Trump pardons Puerto Rico’s former governor Wanda Vázquez on Jan. 16

President Donald Trump pardoned Puerto Rico’s former governor Wanda Vázquez Garced on Jan. 16, a move that prompted anger and disbelief among many Puerto Ricans, the article reports; social-media reactions included comments such as “WHAT?” and calls for Trump as “the savior of corruption.” The piece notes Vázquez was arrested by the FBI in 2022 on bribery charges tied to her 2020 campaign and in 2025 pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation, becoming the first former governor of Puerto Rico to do so.

Two cooperating witnesses in the federal case did not receive pardons; Vázquez and her co‑conspirators were pardoned after a relative made a $2.5 million donation to a Trump‑aligned political action committee, the article says. The report places the pardon in a broader context of persistent ethical gray zones and blurred lines between public office and private benefit in Puerto Rican politics, citing prior reporting of luxury vehicles, private meetings connected to business interests, and the 2019 resignation of Ricardo Rosselló after leaked Telegram messages and mass protests.

Vázquez had lost the New Progressive Party’s 2020 gubernatorial nomination to Pedro Pierluisi, whom the article describes as a figure long dogged by corruption allegations. TIME’s piece argues corruption has exacted an economic toll: the median household income is $27,213, roughly 37% of the population lives in poverty, and billions that could have funded infrastructure and services were diverted.

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