PUERTO RICO — Federal and local lawmakers in Puerto Rico, along with civil rights and advocacy organizations, have called for investigations into an alleged drugs-for-votes scheme inside Puerto Rico prisons. Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera urged members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to join him in pressing for a congressional probe. The calls followed a ProPublica investigation detailing how prosecutors had uncovered a scheme run by a violent gang in Puerto Rican prisons and were examining whether then-Governor Jenniffer González-Colón or her campaign were involved.

"The report published today by ProPublica details facts that no elected official — whether in Puerto Rico or in Washington — can ignore." Hernández Rivera said. He has support from at least a couple of House Judiciary Committee members interested in starting an oversight process and working on a draft letter requesting an investigation.

In Puerto Rico's House, Popular Democratic Party member Héctor Ferrer Santiago introduced a resolution ordering the Committee on Public Security to investigate the allegations. "The allegations are serious and the House has an inescapable duty to investigate." Ferrer Santiago said. Leaders of the Puerto Rican Independence Party also called for an investigation on Wednesday.

An indictment filed in December 2024 charged 34 members of a gang known as Group 31 or Los Tiburones, along with associates, with crimes including drug distribution resulting in at least four overdose deaths, money laundering, and possessing a firearm. The indictment included no charges related to the drugs-for-votes scheme. Prosecutors alleged that the gang mandated prisoners' political affiliations and who to vote for in primary and general elections. A couple of defendants in the drug and money laundering cases have taken plea agreements, while most cases remain pending.

In the days following President Donald Trump's 2024 election, as prosecutors prepared the indictment, supervisors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico told them to exclude voting-related charges against inmates and prison staff. Once Trump took office, prosecutors were told to abandon the probe into potential political ties entirely. Prosecutors were pursuing other potential ties when they were instructed not to look any further. Prosecutors said they had evidence that González-Colón had spoken with one of the prison gang leaders on WhatsApp during the primary campaign.

"About the prisons in particular, it raises eyebrows from a statistical standpoint, the fact that 83% of inmates vote for the candidate of that party when no other place in Puerto Rico votes by those margins." Hernández Rivera said, citing a tally of voter returns from the State Elections Commission's website.

González-Colón, who has not been charged with any crime, has declined repeated requests for interviews. In a statement, she denied any wrongdoing and said she has stood firmly against corruption throughout her career and political campaigns. "I categorically reject any attempt to link me to unlawful conduct." she wrote. She told local news outlets she does not think any investigation is warranted. In her statement, González-Colón also said she engaged with all sectors of society during her campaign. "That included meeting with families of incarcerated individuals concerned about rehabilitation and reintegration, because public policy must be inclusive and responsive to every community," González-Colón said.

"There is nothing here. And, if they have research from the past four years, let them do it, let them bring it to a successful conclusion. But I have absolutely nothing to do with the things that are pointed out there, much less my campaign," she said.