Trump Pardons Puerto Rico Ex-Governor Vázquez in Campaign Finance Case
President Donald Trump intends to pardon former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez, who pleaded guilty in August 2025 to a campaign finance violation involving acceptance of a promised campaign contribution from a foreign source that was never received. Vázquez was set for sentencing later in January, with federal prosecutors seeking one year in prison, though her attorneys argued the sentence violated a prior guilty plea agreement that had resulted in dismissal of bribery and fraud charges.
A White House official stated that Trump views the case as political prosecution, citing the timing of the investigation's initiation approximately ten days after Vázquez endorsed Trump in 2020. The official, speaking anonymously without authorization to disclose the pardon plan publicly, characterized the prosecution as retaliatory rather than justified. Vázquez is a Republican aligned with Puerto Rico's pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
According to authorities, Vázquez allegedly accepted a bribery offer from Venezuelan banker Julio Martín Herrera Velutini and former FBI agent Mark Rossini between December 2019 and June 2020 while serving as governor. In exchange, she demanded the resignation of Puerto Rico's financial institutions commissioner and appointed a new commissioner of Herrera's choosing, actions authorities documented as occurring after the alleged bribery agreement was made.
Pablo José Hernández, Puerto Rico's congressional representative and member of the opposition Popular Democratic Party, condemned the planned pardon, stating that "impunity protects and fosters corruption" and that the pardon undermines public integrity and faith in justice. Vázquez was the first former Puerto Rico governor to plead guilty to a federal crime and served as the territory's second female governor before losing her party's 2020 primary.
The pardon decision demonstrates Trump's use of executive clemency to benefit political allies, circumventing sentencing for federal prosecutors' recommended penalty. Vázquez's case involved foreign-sourced campaign funding and an abuse of gubernatorial authority to benefit a foreign banker, violations Trump's administration has now chosen to erase through presidential pardon rather than allow judicial process to conclude.