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Ex-Puerto Rican Governor Arrested for Bribery Scheme, Feds Say

Federal authorities arrested several others in connection with the scheme, which spanned seven months during Vazquez’s time as governor.

Wanda Vázquez, who served as Puerto Rico’s governor from August 2019 to 2021, has been arrested in a bribery scheme spanning seven months during her time in office, federal officials said Thursday. Vázquez allegedly accepted a bribe in exchange for replacing Puerto Rico’s financial commissioner, who was investigating a bank owner for unreported transactions, with someone of the bank owner’s choosing, according to the Justice Department. The bank owner and others paid her political consultants more than $300,000 to help finance her 2020 campaign, the Justice Department said. When Vázquez lost to current Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, the bank owner then attempted to bribe the new governor with a similar deal in order to end an audit of his bank, but Pierluisi didn’t go for the offer. Vázquez’s charges, which signify the first time a former Puerto Rican leader has been federally charged, include counts for conspiracy, federal programs bribery and honest services wire fraud. She faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted.