Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rosselló in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, July 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
By DÁNICA COTO, Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced Saturday that his chief financial officer and secretary of state will step down following their participation in a private chat that used profanities to describe an ex-New York City official and a federal control board overseeing the island’s finances.
The U.S. territory’s CFO Christian Sobrino, who is also the governor’s representative to the control board, announced he was stepping down via Twitter on Saturday. Its Secretary of State Luis G. Rivera Marín also offered his resignation.
Durante la mañana de hoy le comuniqué al Gobernador mi renuncia a mis cargos en el Gobierno de Puerto Rico y la transición ordenada de estas funciones.
— Christian Sobrino Vega (@ChSobrino) July 13, 2019
Rosselló later released a statement saying he would let go members of his administration who participated in the chat on a messaging system used by government officials. The release of the chat’s contents in local media had led to calls for the governor’s resignation.
It is confirmed via @ricardorossello and @fortalezapr at 5:03pmET.
Luis G. Rivera Marín out too.
Sobrino out.#TelegramGate #RickyLeaks #PuertoRico pic.twitter.com/rFczpkkvEm
— Julio Ricardo Varela (@julito77) July 13, 2019
Rosselló apologized for the comments late Thursday, saying he’d been working 18-hour days and releasing tensions when he called former New York City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito the Spanish word for “whore” and in English told the oversight board to “go f— yourself” followed by a string of emojis with the middle finger raised.
“Aware that the current environment cannot be maintained, I have communicated to all the other public officials involved in the chat that I will have to dispense with their services and/or their advice,” he said in the statement.
He said he would ask Ricardo Llerandi to remain as Puerto Rico’s secretary of the interior and Anthony Maceira to stay as secretary of Public Affairs.
“This is a very painful situation for me, as Governor, as a human being and as a Puerto Rican,” Rosselló said. “But I recognize there is no other way out and there is no worthwhile forgiveness on my part that does not include corrections and clear signs of intent to change.”
The comments had drawn the ire of many Puerto Ricans who said they were ashamed of his language and of how this might affect the reputation of the U.S. territory, which had already come under scrutiny earlier this week with the arrests of former government officials including the island’s education secretary.
Protesters carrying a banner that reads in Spanish “Ricardo Roselló, resign” near the executive mansion in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Thursday, July 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Rosselló said late Thursday that he had not yet spoken to Mark-Viverito, who posted a lengthy statement on Twitter that read in part, “A person who uses that language against a woman, whether a public figure or not, should not govern Puerto Rico …this type of behavior is completely unacceptable.”
In the chat, Rosselló wrote that he was upset Mark-Viverito had criticized Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, for supporting statehood for Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin, who was mentioned in the chat with a homophobic comment, urged Rosselló to step down.
Martin tweeted that the governor “lacks the abilities of a true leader, who inspires, stimulates and guides by example so that our people attain a higher level of life.”
Reconozca que carece de las compentencias de un verdadero lider, que inspire, estimule y guie con el ejemplo a que nuestra gente logre alcanzar niveles superiores de vida.
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) July 13, 2019
Rosselló, who faces other troubles, has said he will not resign.
Days earlier, FBI agents arrested Julia Keleher, Puerto Rico’s former education secretary, and five others on charges of steering federal money to unqualified, politically connected contractors.
Officials said the alleged fraud involves $15.5 million worth of federal funding issued between 2017 and 2019. They said $13 million was spent by Puerto Rico’s Department of Education while Keleher was secretary and another $2.5 million spent by Ángela Ávila Marrero when she was director of Puerto Rico’s Health Insurance Administration. Ávila Marrero was charged along with businessmen Fernando Scherrer-Caillet and Alberto Velázquez-Piñol, and education contractors Glenda E. Ponce-Mendoza and Mayra Ponce-Mendoza, who are sisters.
Officials said there was no evidence that Keleher or Ávila-Marrero had personally benefited from the scheme.
On Thursday, a group of protesters had gathered at Puerto Rico’s main international airport to received Rosselló as he cut a European vacation short to address the arrests and the leaked chat. The protesters then traveled to the governor’s seaside mansion where Rosselló spoke late Thursday and demanded his resignation.
