Police have begun to use tear gas against protestors of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, calling for his resignation.
What We Know:
- The Center for Investigative Journalism obtained almost 900 pages from the governor’s private group chat. The leaked chat was published via Telegram. In these chats, everyone can see Rosselló’s usage of anti-female and homophobic statements, as well as his vindictive statements about the government of Puerto Rico. They also included statements about the management of Puerto Rico’s financial crisis, where the governor wrote: “Dear Oversight Board, Go F*** Yourself.”
- There are even threats about other political figures, like Christian Sobrino Vega (then-Puerto Rico’s chief fiscal officer) expressing frustration with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and saying he wanted to shoot her. “You’d be doing me a grand favor,” the governor responded, according to the leaked chats.
- This is all in the same week that two former officials from Rosselló’s administration were arrested by the FBI as part of a federal corruption investigation.
- Despite these damning statements, Rosselló told reporters on Tuesday that he refuses to resign and supported the violent acts police have been using against protestors, including tear gas.
- “I will continue my work and my responsibility to the people of Puerto Rico…I have not committed any illegal or corrupt acts…I committed inappropriate acts and have expressed regret for that…” he stated in a press conference Tuesday.
- Protestors are now lining the entrance of the governor’s mansion in Old San Juan.
- Many are pulling their support of the governor, including Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González, the territory’s nonvoting representative that the governor mocked in his chats as well.
- Despite him losing support from many influential figures, Beatriz Rosselló, the first lady, wrote a letter still showing her support for her husband, stating “he made a mistake, he recognized it, and immediately apologized for it…We had a conversation about it, I know him well, I recognize his sincerity…”
This is only getting uglier.
