Donald Trump hands out another pardon, and surprise, surprise — it stinks of bribes and MAGA loyalty
As of January 16, 2026, multiple news outlets reported that Donald Trump had pardoned Wanda Vázquez Garced, the former Governor of Puerto Rico.
She was arrested back in 2022 for her involvement in a bribery scheme with several people, including Julio Martin Herrera Velutini, Frances Diaz, Mark Rossini, and John Blakeman, to finance Vazquez Garced’s 2020 gubernatorial election campaign, according to an archived entry in the United States Department of Justice. Why was she pardoned after all of this, you ask? Simple, she sucked up to Trump with the one thing he loves equally as much as power: money.
When it was revealed that Trump had pardoned Wanda Vázquez Garced, along with her co-defendants, the billionaire businessman and founder of Britannia Financial Group, Julio Martin Herrera Velutini and former FBI special agent Mark Rossini, several people, excluding the ones who were personally affected by their activities, appeared unbothered. However, as the news gained momentum among people, especially through social media platforms, an interesting aspect of the case that was revealed piqued the people’s interest, resulting in it becoming a hot topic of discussion eventually. As it turns out, Herrera Velutini’s daughter, Isabel Herrera, had made two major donations to MAGA Inc., a political action committee that supports Donald Trump. She contributed $2.5 million in December 2024 and another $1 million in July 2025. According to an article published by CBS News on January 16, 2026, White House officials claimed that the pardons were not connected to these donations, but many believe otherwise, including me. You want me to think that out of all the people in the world, Trump is doing something for someone just because he feels like it? Nah! He isn’t like that. He never does anything without a reason, and unfortunately enough, this is yet another example of that.
Nevertheless, the same CBS News piece mentioned before also contained a statement from Julio Martin Herrera Velutini following his pardon, which was conveyed by Chris Kise, his attorney, to CBS News. It read:
“Mr. Herrera Velutini is profoundly grateful to President Donald J. Trump for bestowing the grace of his benevolent pardon and looks forward to moving on with his life and dedicating his time to his family and career.”
Of course, he had to flatter Trump again, because if he didn’t, he might soon end up behind bars again. That’s the thing about him: once you stroke his ego, you have to continue doing it.
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