San Juan-Puerto Rico’s governor does not need to hide from the press and is not doing so, La Fortaleza’s Secretary of Public Affairs said Tuesday, rejecting criticism that Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has gone silent on the escalating dispute between her chief of staff and a former cabinet secretary. Jean Peña Payano made the remarks […]
San Juan-Puerto Rico’s governor does not need to hide from the press and is not doing so, La Fortaleza’s Secretary of Public Affairs said Tuesday, rejecting criticism that Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has gone silent on the escalating dispute between her chief of staff and a former cabinet secretary.
Jean Peña Payano made the remarks while fielding questions from reporters, as pressure mounts on the administration to address the public standoff between Francisco Domenech Fernández, secretary of the governor’s office, and Sebastián Negrón Reichard, the former secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce.
“Governor Jenniffer González has no reason to hide and she is not hiding,” Peña Payano said, adding that the governor would make “specific statements” on the matter in the coming days.
Peña Payano also confirmed that Domenech Fernández continues to hold the governor’s confidence.
“At this time he enjoys the governor’s trust, and he is executing the governor’s instructions and the work of government as chief of staff,” he said.
The dispute has intensified in recent days after Domenech Fernández filed a supplemental sworn statement tied to the processing of a tax incentive decree sought by María Beatriz Gorostiaga Zubizarreta, who is married to Negrón Reichard. Peña Payano said the process must now follow its course through the appropriate agencies.
“He has made those allegations through a sworn statement, with a chronological body of evidence that details what is known to him from his own personal knowledge,” the spokesman said.
Peña Payano urged patience with the standard investigative process, noting that both men have filed cross-referrals to regulatory and investigative agencies over allegations of conflicts of interest, undue interference and improper handling of internal DDEC matters.
“The process must reveal the truth, regardless of which side it favors, and the governor has been clear about that,” he said.
The spokesman also clarified that no independent special prosecutor has been assigned in connection with either official.
“There is no special independent prosecutor at this time for the secretary of the governor’s office, nor for the secretary of the DDEC,” Peña Payano said.
On the question of whether Domenech Fernández has been evading scrutiny, Peña Payano pointed to a roughly seven-hour appearance before a full session of the Puerto Rico Senate and a separate interview on public broadcaster WIPR as evidence to the contrary.
The feud between the two officials has drawn sustained attention in San Juan and, according to lawmakers, has begun to reverberate in Washington, where members of Congress have taken note of the controversy surrounding the island’s primary economic development agency.
