Puerto Rico’s former governor, Wanda Vázquez, was arrested early Thursday in San Juan, said one of her attorneys, Peter John Porrata.
Former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vázquez was arrested Thursday in San Juan on bribery charges connected to the financing of her 2020 campaign, the US Justice Department says.
Vázquez is the first former governor to face federal charges. And the political scandal is the latest to shake an island still recovering nearly five years after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria.
One of her attorneys, Peter John Porrata, told CNN Vazquez will plead not guilty to the charges. She was released on bond after a brief hearing Thursday.
“I am innocent and a great injustice has been committed, ” Vázquez told reporters after her release. “I have committed no crime.”
A onetime political consultant for Vázquez and the president of an international bank have pleaded guilty to participating in the bribery scheme, according to a DOJ statement.
A former FBI agent and the owner of the international bank that operated in San Juan also participated in the alleged scheme, federal officials say. Continue Reading
(SOURCE) https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/americas/puerto-rico-wanda-vazquez-governor-arrested/index.html
