Puerto Rico’s Office of the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor (Opfei) on Thursday accepted the Justice Department’s recommendation not to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate Karla Mercado Rivera, head of the General Services Administration (ASG), who had been accused in an anonymous complaint of possible corruption and conflict of interest over her marriage to lawyer and lobbyist Anthony Maceira. The Opfei said the anonymous complaint did not identify a specific bidding process, RFP, RFQ or other procurement in which corruption allegedly occurred, gave no date for an alleged criminal act, and named no witnesses with personal knowledge.
others try to use the state as their personal machine gun
The investigation was carried out by the Justice Department’s Division of Public Integrity and Comptroller Affairs (DIPAC) after a complaint attributed to independent Senator Eliezer Molina, who denied writing it. The Senate had approved Molina’s petition 2026-0077 seeking the sender’s identity and associated IP address, which the Opfei said traced to a virtual private network server in London, England, with a provider registration in the State of Palestine, so the complainant could not be found.
DIPAC also asked the Government Ethics Office (OEG), which certified on May 20, 2026 that Mercado Rivera had disclosed her relationship with Maceira twice: a recusal resolution covering their dating relationship, and a later notice of their marriage, both maintaining she would not intervene in matters involving him. The Opfei said the extensive investigation found no acts violating the recusal mechanisms, no misuse of office, public funds or confidential information, and no basis for penal provisions of the Government Ethics Law or Anticorruption Code.
Reacting to the decision, Mercado Rivera said the process reaffirmed her belief that some people believe in and respect public service, while others try to use the state as their personal machine gun.