On the night of Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón arrived at the Ballajá Barracks in Old San Juan to attend San Juan Moda’s closing runway show. There, she was asked how the event contributes to tourism. It contributes enormously, she replied, because fashion is part of Puerto Rico’s economic development and what the island offers the world.
Before answering, González said she was there to see the wonders her friend Carlitos creates. He was standing beside her, wearing a black Louis Vuitton suit, a shiny black shirt and a black tie, with his hair dyed white.
Carlos Bermúdez Urbina — whom some call “Carlitos” or “Bermu” — is a publicist, media consultant, businessman and talent manager. He is sometimes identified as a public relations practitioner, although he is not licensed to practice public relations. Since 2012, he has presided over and organized San Juan Moda, an annual fashion event that brings together Puerto Rican designers, models and celebrities.
Away from the runway, Bermúdez has been one of the governor’s New Progressive Party’s (PNP in Spanish) leading communications advisers for more than 30 years, and he has been at the governor’s side for much of her political career.
Half a dozen sources close to La Fortaleza, Puerto Rico’s executive mansion, the PNP and the publicist described him as a central figure behind González. Several of them confirmed to the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) that his role includes coordinating and strategizing the governor’s news conferences and public appearances.
They added that his relationships within the media industry allow him to intervene in decisions on government advertising placements and control coverage of the administration. That takes different forms: from coordinating exclusive interviews or special coverage to calling editors and media executives to complain about a photo, headline or story whose editorial line is perceived as negative toward the governor. Several media executives and editors also confirmed this.
Bermúdez carries out these tasks without holding any official government position. He does so through OEIL, Inc., a company of which he is president and sole owner.
“I don’t work for La Fortaleza,” Bermúdez told the CPI. “The corporation I represent and work for provides services to government agencies that request them, including La Fortaleza, where the corporation provides strategic advice and recommendations,” he added.
Although he “maintains contact with journalists, editors and other media professionals” as part of his work, he denied intervening to prevent a news outlet from publishing a story.
The governor’s spokeswoman, Marieli Padró, told the CPI that Bermúdez provides “support and advisory services” to the Central Office of Communications and Public Affairs. She said La Fortaleza does not issue “instructions to intervene in or seek to influence the editorial coverage of news media.”
Unlike during the Ricardo Rosselló Nevares administration, Bermúdez has played a much more prominent role in the current administration, according to the sources interviewed. Under Rosselló, he was one of the “brothers,” members of the governor’s inner circle who helped shape his public image and public policy and participated in the Telegram chat that became central to the 2019 scandal that ended Rosselló’s governorship.
But more than a client, the governor is his friend. The two have a close friendship dating back more than 30 years, to when she was still in high school.
That closeness has allowed Bermúdez’s circle of friends and private clients to also enjoy privileged access to La Fortaleza and government resources, at least four sources confirmed to the CPI. Personalities such as María del Pilar “Maripily” Rivera and television host Jaime Mayol have received VIP access to the Executive Mansion and participated in government advertising campaigns. Shows by producer Soraya Sánchez, his friend and business partner, as the CPI confirmed, have received sponsorships from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Publicidad Tere Suárez, the agency named after another of his friends, holds some of the government’s most lucrative accounts.
Television host Jaime Mayol and his now-wife, Carolina Vale Pendás, had a photo shoot at La Fortaleza. Access to multiple areas of the Executive Mansion for this type of private event is highly unusual.
In addition, some communications and public relations professionals he trusts became employees and press contacts at several government agencies beginning in January 2025, according to the people interviewed.
For this story, the sources asked to speak anonymously because of the potential repercussions for their jobs.
Bermúdez categorically denied having coordinated or facilitated government contracts, sponsorships or access to government for his clients and people close to him. Regarding the recruitment of press advisers, he said his role is limited to “offering opinions or recommendations,” but that he has no authority over appointments or hiring. He also denied participating in the hiring of advertising agencies during this administration.
La Fortaleza said the agencies contract directly with personalities for campaigns and events and that Bermúdez does not participate in that process.
In Sánchez’s case, the producer denied any intervention or effort by Bermúdez in connection with the government sponsorships and incentives her company has received.
