Embattled Puerto Rico senator to seek re-election
A prominent Puerto Rican senator who was targeted in a federal raid said Sunday he will continue a bid for re-election, rejecting calls from his party’s leader to drop out of the race.
Sen. Jorge De Castro Font has garnered little public support from colleagues in the opposition New Progressive Party as he aims for a sixth term despite an FBI raid on his office and home on Saturday as part of a probe into corruption.
De Castro held a Sunday news conference to deny any wrongdoing and said party President Luis Fortuno was “premature” in calling for his resignation immediately after the raids.
“I am not going to resign,” De Castro said, and insisted he will keep running for the November election.
Fortuno and other party leaders said the weekend raids have tarnished the veteran official’s reputation, but they have not said if they are in contact with potential candidates to replace De Castro.
Forty agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service conducted a search at the Capitol on Saturday, walking out of the seaside building carrying boxes and bags of material and at least six computers.
FBI officials declined to name the target of the raid or its purpose, but NPP officials said it was aimed at De Castro, who has been a high-profile spokesman for the party, which wants Puerto Rico to become a U.S. state.
De Castro on Sunday said federal agents also searched his home and seized computers and personal effects, including guns and two wristwatches. Agents also searched a San Juan gas station long patronized by De Castro’s campaign staff, he said.