SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s governor revealed Tuesday that her chief of staff, Francisco Domenech, and deputy chief of staff, Itza García, will be leaving their positions next month. Both officials are pushing back against corruption allegations surrounding their time in office.
An independent state agency has launched an investigation into both officials following allegations of improper conduct at Puerto Rico’s Office of Permit Management. In addition to his role as chief of staff, Domenech also held the position of executive director of Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority.
The controversy traces back to May, when the island’s former economic development chief, Sebastián Negrón, stepped down and publicly accused Gov. Jenniffer González’s administration of meddling in his agency’s operations. His departure triggered a wave of additional resignations — more than 10 other officials left, including the agency’s chief of staff, general counsel, and finance chief.
At the time of Negrón’s resignation, González had praised him, calling him “a star” and expressing regret over his departure.
Negrón directed his accusations specifically at Domenech, alleging improper involvement in contract processing and undue interference in government operations — claims Domenech has firmly denied. García, meanwhile, faced accusations that she pressured Negrón to hire the wife of the president of Politank — a prominent lobbying and government relations firm that Domenech himself founded — to a position at the Office of Permit Management.
Negrón also forwarded the findings of an internal investigation to Puerto Rico’s Justice Department and Office of Government Ethics. That probe targeted two government officials accused of interfering in the bidding process for a contract tied to federal funds.
Calls for both officials to resign had been mounting, including from members of the governor’s own party. Among the most prominent voices was Thomas Rivera Schatz, president of Puerto Rico’s Senate, who personally referred García to the Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor’s Panel and the Office of Government Ethics.
When announcing the departures, the governor thanked Domenech and García for their service and loyalty. She stated that “a period of public service comes to a close” and vowed that the work of her administration would not be “silenced” by what she described as “agendas and continuous attacks” — though she did not name who she was referring to.
Both Domenech and García made brief public remarks but avoided directly addressing the allegations against them.
“I return to my private life with the peace of mind of having served with integrity,” Domenech said.
García reflected on her professional growth in the role, saying it was a privilege to have worked alongside certain officials. She became emotional and had to pause before concluding her statement.
“I am concluding this chapter, but not my commitment to Puerto Rico,” she said.
In a separate development, Domenech had previously filed sworn statements accusing Negrón of corruption and conflicts of interest — allegations Negrón has denied. Last Friday, Domenech disclosed that he had been notified that the Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor’s Panel had opened an investigation into him based on Negrón’s claims. He dismissed those allegations as “riddled with lies, half-truths, documents tailored to suit a narrative, subjective characterizations and distortions.”
The widening political crisis in Puerto Rico has attracted attention at the federal level, with some federal legislators raising questions about whether federal funds are being handled appropriately.