Publicist Tere Suárez did not respond to the CPI’s questions.
Billing the Government
Since González took office as governor, Bermúdez has devoted himself day and night to the image of her administration — literally.
Between March and December 2025, the publicist’s company billed 1,688 hours at rates of $100 and $120 per hour, according to invoices reviewed by the CPI. The total was $185,450 over 10 months, or an average of just over $18,500 a month.
During that period, there were at least 31 days on which, according to the invoices, Bermúdez would have worked 12 hours or more. Based on the time billed, on 12 occasions he exceeded 15 hours of work in a single day. Some of these lengthy workdays for the government would have coincided with his participation in San Juan Moda activities and events outside Puerto Rico, such as La Casa de los Famosos, a Telemundo-produced reality show that featured a group of celebrities living together for three months in a house with cameras running 24/7, where he accompanied his friend and client Maripily Rivera in Mexico.
Bermúdez said OEIL has “different professional resources” and that the billed hours “may correspond to work performed by more than one person and do not necessarily represent an individual workday.”
Although he registered the company in 2016, the publicist told the CPI that the entity has more than three decades of experience.
Asked by the CPI how many employees OEIL has, he said it has “three people dedicated” to government matters, in addition to two other resources as needed.
“Although much of the work is performed in person, the nature of the contracted services may also require consultations, analysis, calls and coordination outside regular business hours, at night or on weekends, as well as remote work, when necessary,” he added.
Bermúdez said his company’s work for the government includes “evaluating ideas and recommending strategies, messages, the appropriate timing and channels for communicating them, as well as supporting the handling of situations and coordination among teams.”
During the current four-year term, OEIL has held contracts with the Department of Housing under former Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company under Willianette Robles Cancel and the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, or AAFAF, during Francisco Domenech Fernández’s tenure.
The contracts with those three public entities exceed $626,000.
The OEIL invoices that the CPI reviewed do not show work performed by more than one person or work that was subcontracted. Subcontracting would require AAFAF’s approval, and payments to subcontractors would have to appear on the invoices. In OEIL’s case, no invoice included such details.
For the most part, the invoices contain generic descriptions of the work performed, such as “communications consulting,” “media requests,” “photography services,” “project follow-up,” and calendar meetings or meetings with La Fortaleza’s communications team.
Although Bermúdez said the work was performed by more than one person, the services were billed at the same hourly rate: $100 at AAFAF and $120 at Tourism and Housing. That would mean everyone at OEIL charges the same rate as Bermúdez.
With Domenech’s approval, AAFAF paid for much of the work Bermúdez performs at the Executive Mansion, even when his services were unrelated to that agency. Billed to AAFAF, OEIL advised on the news conferences known as En Récord, held at La Fortaleza twice a week, and Asunto Semanal on Sundays, moderated by Public Affairs Secretary Jean Peña Payano. It also advised on La Fortaleza’s visits to different mayors, known as Cumpliendo Contigo, and provided services related to other agencies, such as the Ports Authority and the Department of Economic Development and Commerce, even though it had no contracts with them.
Christmas events, the Sounds of Puerto Rico campaign and the Fitur tourism fair appear among meetings billed to both AAFAF and Tourism. All involved staging musical performances, some of which featured artists close to Bermúdez.
Billing one agency’s budget for work not done for that agency, as occurred with AAFAF, is not standard practice and requires a waiver from the Chief of Staff or an interagency agreement, according to the Office of the Comptroller. AAFAF Executive Director Vicky González Vega said that, in OEIL’s case, the arrangement was carried out under an interagency agreement with La Fortaleza that certified the services provided by the publicist before he was paid.
Although OEIL’s contracts with Tourism and Housing remain in effect, its AAFAF contract expired July 31 and was not renewed “at the consultant’s request,” the agency said.
Asked by the CPI under what contract Bermúdez currently provides services to the governor, given that he is no longer under contract with AAFAF, La Fortaleza said he does so “through collaborative agreements with the agencies [to which] he provides services and as required.”
“Coffee With Su”
Suzanne Ujaque Guzmán has a podcast called Un Cafecito con Su (Coffee With Su), recorded in a studio decorated to look like Barbie’s living room.
