Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Remains In Custody Days After Kitty Arrest

By News Americas Now Staff Writer

News Americas Now, NY, NY, Thurs. Oct. 15, 2026: Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and two of his staff remained in police custody as of today, nearly three days after a shooting incident outside the Georgetown residence of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, head of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Branch, according to statements from his party.

Mohamed, leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party and a prominent figure in Guyana’s opposition politics, was arrested late Monday night along with two other men after police say shots were fired at the vehicle they were traveling in near Narine’s home. Police have said officers returned fire after being fired upon first. Mohamed’s camp disputes that account entirely, maintaining that police shot at the vehicle without provocation.

No formal charges against Mohamed had been publicly confirmed as of Thursday, and no bail has been reported granted on the new matter. Police have said a search of the vehicle turned up an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, a finding central to the possession charges authorities have indicated they intend to pursue.

Mohamed’s attorney, Siand Dhurjon, has firmly disputed that account, telling reporters the weapon was planted. According to Dhurjon, an initial search of the vehicle immediately after the stop turned up nothing, and the firearm only “appeared” after police brought in a sniffer dog – a sequence he argues undermines the credibility of the evidence against his client.

No public statement addressing the specific planted-evidence allegation has been located from the Guyana Police Force. WIN has continued to characterize the entire episode as a politically motivated attempt to sideline Mohamed, who has emerged as one of the most visible challengers to the current government.

“You all understand the bigger picture. The bigger picture is not the gun what (the named officer) planted where he aimed a
 firearm
at us to kill us. That is the bigger picture. I could have been a dead man and then he won’t have planted any gun in the vehicle,” he said on a Facebook Live on his sister’s Facebook page.

The new arrest comes as Mohamed is already fighting a separate, long-running legal battle: a U.S. extradition request against him, which he has contested on constitutional grounds. Guyana’s Court of Appeal is currently weighing his civil challenge to provisions of the Fugitive Offenders Act underpinning that request and has reserved its ruling, with a decision not expected for as long as a month. No date has yet been set for the underlying extradition hearing before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman.

Taken together, the shooting, the new firearm charges, and the still-pending extradition fight mean Mohamed now faces simultaneous legal fronts at a politically sensitive moment in Guyana, with his supporters framing each development as part of a single, coordinated effort against him and authorities maintaining that the cases are being handled strictly on the facts.

Guyanese influencer Melly Mel called the claims false and alleged it was an assassination attempt gone wrong.

This is a developing story.

RELATED: Protesters Gather At Kitty Police Station After Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Shot At, Arrested

Guyana Record Oil Profit Share Could Be Temporary – Here’s Why

By News Americas Now Business Editor

News Americas Now, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Thurs. Oct. 15, 2026: Guyana collected close to US$1 billion in oil revenue in September for the second straight month, but the country’s newly elevated profit share from the Stabroek Block carries a built-in vulnerability that could erase those gains if the government isn’t careful about how it approves ExxonMobil’s next projects.

The Natural Resource Fund took in US$768 million in profit oil in September, following a US$778 million collection in August that included a signing-bonus payment. Guyana is now capturing 39.8% of Stabroek Block profits plus a 2% royalty – a dramatic rise from the 12.5% profit share the country held for years under its original 2016 Production Sharing Agreement, which allowed ExxonMobil to recover 75% of monthly production before any profit-sharing began. That cost-recovery phase ended because Exxon has now repaid its full US$55 billion investment in Guyana’s offshore fields.

THE MATH

But the math that got Guyana to 39.8% can run in reverse. ExxonMobil is currently pursuing an eighth and ninth development project in the Stabroek Block. Each new project adds fresh costs to the cost-recovery bank — and if the government approves them under the existing financial terms, Guyana’s profit share could slide back toward the original 12.5%, effectively giving away the gains the country has only just started collecting.

President Irfaan Ali has said the government will seek expert advice on how future Exxon projects are financed, including whether Guyana should take a direct investment stake in upcoming developments to lock in a larger, durable share of returns rather than relying on the current cost-recovery structure. How that question gets answered – not this month’s deposit figure – will determine whether Guyana’s current oil windfall is the new normal or a high-water mark.

Four projects are currently producing roughly 900,000 barrels per day in the Stabroek Block. A fifth, Uaru, is expected to push the country past one million barrels per day before the end of 2026.

RELATED: Guyana – Oil Exports Top $15 Billion In Just Six Months

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