Caribbean

Puerto Rico Governor Resigns After Historic Protests; Will Leave Office August 2

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló said late Wednesday he would resign effective August 2, a move that follows historic protests in the U.S. commonwealth over corruption and scandals that convulsed the island's political class. His decision marks the first time in history that a Puerto Rico governor has resigned, and it comes after a 32-count federal indictment that charged former top government officials and BDO Puerto Rico/USVI president Fernando Scherrer on multiple counts of fraud. But the more explosive scandal that served as the springboard for the massive and persistent protests was the leak of nearly 900 pages of private conversations on the app Telegram between Mr. Rosselló and his advisors. Mr. Rosselló was also the admin of the chat. The governor said he would leave office at 5:00 p.m. on the aforementioned date. According to the Wall Street Journal, in Puerto Rico the governorship would typically be passed to the secretary of state, but he was among several official...