Ángel Pérez Otero, the mayor of Guaynabo, one of the wealthiest cities in Puerto Rico, was arrested on corruption charges. He faces three counts, including bribery and extortion, and is accused of regularly accepting payments of $5,000 in exchange for awarding contracts to the owner of a construction company. The indictment alleges that the scheme ran from 2019 t0 2021. He was sworn in as mayor in 2017 following a special election after the former mayor, Héctor O’Neill, pleaded guilty to sexual harassment, gender violence and violating an ethics law. . Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement that he was disappointed and extremely upset about the arrest. He demanded that Pérez resign immediately as mayor and as president of Puerto Rico’s Federation of Mayors.
