WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) Current and former members of the New Progressive Party called on Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello to step down and avoid getting impeached over a chat message scandal that has sparked protests across the US territory.
Thousands of Puerto Ricans have taken to the streets of San Juan demanding the resignation of Rossello, the leader of the New Progressive Party, after chats between the official and his inner circle were leaked that included offensive messages targeting rivals and journalists, a Sputnik correspondent reported this week.
"The future of PR [Puerto Rico] is at stake and its figure makes it impossible to move on to the new chapter of our history. Holding on to the chair makes this process more difficult for everyone. For you, your family, our ideal and PR, let someone else finish his term," former Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuno said in a letter on Thursday that was posted on Twitter.
Bayamon Mayor Ramon Luis Rivera Cruz called on Rossello to step down before an impeachment inquiry is launched.
"I have no doubt that in your heart you want to achieve the best for Puerto Rico, but in these circumstances, it is almost impossible. On the other hand, exposing oneself to an impeachment process would add even more to this paralysis, because of the time it takes, producing greater anguish," Rivera Cruz said in a letter as quoted by Caribbean business.
The offensive messages were found among almost 900 pages of chats from Rossello's Telegram messenger obtained by Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism over the weekend.
On Wednesday, Puerto Rican Justice Department spokeswoman Mariana Cobian said 11 summonses had been issued to those involved in the scandal, according to CNN, including members of the governor's cabinet. Investigators, in addition to questioning the chat group members, also planned on checking their cell phones, the report added.
The protesters on Wednesday converged on the Capitol Building in San Juan, which houses the island's legislature and as numbers swelled into the tens of thousands, so did their militancy. The crowd soon began the mile-long march toward La Fortaleza, where Rossello resides. Footage showed streets packed with people chanting and singing, pressing up against concrete barriers placed by riot police.
On Thursday, police turned out in more standard gear to control the protests and not the gas masks and armor they brought the previous night.
Earlier in the day, Police Commissioner Henry Escalera Rivera said someone broke into a police station in the southern town of Guayama the previous night and stole 30 pistols, 18 rifles and 4,000 rounds of ammunition, and left behind a threat against Rossello.
On Tuesday, several hundred people gathered outside the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration in Washington calling for Rossello to resign. Additional protests were also set to take place in Miami, Orlando, Florida, and at New York's Union Square.
Despite the clashes and protests, Rossello has refused to step down.
