President Donald Trump has pardoned former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced, who was charged with bribery in 2022, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The former governor pleaded guilty last year to accepting a donation from a foreign national for her 2020 campaign.
The White House has not issued any statement regarding the pardons. The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Vázquez Garced took office as Puerto Rico’s governor in August 2019 after former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigned following massive protests. She served until 2021, when she lost the primary of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
Prosecutors alleged that Herrera Velutini and Rossini paid more than $300,000 to political consultants supporting Vázquez Garced’s campaign after she demanded the resignation of the head of Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, which was investigating Herrera Velutini’s bank. She then appointed a new commissioner selected by Herrera Velutini.
Prosecutors charged Vazquez Garced, Herrera Velutini, and Rossini with conspiracy, federal programs bribery, and honest services wire fraud. They could have faced up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Both Diaz and Blakeman pleaded guilty in March 2022 to conspiring with Herrera Velutini and others in the attempted bribery of the new governor.
Vázquez Garced is the first former governor in Puerto Rico to face federal charges. Former Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was charged with campaign finance violations while in office but was found not guilty in 2009.