Dear Editor,
I AM writing to strongly denounce and condemn the juvenile misinformation and outright lies currently being peddled by the U.S.-indicted-and-sanctioned Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed regarding President Ali’s farm. This desperate smear campaign is a blatant attempt at character assassination that collapses under the slightest factual scrutiny.
First and foremost, the facts: The President owned and operated his farm long before assuming the office of the Presidency. Furthermore, he has fully declared all of his assets to the Integrity Commission of Guyana as he is required to do. Every single asset he owns has withstood, and will continue to withstand, rigorous forensic scrutiny. There is zero secrecy here.
The source of these desperate attacks makes the motive entirely clear. The Leader of the Opposition is currently indicted by the U.S. government and facing imminent extradition for smuggling over 10,000 kg of gold from Guyana through Miami, money laundering, and transnational crimes. Through this gold smuggling ring alone, he evaded more than US$50 million in taxes that rightfully belonged to the Guyanese taxpayers. In addition to that international theft, he has evaded another G$191 billion in local taxes from his own businesses, further robbing the Guyanese treasury. Moving from desperation to outright lunacy, he is attempting to blackmail the President to distract from his own staggering legal troubles.
His latest stunt further highlights this lawlessness. In a grotesque violation of privacy, he illegally flew drones over the President’s private farm to record the footage used in his deceptive video. This flagrant disregard for the law and personal privacy must be roundly condemned by all right-thinking citizens.
The hypocrisy is stunning. While trying to cast baseless stones at the President and breaching security protocols with illegal drone operations, the Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed flatly refuses to declare his own ill-gotten wealth to the Integrity Commission, as he is legally required to do by virtue of his office.
The public sees entirely through this toxic rhetoric. It is imperative that the media and the public reject these baseless, politically motivated falsehoods and criminal antics from a compromised individual trying to escape international and local accountability.