Trump’s planned pardon for former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez was confirmed by a White House official who said the president plans to grant clemency in a federal campaign finance case in which Vázquez pleaded guilty last August, according to the official speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said Vázquez’s sentencing is set for later this month.
The case stems from federal authorities’ allegation that Vázquez, who led Puerto Rico as governor until 2021, accepted a promised campaign contribution that was never received. Prosecutors had been seeking a one-year prison sentence, while Vázquez’s attorneys opposed that recommendation and argued prosecutors violated a guilty plea deal reached last year.
In the lead-up to the pardon announcement, the defense pointed to details of the agreement, including that previous charges—described as including bribery and fraud—were dropped as part of the plea bargain. Defense attorneys also argued that Vázquez had agreed to plead guilty to accepting a promise of a campaign contribution that did not ultimately come through.
The White House official linked the case to politics, saying Trump viewed it as a political prosecution. The official also said the investigation into Vázquez began 10 days after she endorsed Trump in 2020, and Vázquez is described as aligning with Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
CBS News first reported the plan to pardon Vázquez, according to the official’s account. Attorneys for Vázquez did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the Associated Press reported.
Puerto Rico’s political opposition quickly criticized the anticipated pardon. Pablo José Hernández, a member of Puerto Rico’s Popular Democratic Party and Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, condemned the move, saying: “Impunity protects and fosters corruption. The pardon … undermines public integrity, shatters faith in justice, and offends those of us who believe in honest governance.”
Federal prosecutors said the alleged conduct involved an international bank owned by Venezuelan Julio Martín Herrera Velutini and that an entity associated with Herrera was being investigated by Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. Authorities said Herrera and Mark Rossini, described as a former FBI agent who provided consulting services to Herrera, allegedly promised to support Vázquez’s campaign if she dismissed the commissioner and appointed a replacement chosen by Herrera.
Authorities said Vázquez demanded the commissioner’s resignation in February 2020 after allegedly accepting the bribery offer, and they also said she appointed a new commissioner in May 2020, described as a former consultant for Herrera’s bank. Vázquez has said she was innocent at the time of her arrest in August 2022.
Vázquez, an attorney, became the U.S. territory’s first former governor to plead guilty to a federal crime. She served as governor after being sworn in in August 2019, following former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation in the wake of major protests, and she served until 2021 after losing New Progressive Party primaries to former Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.