…the gold
All Guyana has become transfixed by the allegations of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – the financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department – that TEN TONS of gold were smuggled out of Guyana by just one operator!!
Yes…TONS!! And it might be the tip of the iceberg. Evidently, the loss of taxes to Guyana in the smuggling operation was a cool US$50 million!!
Now, this is obviously a great loss to our Government, as it strives to develop us out of the pits the PNC had landed us in!!
Your Eyewitness knows we struck oil with Exxon, but — without belabouring the point that the PNC screwed us and we struck out on a decent return – we still need all the revenues we can get. While your Eyewitness is very happy that, if the US allegations turn out to be factual, we’ll get a windfall – and other smugglers will be cautioned – he wondered why the US would be so solicitous of our tax collections. Isn’t this taking the role of “world policeman” a tad too far?? After all, they’re fighting a proxy war against the Ruskies in Ukraine; fighting to stave off their ally in the Middle East – Israel…and China’s nipping on their heels!!
Well, to find out what’s going down, your Eyewitness googled the OFACs website, and discovered that, through its mandate, it “administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.” Whew!!
That means the US ain’t concerned with us losing tax revenues – but about the gold shipped out that could be funding “terrorists, international narcotics traffickers”. He doesn’t think any “weapons of mass destruction” are being created outside the countries the US has red-flagged!!
It’s interesting that, in 2022, 438 TONS of gold were illegally exported from Africa to the UAE – the same place where most of the Guyanese illegal gold is shipped – but the kinda red flags that were raised about our situation dwarf those about Africa’s. We know UAE isn’t the culprit – but simply provides the avenue where funds could be channelled to the bad guys! What’s going on?? We’ll soon know – hopefully!
We gotta also watch out for whether some of the gold shipped out under the tax radar might’ve come from Venezuela. If that’s so, the shipper would also be violating sanctions imposed by the US via the same OFAC!
The bottom line is that some big ones will be going down. And won’t be coming up for a very looong time!!
…Venezuela’s “madness”
Meanwhile, in a related matter, one of Mad Maduro’s madmen showed up at the ICJ, which had been convened to set dates for further submissions on our case against Mad Maduro’s machinations on our Essequibo. Even though he says he doesn’t accept the jurisdiction of the ICJ to settle the controversy they invented, Mad Maduro still shows up!! All bluff and bluster, like most bullies!! He felt that if he huffed and puffed hard enough, he’d blow down the case we presented!!
We said 6 months to make our additional submissions, but – to no one’s surprise – the Venezies immediately insisted they needed 12 months!!
Obviously, Mad Maduro wants to drag out the case – which he knows is a slam dunk for us!! – for as long as he can, while he stages a de facto end game by marching into the Essequibo!!
However, your Eyewitness has noted that Pres Ali just announced our Air Force’s gonna be augmented – to give Mad Maduro a bloody nose if he’s mad enough!!
…the shape-shifters
After all the sturm und drang in the PNC camp as to who’ll be their presidential candidate, over in the AFC, Ramjattan has stepped aside for Nigel Hughes possibly becoming the overall Opp candidate!!
Revenge?
