President Trump granted clemency to dozens of people, the White House announced Friday, in a round led by pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson. Recipients include Adriana Camberos, 54, who received a second pardon after a 2024 fraud conviction and a prior 2017 counterfeit-bottle case, and former Puerto Rico governor Wanda Vázquez, 65, who pleaded guilty last year to criminal bribery tied to campaign financing. Co-defendants Julio Herrera Velutini and Mark Rossini pleaded to reduced misdemeanor charges, and the moves drew sharp criticism from Puerto Rico's resident commissioner.
Trump Issues Dozens Of Pardons, Including Repeat Fraudster And Former Puerto Rico Governor
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images(Andrew Harnik)
President Donald Trump accelerated his use of clemency Friday, granting pardons to dozens of individuals in a move announced by Alice Marie Johnson — the 2020 pardon recipient who now serves as the White House's pardon czar.
White House Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson's post X about January 2026 pardons. / Screenshot/Alice Marie Johnson/X
Notable recipients include Adriana Camberos, 54, who received a second pardon after a 2024 fraud conviction. Camberos had previously been convicted in 2017 for selling millions of counterfeit 5-Hour Energy bottles to grocery stores; her sentence for that earlier offense was commuted by President Trump in 2021. The latest clemency also covered her brother, Andres Camberos, 45, in connection with a multimillion-dollar grocery fraud scheme.
Vázquez joins several criminal politicians that Trump has pardoned. / RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP via Getty Images
Also pardoned was former Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez, 65, who pleaded guilty last year to criminal bribery charges tied to efforts to finance her gubernatorial campaign. Two of her co-defendants — financier Julio Herrera Velutini and consultant and former FBI agent Mark Rossini — were also included among those granted clemency. Prosecutors had alleged the pair provided campaign funding in exchange for Vázquez replacing the island’s top banking regulator.
Donald Trump / Tom Brenner / Getty Images
As the Vázquez case progressed, she, Herrera Velutini and Rossini reached a deal with the Department of Justice and pleaded guilty last August to reduced misdemeanor counts. Campaign finance records show that Herrera’s daughter, Isabel Herrera, emerged as a major MAGA donor, contributing $2.5 million in 2024 and $1 million in 2023 to the pro-Trump political action committee MAGA Inc.
Protestors demand the resignation of Puerto Rico's Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced (center in the sign) and Senate President Thomas Rivera Shatz (left on the sign) during new protests in front of the governor's mansion on January 23, 2020 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. / Jose Jimenez / Getty Images
The White House characterization that Vázquez’s prosecution had been "weaponized" under the Biden Justice Department was included in the announcement, despite the original indictment being filed in 2020 and the plea agreement taking place during President Trump’s second term. Vázquez’s lawyers have argued the 2020 indictment followed her public endorsement of Mr. Trump days earlier.
Vázquez grew unpopular during her time as governor. / RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP via Getty Images
"Impunity protects and fosters corruption," said Rep. Pablo José Hernández, Puerto Rico's resident commissioner. "The pardon granted to former Governor Wanda Vázquez undermines public integrity, shatters faith in justice, and offends those of us who believe in honest governance."
Vázquez joins a growing list of political figures whose legal penalties have been eased under President Trump’s second term, including Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, and former New York Rep. George Santos, whose prison sentence was commuted.
The White House and the Department of Justice were contacted for comment by several outlets following the announcement.
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