DDEC secretary resigns; some 10 senior officials also step down.

Sebastián Negrón Reichard resigned as secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce on Tuesday. His departure was accompanied by the resignations of more than 10 senior officials across the agency. 

By THE STAR STAFF

Sebastián Negrón Reichard resigned as secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its acronym in Spanish) effective at noon Tuesday, a departure accompanied by the resignations of more than 10 senior officials across the agency.

In a written resignation letter, Negrón Reichard said he submitted his resignation to Gov. Jenniffer González Colón after concluding that the mutual trust required to carry out the responsibilities of the position no longer existed.

The former secretary said the breakdown followed his referral of findings from an internal evaluation of a competitive process to the appropriate authorities. He stated that subsequent actions by La Fortaleza, including interventions through other officials in areas where the law delegates authority to the DDEC secretary, made it impossible to continue performing the role with the autonomy and integrity it requires.

Negrón Reichard cited, among those actions, the reversal of two summary suspensions issued for alleged improper interventions in contracting processes. He said the decision left personnel who reported alleged irregularities without institutional protection.

The situation prompted a wave of resignations within the agency. Those stepping down include the chief of human resources, the leader of strategic initiatives and the permitting system transformation, the general counsel, the chief financial officer for DDEC and PRIDCO, the director of the Incentives Office, the lead strategist for reshoring and semiconductors, the executive concierge lead, the director of the Rones de Puerto Rico (Rums of Puerto Rico) division, the head of air cargo strategy and the communications director, among others.

Despite the circumstances, Negrón Reichard thanked the team he worked with and said he remains committed to contributing to Puerto Rico “from other spaces.” He added that he will not make further public comments to avoid affecting ongoing legal processes, including referrals to the Department of Justice, the Office of the Comptroller, DDEC Human Resources, and the Government Ethics Office.

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said she was disappointed that Negrón Reichard did not talk to her first before resigning. She said she had not seen his resignation letter and found out about his resignation through the media.

“It disappoints me, because I believe he was a great agency secretary; he accomplished a great deal, and we worked very closely together [...],” the governor told the press at an event in San Juan to inaugurate the renovated Pan American Pier 2 West. “Therefore, I deeply regret his decision, as well as the fact that he did not discuss it with me.”