- Wanda Vázquez, a former governor of Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty last August to campaign finance violations.
- A White House official said Vázquez's prosecution was politically motivated after she supported U.S. President Donald Trump.
- Trump said Friday he plans to pardon Vázquez and two of her co-defendants.
A White House official said on Friday that former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez will be pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Last August, Vázquez pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation in a federal case where prosecutors were seeking a sentence of one year in prison, according to The Associated Press. The case also involved a former FBI agent and a Venezuelan banker.
Vázquez’s sentencing was scheduled for later this month.
“This entire case is an example of political prosecution. In August of 2022, Wanda Vázquez faced bribery charges related to the financing of her 2020 gubernatorial campaign. Ms. Vázquez’s pardon materials state that there was never any element of a quid pro quo deal and that her prosecution was politically motivated,” a White House official told Fox News.
The official added that the investigation into Vázquez started shortly after her endorsement of Trump during the 2020 election.
Vázquez was arrested in 2022 and later pleaded guilty to accepting a donation from a foreign national during her 2020 gubernatorial campaign.
Trump is also expected to pardon Vázquez’s co-defendants, Venezuelan banker Julio Martin Herrera-Velutini and former FBI agent Mark Rossini. The three of them were charged with conspiracy, federal programs bribery and honest services wire fraud connected to her 2020 political campaign, per CBS News.
In August, they all pleaded guilty to lesser corruption charges as part of a deal cut by the Justice Department as the case was about to go to trial.
“The investigation, she contends, not only monitored her campaign, but also included a monitoring of the Trump campaign. Additionally, Ms. Vázquez believes that there was no bribery at all because the discussions with the banker concerned a matter of agreeing on policy with a potential donor, and not taking action in exchange for a material gain,” the White House official told Fox News.
The official added that the case is similar to Alexander Sittenfeld, who was pardoned in May 2025.
When Vázquez was arrested, she was accused of being part of a bribery scheme from December 2019 through June 2020. Vázquez was actively serving as governor during that time.
“I am innocent. I have not committed any crime,” she told reporters when she was arrested, according to the AP. “I assure you that they have committed a great injustice against me.”
Throughout 2025, Trump issued a number of controversial pardons, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Jan. 6 defendants, former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez, reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, and former Rep. George Santos.