Puerto Rico Governor Resigns as Party President, Will Not Seek Reelection

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello announced late on July 21 that he will step down as head of his party and will not run for re-election in 2020, but stopped short of resigning as governor.

Rossello made the announcement in a video message posted to Facebook.

El Nuevo Dia reported that Rossello said he resigned as head of the New Progressive Party (NPP) to focus on leading the country, and looked forward to the process of impeachment, whose initial stages have begun in Puerto Rico’s legislature.

Protesters have been calling for Rossello to resign following the release of 889 pages of private Telegram chats.

The chats, between Rossello and 11 top aides and cabinet members, contained homophobic and misogynistic messages, and comes amid a corruption scandal. Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism reported on July 17 that a “multi-million dollar corruption network” that they allege took place with Rossello’s knowledge and involved some of his closest aides. Credit: Ricardo Rossello via Storyful