall, leading the case for the Guyanese government, pushed back against these claims, telling the court the defence has failed to demonstrate how any of the Mohameds’ constitutional rights would actually be infringed by the extradition process.

Nandlall clarified that the longstanding bilateral US-UK extradition treaty only allows for extradition directly to the requesting state (the United States in this case), with any person extradited required to be returned to Guyana after their legal process concludes. He emphasized the agreement is strictly bilateral, with no room for third-party extradition outlined in its text. The Attorney General further noted that the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has previously ruled that diplomatic agreements between sovereign states, such as the non-re-extradition assurance provided by the US, are legally enforceable under international law. On the global diplomatic stage, nations operate on principles of comity, good faith and established propriety that they do not depart from, Nandlall told reporters outside the court. He added that combined with the terms of the treaty, the explicit US assurance eliminates any legitimate risk of re-extradition that the Mohameds have cited in their challenge.

Chancellor of the Judiciary Roxane George-Wiltshire, who presides over the Court of Appeal, has not yet scheduled a release date for the court’s ruling, noting that the bench requires sufficient time to review the more than 2,000 pages of legal submissions submitted by both parties. Even after Chief Magistrate Latchman concludes her extradition hearing, she will not be able to issue a ruling on whether the Mohameds will be committed for extradition until the Court of Appeal delivers its judgment. If the final ruling goes against the businessmen, they will still retain the right to launch a subsequent appeal against the magistrate’s decision.

A high-stakes late-night shooting incident near the home of a senior Guyanese police official has pulled the country’s opposition leadership into a growing political and legal controversy, unfolding just hours before a key court hearing tied to a U.S. extradition case. The confrontation took place on Monday night, when Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, head of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Branch and a listed witness in an ongoing U.S. extradition request hearing, opened fire on a vehicle carrying Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and two other companions.

According to an official statement from the Guyana Police Force, Narine told investigators he spotted a car moving slowly along Barr Street, where his residence is located. The vehicle passed his home once before circling back to the area a short time later. As it approached the property a second time, Narine told police he heard what he believed to be a gunshot coming from the vehicle. Fearing for his safety, he took cover and fired multiple rounds from his service weapon toward the car, which then fled the scene before it could be stopped by responding officers.

The timing of the incident is particularly notable: it occurred just several hours before Mohamed was scheduled to appear before the Guyana Court of Appeal for a civil challenge to the constitutionality of key provisions of the country’s Fugitive Offenders Act. Narine, who has already testified in the extradition hearing overseen by Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman, has publicly labeled Mohamed a threat to Guyana’s national security, and has linked him to a string of unsolved homicides. To date, however, Mohamed has never been formally charged with any of those alleged crimes.

After the shooting, officers intercepted the black Toyota Allion, bearing registration number PXX 5300, at the intersection of Vlissengen Road and Sandy Babb Street in the Kitty neighborhood. Inside the vehicle alongside Mohamed were 25-year-old Mario Mohamed of Timehri, East Bank Demerara, and 35-year-old Eugene Thorne, the driver, also from Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

During a search of the vehicle conducted with all three occupants present, police said they uncovered a .32 caliber Taurus pistol with no visible serial number, plus three live rounds of matching ammunition. All three men were taken into police custody on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition without a valid license. Forensic teams also recovered one spent .32 caliber shell casing on the south side of Barr Street, directly across from Narine’s residence, as well as four spent 9mm casings from the scene. All seized weapons, ammunition, and casings have been secured for upcoming ballistic testing, and investigators have announced they will review all available CCTV footage from nearby locations as part of their ongoing probe.

Mohamed and his defense attorney, Siand Dhurjon, have rejected the police’s account entirely. They allege that the unlicensed firearm found under the vehicle’s accelerator pedal was deliberately planted by law enforcement as a deliberate tactic to discredit the opposition leader ahead of his high-profile court appearance.

In an early morning incident on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, Azruddin Mohamed, leader of Guyana’s main opposition party We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), has made serious allegations against local law enforcement, claiming officers attempted to assassinate him by shooting at his vehicle and later planted an illegal handgun to frame him.

Mohamed made the claims in a live broadcast streamed from Kitty Police Station on his sister’s Facebook page, where he detailed what he says was a coordinated attack against him. According to his account, police first fired between five and seven shots at his vehicle on Barr Street in Kitty, followed by a second round of gunfire on Vlissengen Road. He claims officers shot at the vehicle a total of three times with the clear intent to kill him.

