The director of Puerto Rico’s primary economic development agency stepped down Tuesday, launching sharp criticism at the U.S. territory’s administration led by Jenniffer González and alleging government meddling in departmental operations.
Sebastián Negrón Reichard’s exit from the influential Department of Economic Development and Commerce occurs during a crucial period as Puerto Rico works to rebuild its economy and draw in affluent investors.
In his resignation statement, Negrón Reichard revealed that over 10 senior agency officials — including the chief of staff, general counsel and finance director — had also quit following what he described as government interference. He stated this included overturning two summary suspensions he had implemented after an inquiry revealed inappropriate meddling in the agency’s procurement processes.
The administration’s decisions “made it impossible to continue performing the duties of the position with the integrity and autonomy that the role requires and that every secretary owes to the public,” Negrón Reichard stated.
He further noted that these actions left “unprotected the staff who reported alleged irregularities in internal processes.” Negrón Reichard indicated he would refrain from additional comments while legal proceedings are pending.
When reporters asked Gov. González about the resignation, she voiced her disappointment and deflected questions regarding the alleged interference claims.
“I’m disappointed because I think he was a great agency secretary,” she stated. “We accomplished a lot and worked hard.”
Puerto Rico Senate President Thomás Rivera Schatz, who has recently clashed with González despite sharing the same pro-statehood party affiliation, described the resignation as “extremely regrettable.”
“I hope that those responsible for evaluating and understanding the scope of these circumstances will do so and take the corrective actions they need to take, which I’ve been warning them about for quite some time,” Rivera Schatz stated.
“If they don’t, well, I’ll be talking to these people, and if they bring evidence to me that shows something is wrong, I’ll go after them,” he continued.
