The president also pardoned two co-defendants in the case, which involved an alleged bribe during Vazquez Garced’s reelection bid in 2020.
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).
Vázquez Garced was arrested in August 2022 on allegations that she engaged in a bribery scheme from December 2019 to June 2020 while serving as governor to finance her reelection campaign.
The former governor pleaded guilty last year to accepting a donation from a foreign national for her 2020 campaign.
Trump granted Vázquez Garced a “full and unconditional pardon” on Jan. 15, a DOJ document shows. The president also pardoned two of her co-defendants, Venezuelan banker Julio Martin Herrera Velutini and consultant Mark Rossini, of their criminal charges, according to the list of clemency grants.
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.
According to her indictment, Vázquez Garced allegedly accepted a bribe during her re-election bid in 2020.
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.
In August 2020, Vázquez Garced ultimately lost the primary of the New Progressive Party to Pedro Pierluisi, who was later elected governor. After Vázquez Garced’s loss, Herrera Velutini allegedly tried to bribe her successor, identified in the indictment as “public official A.”
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.
Prosecutors charged two more individuals in the case, Frances Diaz and John Blakeman, according to a DOJ statement.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
