Police superintendent orders end of security detail for ex-governor Vázquez.

Former governor Wanda Vázquez Garced (Facebook via Wanda Vázquez Garced)

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico Police Superintendent Joseph González Falcón on Tuesday ordered the immediate removal of the security detail assigned to former governor Wanda Vázquez Garced, following a directive from Gov. Jenniffer González Colón.

The governor’s action came after the island Justice Department issued a legal opinion confirming her authority as the appointing power and affirming the superintendent’s discretion in the matter.

González Falcón said public concern over the continued use of escorts by Vázquez -- who was federally charged with corruption -- had intensified, particularly after reports surfaced that she had agreed to plead guilty. The decision came a day after the island Supreme Court indefinitely suspended Vázquez’s license to practice law and notary work. 

“Since Wanda Vázquez was accused of corruption by the federal government, the people of Puerto Rico have questioned the need and the legality of her receiving escort services,” the police superintendent said. “That questioning became a demand to end those escorts as soon as it emerged that she had agreed to plead guilty. As superintendent, but above all as a citizen, I also opposed her continuing to have escorts. I said so on countless occasions, even breaking my own rule of not expressing personal opinions, because this also outraged me.”

González Falcón said he initially requested a legal analysis from the Police Bureau’s legal division to determine whether removing the escorts could be supported by existing law. The division’s interpretation was that, as a former governor, Vázquez held a “vested right” to police escorts that could not be revoked.

“Obviously, I respected that interpretation,” he said. “But I was not satisfied, and neither was Governor Jenniffer González, who then requested an opinion from the Department of Justice, which is ultimately the legal representative of the people.”

The Justice Department concluded that no legal or constitutional barrier prevents the government from removing Vázquez’s security detail. Based on that opinion, González Colón ordered the superintendent to proceed immediately.

The governor had previously stated that she hoped the Legislature would approve a bill to eliminate Vázquez’s security detail, though the measure has not yet passed.

González Falcón said the legal analysis revisited the precedent from Hernández Colón and Romero Barceló vs. Puerto Rico Police, in which the island Supreme Court ruled that former governors have an acquired right to escorts. The analysis also examined the statutory definition of “former governor” under Law 2 of March 26, 1965.

Under that law, a person must meet certain criteria -- including being elected by popular vote and serving no fewer than four years -- to be considered a former governor with such rights. Vázquez, who assumed the governorship following the 2019 political crisis that led then-governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares to step down and was never elected to the post, does not meet that definition.

Another relevant consideration was General Order 110, issued on Jan. 25, 2019, which granted the Police Bureau commissioner discretionary authority over assigning security details to current and former officials.

“From the beginning, I said that the legal analysis on this matter was being done as a team,” González Falcón added. “Both the governor and I insisted that any decisions regarding Wanda Vázquez’s security detail had to be backed by correct interpretations of applicable laws, regulations, and constitutional provisions. Therefore, with the Department of Justice’s legal opinion, the support of Governor Jenniffer González, and the authority consolidated under Law 83 of 2025, we are revoking the security detail for Wanda Vázquez Garced.”

At least one opposition lawmaker said the decision to remove the former governor’s security detail “came late.”

“What we pointed out from day one was clear: a person implicated in criminal conduct cannot -- and must not -- continue to enjoy privileges paid for by the public,” Popular Democratic Party at-large Rep. Ramón Torres Cruz said in a written statement.

Torres Cruz added that “we had to turn to the courts to demand access to the alleged legal opinion that justified this privilege,” and “throughout this process, the Government repeatedly refused to act, shielding itself behind legal interpretations from the Police that were never transparent.”

“We are talking about nearly half a million dollars in just five months -- public funds used to sustain an unjustifiable privilege,” he said. “That is not responsible public administration.”