FBI arrests mayor of Puerto Rico on charges of public corruption

(CNN Spanish) – Ángel Pérez Otero, mayor of the municipality of Guaynabo, in northern Puerto Rico, was arrested this Thursday by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), accused of conspiracy, solicitation of bribery and extortion.

The accusation against Pérez Otero maintains that he was involved in a bribery conspiracy through which, from the end of 2019 and until May 2021, he would have irregularly received and accepted cash payments of US $ 5,000.

According to the indictment, in exchange for these payments the mayor would have agreed to contracts with a construction company and would have met regularly and secretly with a person who allegedly paid him the bribes in cash.

The mayor’s attorney, Osvaldo Carlo, told CNN that he was unable to meet with his client, so they did not make a statement in court about the charges against him. The lawyer explained they will meet soon to decide how it would be declared.

Carlo said the court set Pérez Otero a bond of US $ 10,000 and that he was released, with a commitment to pay the bond within the next 10 days.

Pérez Otero served as mayor of Guaynabo since 2017 and was reelected in 2020.

The governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, who is also president of the New Progressive Party (PNP), requested the resignation of Pérez Otero, who is also president of the Federation of Mayors of Puerto Rico that groups together the incumbents of the PNP .

“Like everyone else in Puerto Rico, I feel disappointed and extremely upset by the arrest that has just taken place against the mayor of Guaynabo, Ángel Pérez. Faced with a federal accusation of corruption, there is no worthy affiliation or friendship. The obligation to maintain the highest level behavior touches us all equally. Given this serious situation, I demand that you leave the position of mayor immediately, as well as the presidency of the Federation of Mayors and any leadership position in the PNP, “said Pierluisi.