House committee questions nominees as panel that probes public officials faces credibility concerns

The Puerto Rico House Government Commission held a public hearing on May 12, 2025, to evaluate three judicial nominees sent by Gov. Jennifer González Colón to serve on the Panel on the Independent Special Prosecutor (Panel sobre Fiscal Especial Independiente, FEI). The nominees — Licenciada Leila Rolón Enrique, Licenciada Nélida Jiménez Velázquez and Licenciada Olga Virriel Cardona — described long careers in the judiciary and legal practice and pledged to evaluate future referrals “conforme a la prueba.”

The hearing focused less on the biographies of the nominees than on questions about the FEI’s independence, transparency and record. Several legislators cited internal statistics showing a low rate of findings after investigation: “de las denuncias presentadas del 2022-2024 fueron radicadas 119. Solamente 27 se encontraron causa,” leaving roughly 22.7% that found cause and a large share that led to no cause or were dismissed. Representative Héctor Ferrer Santiago and other lawmakers said that gap has damaged public confidence. Ferrer and others urged the nominees to help restore credibility to the FEI and to support possible legislative reforms.

Why it matters: the FEI is the mechanism used to investigate alleged crimes by public…