Puerto Rico is once again convulsed by scandal. The head of its economic development agency recently resigned after accusing the governor’s chief of staff of reversing penalties for alleged bid rigging on U.S. federal contracts and installing political loyalists. The governor’s in-laws saw a prior investigation into illegal construction and mangrove destruction in the protected area of La Parguera shelved after she took office.

After Hurricane Maria in 2017, billions in U.S. taxpayer money entered the same broken system. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials faced charges on a $1.8 billion power contract tainted by bribery. Outsourcing “reforms” enriched local businessmen who invested federal-sponsored funds, through pop-up companies, in Airbnb real estate and other endeavors. Nine years later, blackouts, water cuts, and ruined roads persist because a political class treats government as a family enterprise.