On a sweltering Wednesday morning in San Juan, Puerto Rico, former Governor Wanda Vázquez stepped out of the federal courthouse and into the history books. On August 27, 2025, she became the first former governor of Puerto Rico to plead guilty to a crime—specifically, a campaign finance violation that has sent shockwaves through the island’s political landscape and raised eyebrows in Washington, D.C. alike. The case, which entwined a Venezuelan banker, a former FBI agent, and the highest echelons of Puerto Rican politics, has been described by some as a cautionary tale and by others as an example of justice gone awry.
According to the Associated Press, Vázquez, an attorney by training and a former top prosecutor, admitted in federal court to accepting a promise of a political donation from a foreign national for her 2020 gubernatorial campaign. The donor in question: Julio Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker whose institution, Bancrédito, was under scrutiny by Puerto Rican regulators for suspicious transactions. The plea, which was for a misdemeanor violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, marks a dramatic shift from the original felony charges that could have landed Vázquez behind bars for up to 20 years.
"There was no bribery here," Vázquez told reporters as she exited the courthouse, her voice steady but weary. "I did not take a single cent." She insisted that a pledge was made, but no actual donation was received and, in a moment of candor, added, "They forgot to ask him for his green card." According to The New York Times, she further explained that she was taking responsibility for her campaign’s failure to verify the citizenship status of donors, but maintained her innocence regarding any intent to break the law.
The saga began in late 2019, when Vázquez was propelled into the governor’s office after mass protests forced the resignation of her predecessor, Ricardo Rosselló. As the next in line, she took the helm during one of the island’s most tumultuous periods. But her tenure, which lasted until 2021, was soon overshadowed by allegations of corruption. In 2022, a grand jury indicted Vázquez on felony charges of conspiracy, federal programs bribery, and honest services wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Vázquez agreed to dismiss the head of Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions—who was investigating Bancrédito—after Herrera Velutini offered to funnel financial support to her campaign.
The details, as outlined by federal prosecutors and reported by AP, were damning: Herrera Velutini and Mark Rossini, a former FBI agent turned consultant, allegedly paid more than $300,000 to political advisors working for Vázquez. The money was intended to secure the removal of the incumbent banking commissioner and install a former consultant from Herrera Velutini’s bank in the position. This, prosecutors said, was the price of political favor.
Despite the gravity of the original accusations, the case took an unexpected turn this spring. Vázquez’s legal team, led by Ignacio Fernández, entered into plea negotiations with prosecutors. According to The New York Times, the U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, initially wanted Vázquez to plead guilty to a felony, believing the evidence was strong. But Todd Blanche, a senior Justice Department official with ties to former President Trump’s legal team, intervened. He instructed prosecutors to accept a misdemeanor plea deal, citing the need to avoid a protracted trial and referencing new exculpatory evidence presented by the defense.
The resulting agreement, which will see Vázquez sentenced on October 15, 2025, to between six months and a year of probation, has left many observers stunned. Judge Silvia L. Carreño Coll, herself a Trump appointee, did not mince words. In a written order last month, she called the penalty "a mere slap on the wrist" compared to the original charges, noting that the government had "zealously prosecuted" the case for three years. "But alas, the government’s decision to shift gears at the 11th hour is allowed because ultimately the government decides how it will exercise its prosecutorial discretion," she wrote, alluding to directives from "Main Justice." Career prosecutors in both Washington and San Juan, according to The New York Times, expressed disbelief at the outcome, viewing it as a dramatic comedown from the case they had built.
Vázquez’s defense team, for their part, pushed back against suggestions of political favoritism. They argued that the plea deal was the result of "the government’s professional evaluation of new compelling and exculpatory evidence uncovered through defense investigation and presented during good faith negotiations," and not, as critics alleged, the product of outside interference. "The plea agreement resulted from the government’s professional evaluation of new compelling and exculpatory evidence uncovered through defense investigation and presented during good faith negotiations," they wrote in a court filing, echoing their public statements.
Meanwhile, the other key players in the case faced their own reckonings. Herrera Velutini and Rossini also pleaded guilty on August 27, 2025, and are scheduled for sentencing on December 10. Neither spoke to reporters after their pleas, but their admissions marked the end of a long and winding investigation that touched on international finance, political consulting, and the sometimes-murky world of campaign fundraising.
For Puerto Rico, a territory long plagued by political scandals and public mistrust, the Vázquez case is yet another chapter in a saga of governance under scrutiny. The island has seen its share of political upheaval, from the mass protests of 2019 to the ongoing debates over statehood and federal oversight. Vázquez, who lost her bid for a full term as governor in the 2020 New Progressive Party primary to Pedro Pierluisi (now governor), was both a symbol of continuity and, eventually, controversy.
As the dust settles, questions remain. Was justice served, or was this a case of political expediency overriding accountability? The judge’s words—"a mere slap on the wrist"—will likely echo in the halls of San Juan’s government buildings for years to come. For now, Vázquez awaits her sentencing, and Puerto Rico, once again, finds itself grappling with the complexities of power, law, and the ever-present challenge of public trust.
Sometimes, the biggest headlines come not from the size of the crime, but from the weight of history—and the lessons left behind.
