Trump pardons former Puerto Rico governor Vazquez

Officials say the case has been cited as an example of “political prosecution”

Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump has pardoned Puerto Rico's former governor Wanda Vazquez Garced, who was previously indicted in a federal corruption case, according to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney updated its list of clemency grants by Trump to include a pardon for Vazquez that was dated Thursday. A White House official on Friday confirmed Trump would pardon her.

"This entire case is an example of political prosecution," the official said of Vazquez, who was arrested in August 2022 on bribery charges related to the financing of her gubernatorial campaign in 2020.

Trump also pardoned Vazquez's co-defendants Julio Martin Herrera Velutini and Mark Rossini. CBS News first reported the development.

Trump has granted a flurry of pardons since assuming office last year, many of them to white-collar criminals and political allies.