In April 2025, after serving on the organizing committee for the governor’s inauguration, Ujaque became press adviser to the Department of Consumer Affairs. She had a contract there through her company, Holistic Marketing & Communications, totaling $205,000, which remained in effect through June 30.
In the summer of 2023, before entering government, Ujaque had her friend Carlos Bermúdez as a guest on her podcast.
Few interviews with him can be found online, and most are related to his role in San Juan Moda or as a talent manager. According to Bermúdez, he was not born to be in front of a camera; he works so others can look good.
“This isn’t an interview. This is a conversation between friends,” Ujaque said of the man she considers Puerto Rico’s fashion czar and a very successful man.
Bermúdez recalled that, as a child, he organized events and games during the summer with his cousins in the Sonadora neighborhood of Guaynabo. He was the one who set the rules and decided how everything would be done, day by day. He says that, ever since, he has always wanted to be a leader, someone who serves people and organizes everything. After graduating from the Central High School of Visual Arts in Santurce, he wanted to study architecture and painting at the University of Puerto Rico. He ended up in communications and politics and says he made the right decision.
For nearly 40 years, throughout his entire adult life and even before graduating from high school, Bermúdez has been tied to the PNP. His client list has included former Senate President Roberto Rexach Benítez; former mayors Jorge Santini of San Juan and María “Mayita” Meléndez of Ponce; former PNP president — and his first cousin — Leo Díaz Urbina; and former Gov. Rosselló Nevares. In the governor’s case, she has been his client since her time in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, then as resident commissioner in Washington, D.C. and now at La Fortaleza.
Although he says he learned a great deal from Rexach — whom he credits with the fact that he barely sleeps, as he wrote in a column after Rexach’s death in 2012 — Bermúdez credits his career in politics to former PNP lawmaker Albita Rivera, whom he met at an event while he was still in high school.
“Being a little forward, I told her, ‘I know you.’ I must have been 15 or 16, and she became very interested in the conversation with me. I was just a kid. And I told her, ‘I’m a statehood supporter, just like you,’” he recalled. At the time, she offered him a job in her office as part of a summer internship, and from then on, he worked with her for the rest of her career.
“Bermúdez, the Beast”
On Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, then-Gov. Rosselló Nevares began the day annoyed. His idea to turn closed schools into government service centers had barely appeared in that day’s newspapers.
“It’s fucked up that this is the story about the schools,” the governor wrote at 5:54 a.m. in the Telegram chat that led to his resignation in the summer of 2019.
Rosselló asked his team to circulate the idea again.
“Bermu, let’s touch base [with El Nuevo Día] for an in-depth interview on the process and new projects with Gov and Palou,” wrote Ramón Rosario Cortés, then secretary of Public Affairs and one of the chat’s 12 participants.
“I’m already coordinating with Primera Hora,” Bermúdez said.
“Bermúdez, the beast,” Rosario Cortés replied, using the term as praise for his ability to deliver results.
The next day, Primera Hora published a two-page cover story featuring an exclusive interview with the then-governor and La Fortaleza infrastructure adviser María Palou. The headline read: From Schools to Service Centers.
“Amazing, Bermu,” Rosario Cortés said after seeing the front page Bermúdez shared in the chat at 4 a.m.
“Awesome,” the publicist replied.
By 2014, Bermúdez was already advising Rosselló Nevares on his gubernatorial ambitions. He did so while also representing González, then the House minority leader and a candidate for resident commissioner, and his first cousin Leo Díaz Urbina, who was running for mayor of San Juan. Despite his family relationship with Bermúdez, Díaz is now one of the governor’s leading opponents within the PNP.
Rosselló and González won their races in 2016, and Bermúdez joined their communications teams, although the Executive Mansion was the priority. Two years later, in the summer of 2019, González became one of the first PNP figures to call for Rosselló’s resignation and was even mentioned as an option to fill the vacancy in the secretary of state position and, therefore, the governorship.
Beyond the misogynistic messages and mockery of administration opponents, the Telegram chat shows how media operations were run out of La Fortaleza, from managing social media to leaking information and questions to certain news outlets at news conferences. When there were problems with a journalist, Bermúdez intervened and then shared the outcome in the chat. Early in the morning, he would send newspaper front pages and even social media posts that could pose problems for the Rosselló administration.
