Puerto Rico governor Ricardo Rossello rejects calls to resign over profane and derogatory group chat

Puerto Rico's governor faces new calls to resign over leaked conversations that reveal his role in a profane, sexist and homophobic group chat.

The island has struggled to recover from Hurricane Maria in 2017, and Governor Ricardo Rosselló's administration has been plagued by scandals involving funding.

Two of Rosselló's top officials stepped down this weekend, after the leaked group chat showed Rossello and his allies discussed confidential government information and slandered other officials, politicians and journalists.

The leaked chat room conversations among Rosselló and 11 others are laced with profane, homophobic and sexist comments, and in one case even a death threat against the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz.

Overnight, fireworks in front of the governor's mansion were a show of protest. Demonstrators are demanding the 40-year-old governor resign.

Last week, the FBI arrested two of Rossello's former top officials on fraud charges involving more than $15 million of federal funding. Rosselló's administration has been under scrutiny for its spending of government funds after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017.

Rosselló says he was working 18-hour days and was venting when he got involved with those group chats. He plans to run for a second term in November of 2020.