Sebastián Negrón Reichard walked away from the Department of Economic Development and Commerce at exactly noon today, and he didn’t mince words about why.
His resignation was a direct indictment of La Fortaleza, which he says shattered the trust and legal boundaries required for him to lead the DDEC with integrity.
In a letter of resignation, Negrón Reichard said the position “requires mutual trust,” adding that such trust “no longer exists.” According to him, the rupture began after he referred the findings of an internal evaluation on a competitive process to the appropriate authorities. Instead of supporting the investigation, La Fortaleza allegedly inserted itself—through intermediaries—into areas where the law grants exclusive authority to the Secretary, effectively crippling the department’s internal governance.
One intervention was especially explosive: the reversal of two summary suspensions issued in response to alleged improper interference in contracting processes. Negrón Reichard said this decision not only undermined the investigation but left whistleblowers exposed, signaling that those who report wrongdoing cannot count on institutional protection.
The internal fallout was immediate. More than ten senior officials resigned, including the chief of human resources; the leader of strategic initiatives and the permitting 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 division; the head of air cargo strategy; and the communications director. A mass departure that underscores a department in full-blown crisis.
Though he thanked his team and expressed continued commitment to Puerto Rico “from other spaces,” Negrón Reichard said he will not comment further to avoid compromising ongoing legal processes, including referrals to the Department of Justice, the Office of the Comptroller, DDEC Human Resources, and the Office of Government Ethics.
His departure leaves the DDEC not only without a leader but also deeply fractured, with Negrón Reichard’s accusations pointing squarely at La Fortaleza as the catalyst for the agency’s internal collapse.
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