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Puerto Rico's governor refuses to resign amid protests over leaked inappropriate chats
July 15, 2019
The island territory has been plagued with corruption
Puerto Rico's governor has refused to resign as protesters marched in front of the governor's mansion over leaked comments he made in a chatroom.
Here's what we know
In one example from the chats, Rosselló's chief financial officer chatted to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló that he was "dying to shoot her up," referring to San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz.
Rosselló responded "You'd be doing me a big favor."
He also called New York City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito a whore in Spanish. The chats also contained obscenities directed at other members of the territory's government.
Rosselló apologized after the chats were published in the media, saying he was working long days and trying to relieve stress at the time, but "none of this justifies the words I've written."
"This was a private chat," he added.
So far, he has given no indication that he plans to resign.
"I was elected by the people and I will continue the mission that was granted to me, now more than ever," Rosselló said on Saturday.
At least for now, Puerto Rico's leadership seems willing to oblige him. On Sunday evening, CBS News lead national correspondent David Begnaud reported that members of Rosselló's party in the island's House of Representatives had "decided tonight not [to] ask Governor @ricardorossello to resign 'at this moment.' They want to give him some time for reflection. He asked for that."
Rosselló isn't the only one in trouble on the island
The protests against Rosselló come as the Puerto Rican government faces a plague of corruption. A week earlier, the FBI arrested Puerto Rico's former education secretary and five other people on a combined 32 counts of fraud and related charges.
In June, Puerto Rico's Treasury Secretary Raúl Maldonado was forced to resign shortly after talking in a radio interview about an "institutional mafia" of corruption in the Puerto Rican government.
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