Statehood supporters file ethics complaint against US Reps. Velázquez, Ocasio-Cortez

U.S. Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), above, and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) (Justin Merriman/The New York Times and Zach Gibson/The New York Times)

By The Star Staff

A group of Puerto Rican statehood supporters, including Gregorio Igartúa, José Garriga Picó, Héctor Ramos, José M. Saldaña, Ivette Chardón, Ilka Ríos, Philip Hopgood and Bob Segarra, have filed an ethics complaint against U.S. Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.

The complaint, filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics, is in response to Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez supporting the “Alliance” between the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP by its acronym in Spanish) and the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC by its initials in Spanish) during the November 2024 election.

The complainants assert that by endorsing PIP gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau Ramírez, who they said has ties to communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez have “lost credibility and trust in Congress.” They argue that their actions go against the democratic rights they are obligated to defend as representatives in the U.S. Congress.

In the November 2024 election, five political parties in Puerto Rico were officially qualified to participate with their respective candidates. Two of those parties, the MVC and the PIP, support independence for Puerto Rico, the complainants noted, and their main leaders have connections with leftist governments in Latin America, specifically the aforementioned Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The complainants claim that the alliance between the MVC and PIP was illegal, as they are registered separately and receive public funds separately, yet operate as one. A complaint regarding this matter has been filed with Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission and reported to the U.S. Department of Justice, but has yet to be adjudicated.

Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez visited Puerto Rico to participate in the electoral process, endorsing Dalmau Ramírez and other candidates from the MVC-PIP Alliance. The ethics complaint cites statements made by the congresswomen to the media during their visit.

Velázquez, in her endorsement, said: “Today, with my head held high and facing the sun, I embrace hope. … Puerto Rico neither surrenders nor sells out.”

Ocasio-Cortez also voiced her support for the Alliance, saying, “It is time to elect a government that works for all the people, not just for a few privileged people.”

“The alliance between the PIP and the MVC has shown us that there can be a path to a future for all Puerto Ricans, not just for the rich and powerful …” she added.

The group said both members of Congress acted “against the best interest of our National Security and provisions in the U.S. Constitution Preamble. In this respect they violated their Oath of Office as stated by law.”

“Velázquez and Ocasio live the American dream. Ocasio went from being a bartender to a Representative in Congress. Velázquez went from the PR Office in N.Y. to Representative,” the statehood backers said in their statement. “Both swore allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. In contradiction, they visited Puerto Rico to interfere with our democratic system, endorsing leftist candidates.”

The complainants contend that by supporting the Alliance between the PIP and MVC, the congresswomen promoted an electoral fraud and a political manipulation that violated equal rights under the U.S. Constitution and due process rights of voters in Puerto Rico, all of whom have a right to a legal election process, as do the candidates from parties that were not part of the Alliance.

Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez, the complainants continued, supported the parties that support the separation of Puerto Rico from the United States, disregarding and/or without considering the three millions residents of Puerto Rico who are American citizens, and the five million who reside in the states, including more than one million in New York where the two congresswomen reside.

“Velázquez and Ocasio want to put us on the path to a republic, without federal aid or American citizenship,” they said.

Ironically, the complainants said, Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez, along with three other congressmen, made a request last September to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice to assign federal election observers to monitor compliance or non-compliance with the island’s State Electoral Commission and with federal voting rights laws. To the contrary, both were part of an illegal scheme to defraud the electoral process in Puerto Rico in 2024, the group said.

“Velazquez and Ocasio violated their obligation as federal officials and representatives of the federal government and affirmative action for their ethical misconduct must be applied to them as legally necessary as the Committee considers pertinent,” the complainants said. “The Office of Congressional Ethics has a duty to investigate allegations of unethical and illegal misconduct of members of Congress. We request from your Office to investigate this complaint against the two Congresswomen …”