Guyana Anti Corruption Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GACN DEMANDS ANSWERS: CONVICTED BRAZILIAN MINING BOSS AND PPP CAMPAIGNER PHOTOGRAPHED INSIDE EU ELECTION OBSERVER VEHICLE DURING 2025 POLLS

Georgetown, Guyana – The Guyana Anti-Corruption Network (GACN) is today calling for an urgent and transparent investigation following the receipt of photographic and video evidence showing a convicted Brazilian criminal inside a vehicle of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) during Guyana’s 2025 General and Regional Elections.

The individual in the vehicle has been identified as Rodrigo Martins Mello, known as Rodrigo Cataratas. According to public records and investigative journalism, Mr. Cataratas is a convicted leader of a massive illegal mining operation in Brazil’s Yanomami Indigenous Territory and is known to have actively campaigned for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in Region 9 during the 2025 election campaign. Cataratas is currently mining on Indigenous territorories in Guyana’s Marudi Mountain.

The images obtained by GACN, which are available for review by the media, raise grave concerns about the integrity of the international observation process, the potential for foreign criminal influence in Guyana’s democratic system, and the apparent ease with which individuals linked to transnational organized crime can operate within the country.

A Convicted Leader of Transnational Crime

Mr. Cataratas is not a minor figure. On January 28, 2026, the Federal Court in Roraima, Brazil, convicted him and sentenced him to 22 years and 7 months in prison for leading a “solid and structured criminal organization.” His crimes include:

· Leading a criminal organization for illegal mining.
· Money laundering through a network of companies and aircraft.
· Usurpation of Union minerals (illegal mining).
· Environmental crimes in the protected Yanomami Indigenous Territory.

In addition to his prison sentence, the court ordered him to pay approximately US$5.7 million in collective moral damages to the Yanomami people for the extensive harm caused to their health, way of life, and security. He also faces millions more in unpaid environmental fines. The court explicitly noted that Cataratas is “currently a mining businessman in Guyana,” confirming his relocation to our country.

The Visual Evidence: A Breach of Protocol?

The GACN’s evidence, captured during the critical voting period of the 2025 elections, depicts Mr. Cataratas inside a vehicle clearly marked as part of the EU EOM. This situation demands immediate clarification from multiple parties.

The presence of a convicted criminal—who also openly campaigned for a major political party—inside the vehicle of an organization tasked with providing an impartial assessment of our elections strikes at the heart of public trust.

Key Questions That Demand Immediate Answers

Therefore, the GACN formally demands that the following questions be answered by the relevant authorities:

To the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM):

1. Can the EU EOM confirm the identities of the observers in the vehicle with Mr. Cataratas?
2. What was the official purpose of Mr. Cataratas being inside an EU EOM vehicle on election day?
3. Were the EU observers aware of Mr. Cataratas’s criminal conviction in Brazil and his active role in the local election campaign?
4. Does the EU EOM consider this interaction a breach of its own code of conduct, which requires strict impartiality and the avoidance of any appearance of bias?

To the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM):

1. Was Mr. Rodrigo Cataratas accredited in any formal capacity (e.g., poll watcher, party agent) for the 2025 elections?
2. What regulations govern the interaction between accredited international observer missions and local political figures or unaccredited individuals?
3. Will GECOM request a full account of this incident from the EU EOM to ensure the integrity of the observation process was maintained?

To the Government of Guyana:

1. Is the government aware of the extent of Mr. Cataratas’s mining and business operations in Guyana, given his recent conviction for money laundering and environmental crimes?
2. What steps are being taken to investigate whether assets derived from his criminal activities in Brazil have been laundered through Guyana’s gold sector, as detailed in recent investigative reports?
3. Does this incident, and the documented influx of Bolsonaro-linked individuals into the mining sector, trigger any official investigation into foreign criminal infiltration of Guyana’s sovereign industries and political processes?

A Call for Integrity

The GACN’s mission is to guard Guyana’s future by investigating and exposing the cost of corruption. The confluence of a convicted international criminal, active political campaigning, and access to an official international observer mission represents a profound threat to the credibility of our democratic institutions.

We call on the EU EOM, GECOM, and the Government of Guyana to provide full and immediate transparency. The people of Guyana deserve to know that our elections are free from the influence of transnational criminal networks, and that international observers are upholding the highest standards of impartiality.

We are prepared to share the evidence with legitimate media organizations and official investigators to facilitate a full inquiry.

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