Puerto Rico Governor Says To Battle Corruption Despite Protests Seeking His Resignation

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2019) Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said that he is determined stay in power to fight corruption on the island despite a scandal concerning offensive messages he sent to staff that were leaked to the public and continuing protests seeking his resignation.

"I am fully committed to battling corruption here in Puerto Rico and that will be the focus for the remaining of my administration," Rossello said in an interview with Fox news on Monday.

Rosello emphasized that his commitment is to follow through on the efforts that he has established for the people of Puerto Rico.

"That includes establishing again a plan that I've already circulated with the members within the White House so we that we can battle corruption," Rossello said.

The governor pointed out that many in the Trump administration, among various groups and the Mayor of San Sebastian support him in his efforts.

"I am establishing that we established what we want to do, the efforts that are ongoing and what we need in order to fix this problem," Rossello said.

Thousands of Puerto Ricans have taken to the streets demanding that Rossello resign after chats between the governor and his inner circle that included offensive messages targeting rivals and journalists were leaked to the public.

Rossello said has already apologized for the offensive messages, but there is another effort that needs to be moved forward, the battle against corruption, so that Puerto Rico can tackle what government employees and elected officials do and how they collaborate with the US Federal government.

"This is the biggest recovery effort in the United States history," Rossello said.

The governor also said he wants to showcase his record, actions rather than words, to overcome challenges so that the recovery effort can start.

"I used words that I apologized for, but I've also taken significant actions," Rossello said.

Meanwhile, current and former members of Rossello's New Progressive Party called on the governor to step down and avoid getting impeached.

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 Rico Justice Department spokeswoman Mariana Cobian said 11 summonses had been issued to individuals involved in the scandal, including members of Rossello's cabinet, according to media reports.

Additional protests have been planned in Puerto Rico as well as in Miami, Orlando and New York.