Julio Herrera Velutini and Wanda Vázquez Garced
- Status
- Pardons granted after misdemeanor pleas; FEC complaint filed
- Clemency
- Pardon (after plea deal) · Jan 15, 2026
- People
- Donald Trump
- The case
- Herrera Velutini, a Venezuelan banker, was charged with bribing then-Governor Vázquez of Puerto Rico with $300,000 in campaign contributions to remove a regulator investigating his bank; Vázquez was charged with accepting them. As the case neared trial in 2025, the Justice Department agreed to dismiss the most serious charges, and in August 2025 both, with co-defendant Mark Rossini, pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanor campaign-finance charges, a deal the presiding judge likened to “a slap on the wrist.”
THE LINK TO TRUMP’S ORBIT
Campaign Legal Center reports that Herrera Velutini’s 25-year-old daughter, whose only prior donation was $20, gave $3.5 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC before the pardon. He was represented by former Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, who hired the Trump-tied firm Ballard Partners on behalf of the bank.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS
The pardons came months after the August 2025 guilty pleas; CBS News reported that Rossini was pardoned as well. The Justice Department’s clemency list dates the pardons January 15, 2026, and lists amended pardons for all three on January 20, 2026, for contribution by a foreign national. Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint arguing the daughter was not the true source of the money; that is an allegation, not a finding.
FEC filings show MAGA Inc. received $2.5 million on December 31, 2024 and $1 million on July 22, 2025 from a donor filed as Isabela Herrera, listed as a financial consultant in Florida and New York, matching the $3.5 million Campaign Legal Center attributes to the daughter.
RESPONSE
Vázquez told reporters after her 2022 arrest that she was innocent, NPR reported; a White House official told CBS News her pardon materials say there was never a quid pro quo and her prosecution was politically motivated. A White House official told CBS News the donations had nothing to do with the pardon. Herrera Velutini’s lawyer, Chris Kise, told CBS News his client is grateful for the pardon; the cited reports do not include a statement from Herrera Velutini on the donation.
Correction. An earlier version said both pardons came before trial and gave only a month for the grants. Both had pleaded guilty in August 2025 to lesser misdemeanor campaign-finance charges, and the Justice Department list dates the pardons January 15, 2026. Corrected September 18, 2026.
FEDERAL DONATIONS ON FILE (FEC)
Campaign Legal Center reported that Herrera Velutini’s daughter gave $3.5 million to MAGA Inc.; these MAGA Inc. filings under the name Isabela Herrera total that amount. The Ledger has not independently confirmed the family relationship. Amounts of $25,000 and up as filed; total on file $3,500,000. A filing under a name is not by itself proof of identity or intent.
| Date | Amount | Committee | Contributor as filed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-22 | $1,000,000 | MAGA INC. | HERRERA, ISABELA, NEW YORK NY | Filing ↗ |
| 2024-12-31 | $2,500,000 | MAGA INC. | HERRERA, ISABELA, PINECREST FL | Filing ↗ |
Search these receipts at fec.gov ↗ · Fetched 2026-09-18
SOURCES
- Campaign Legal Center: Seeking pardon, foreign billionaire allegedly funneled millions to Trump super PAC ↗
- Bloomberg Law: Trump pardons Venezuelan banker, ex-Puerto Rico governor ↗
- CBS News: Trump pardons Puerto Rico’s former governor Wanda Vázquez ↗
- Campaign Legal Center: Inside the pardon playbook: an analysis of President Trump’s clemency abuses ↗
- U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney: Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-present) ↗
- NPR (Associated Press): Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez is charged with bribery ↗
A connection recorded here is not proof that it bought the outcome. Where a response exists, it is part of the record. How entries are labeled · Submit a correction or response · Download the ledger