“The bigger picture is not the gun that was planted — the bigger picture is that an officer aimed a firearm at us to kill us,” Mohamed stated during the broadcast. “I could have been killed before any gun was ever planted in the vehicle.”

After the vehicle was stopped, Mohamed says police first conducted an initial search that turned up no contraband. Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, Head of Special Branch, even confirmed the vehicle was cleared following a search of all four doors at the Vlissengen Road location, according to Mohamed. It was only after a second search involving a sniffer dog that officers claimed to find a handgun tucked under the accelerator pedal. Mohamed and his legal team insist this weapon was placed there by police.

Mohamed’s sister, who was present during the incident, has also voiced concerns that law enforcement sought to plant a murder weapon in her brother’s vehicle. Siand Dhurjon, Mohamed’s lawyer, has backed up these allegations, confirming that no weapon was found during an initial five-minute search of the vehicle. Dhurjon has questioned how the weapon could suddenly appear under the accelerator — a part of the vehicle that would have been accessed during driving — and has directly alleged that an officer placed the gun in the vehicle after the vehicle was detained.

Following the discovery of the weapon, Mohamed and one of his employees were taken into custody and handcuffed at Kitty Police Station, where the above remarks were recorded. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Guyana Police Force has not issued any immediate statement or comment in response to the allegations.

As of Monday, October 12, 2026, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali has declined to address key questions surrounding the future of Daniel Seeram, the convicted coordinator of the country’s Border Patrol Unit (BPU), ahead of his sentencing scheduled for early November.

Seeram, a former Guyana Defence Force captain and ex-Region Four chairman who served from 2020 to 2025 under the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition ticket, was found guilty of assaulting his ex-wife and causing actual bodily harm in an incident dating back to September 11, 2023. Currently remanded in custody ahead of his November 2 sentencing, Seeram has launched an appeal against the magistrate’s conviction and is also challenging a High Court decision that refused judicial review of the lower court’s ruling. He has additionally requested that the Guyana Court of Appeal grant him pre-sentencing bail.

When reporters from Demerara Waves Online News pressed President Ali on whether he would consider using presidential clemency, a power granted to the executive under Guyana’s Constitution, to pardon Seeram after his sentencing, Ali offered little clarity. “I’m not even in that space as yet,” the head of state told reporters. He went on to emphasize his commitment to legal process, noting, “this is a President that has always acted within the confines of the law; I believe in that.”

The president also remained silent on a second pressing question: whether he would request Seeram step down from his BPU coordinator role, a position Seeram was appointed to only in April 2026. No official statement from the president’s office on the matter has been issued as of the latest update.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – October 12, 2026 – In a bold push to expand agricultural production and make credit more accessible to producers across the country, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali announced Monday that his administration has almost completed negotiations with two of the nation’s leading commercial banks to roll out reduced-interest loans for farmers.

Speaking at the opening session of the national Farmers’ Conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, President Ali outlined that the government’s broader strategy aims to drive down borrowing costs across all of Guyana’s commercial banking sector by extending the same incentive framework already used to support low-income housing development to agricultural lending.

The policy is designed to remove financial barriers for producers looking to scale up operations into medium and large-scale agricultural production, ensuring that growth-focused loans remain available at rates that farmers can afford, Ali explained.

Per the president’s update, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited has already made a formal commitment to earmark a dedicated pool of capital for preferential-rate agricultural loans, with the exact interest rate set to be publicly revealed before the conclusion of the ongoing Farmers’ Conference. Negotiations are also advanced with Demerara Bank Limited, where the administration is working to push interest rates for poultry sector loans below the 5% mark, with further reductions on the table through the government’s new incentive scheme.

“We are now negotiating to even bring that lower through this incentive that we are going to offer,” Ali told conference attendees.

The president also highlighted growing momentum in Guyana’s agricultural sector driven by the government’s supportive policy agenda, pointing to new data from the recently launched Guyana Development Bank (GDB). Almost 30% of all applications for GDB’s collateral-free, zero-interest loans – which have a maximum value of GY$3 million – have come from agricultural stakeholders, a trend Ali framed as clear evidence of rising enthusiasm and renewed investment interest in the sector.

“If there is one indication as to how the policy direction is leading to a new wave of excitement, a new wave in agriculture, it is this fact that almost 30% of all the applications so far in the development bank is in the agricultural sector,” he said.

As of Monday afternoon, the Guyana government had not yet released a full figure for the total number of loan applications received by the GDB to date.