Thousands of Puerto Ricans March Demanding Resignation of Governor of Ricardo Rossello Wednesday July 17,2019

Thousands marched in Puerto Rico for a fifth day on Wednesday July 17,2019 demanding the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rossello, following corruption accusations and the leak of text chats in which he made sexist and homophobic remarks.

To the chant of "Ricky, renuncia!" ("Ricky, resign!") large crowds gathered in the capital San Juan clamouring for Rossello to leave office - which he is refusing to do.

Local celebrity performers such as rapper Benito Martinez ("Bad Bunny"), pop icon Ricky Martin and Rene Perez ("Residente") had urged their fellow Puerto Ricans to demonstrate.

The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and residents are American citizens, but it does not have the same congressional representation accorded to states.

Rossello is under pressure after US federal agents arrested contractors and government officials, including former Education Secretary Julia Keleher, on corruption charges.

The protests erupted after the Center for Investigative Journalism on Saturday July 13,2019 released 889 pages of text chats on the encrypted messaging app Telegram in which Rossello and 12 other male administration members criticise officials, politicians and journalists.