Former Puerto Rico Justice Secretary and Governor’s Chief of Staff César Miranda warned in an interview with Normando en la Mañana that Governor Jenniffer González’s government is going through an "operational dysfunction," marked by an unprecedented number of referrals to the Office of the Independent Special Prosecutor Panel (OPFEI). Miranda said he does not wish the administration to fail.
He described the situation as internal controversies that do nothing to contribute to "a serene, calm stability," and called for understanding inside the government during the two years and two months remaining in its term. Comparing it to his own service, he said he spent three years as Justice Secretary and four years heading the Governor’s Office (Secretaría de la Gobernación) and never saw anything close to the number of referrals now being made.
Asked whether a referral necessarily leads to charges, he pointed to the case of the Women’s Advocate, whose complaint, tied to the situation of Senator Joanne Rodríguez Veve, was dismissed after an investigation. He said what matters is that there is an investigation and that action follows if grounds exist. He added that if no crime is found, that determination must be accepted as correct.
Miranda said he had criticized the OPFEI in the past for slowness, but now sees it "better structured" and "functioning well," led by a "very diligent" person, though it carries a heavy backlog of pending cases. He also said that under President Donald Trump the federal government has taken a different approach, intervening directly in cases, and that this could give impunity to many transactions and embolden some sectors in Puerto Rico. He cited only the pardon of former Governor Wanda Vázquez as an example.