Urban music artists also came to La Fortaleza, including Ozuna, one of the publicist’s clients at the time. In December 2018, Bermúdez announced in the chat, along with Rosselló, that the reggaeton artist would perform “Llegó la Navidad” in a video sponsored by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company.
The intersection between La Fortaleza and the entertainment world was by design, in large part thanks to Bermúdez. It all happened behind the scenes until the early hours of Saturday, July 13, 2019, when the CPI published 889 pages of the Telegram chat. The political earthquake led to Rosselló’s departure from La Fortaleza amid massive protests and pressure from within the PNP.
Bermúdez resigned that same day, both from his role at La Fortaleza and from González’s team, “to avoid distractions.” But although he was part of Rosselló’s inner circle, at least two sources tied to that administration said there were matters that were not discussed in front of the publicist. The reason? His relationship with and loyalty to González Colón.
The Return to La Fortaleza
A column published in the summer of 2024 by the regional digital outlet El Sol de Puerto Rico said Bermúdez has the formula for success. Among his skills, it cited his ability to connect public figures with the people, create authentic narratives, and understand and capitalize on voters’ emotional needs.
“In the campaigns of Maripily Rivera and Jenniffer González, Bermúdez implemented a strategy focused on presenting these figures as real people, showing intimate and personal aspects of their lives,” the column said.
The governor’s public image has been consistent: She is with “the people,” and that is how she has sought to portray herself during election campaigns, such as when she arrived at the PNP Convention on a Can-Am or appeared in campaign ads riding an ATV or an excavator.
It is hard to imagine that five years earlier, in the summer of 2019, Bermúdez did not have the formula for success. He took “a hard blow” that caused him a great deal of suffering, as he said in the interview with Ujaque. After leaving La Fortaleza through the back door, the publicist moved to Miami for a time, according to sources, as did others from the chat, including lobbyist Elías Sánchez and fellow publicist Edwin Miranda. Away from politics, Bermúdez returned to the public arena through his other passions: fashion and entertainment. While quietly continuing the San Juan Moda events, he also remained active in the world of reality shows.
In 2023, the third season of La Casa de los Famosos began. One contestant was former Puerto Rican beauty queen Madison Anderson Berríos, whose manager was her friend Bermúdez.
That year, Bermúdez returned to public life after the summer of 2019 and rejoined the team of the then-resident commissioner. In September 2023, the open secret that there would be a PNP gubernatorial primary was confirmed. At the time, it was also confirmed that Bermúdez would serve as a press adviser on the then-resident commissioner’s campaign. As expected, his presence on González’s team raised questions about his participation in the Telegram chat.
“Everyone has the right to make mistakes,” campaign co-director Ángel Cintrón said at the time.
The following year, in 2024, Bermúdez returned to La Casa de los Famosos, this time alongside his friend from Ponce, Maripily. The show was a runaway success in Puerto Rico. The “Huracán Boricua” (“The Boricua Hurricane”), as she was nicknamed, and her catchphrase “Voto perdido” (“Wasted vote”) — referring to the times she managed to avoid elimination thanks to public support — dominated news coverage and social media. The spokesman for everything related to the Huracán Boricua was her friend and manager, Carlos Bermúdez.
That year, as the Huracán Boricua swept across the island, González was maneuvering her way toward La Fortaleza.
Photo provided
Although she considered González a friend, Maripily denied several times that she supported her as a candidate because, she said, she voted in Miami and did not want to get involved in Puerto Rican politics. But as the general election approached, with polls pointing to a closer race than anticipated, the Huracán Boricua began to enter the picture.
In October 2024, Maripily appeared as a guest on De todo menos política, the podcast hosted by González. Then, days before the election, the then-candidate for governor crossed paths with Maripily during a political walk through a shopping mall, where they spent time together and took photos in front of the public. Although the businesswoman again denied that this amounted to an endorsement of González, no other candidate had photos with the Huracán Boricua heading into the election.
Carlitos’ Touch
For former Puerto Rican beauty queen Joyce Giraud, the Miss Universe pageant is like the Super Bowl for Puerto Ricans.
“Seriously, everyone, when Carlitos [Bermúdez] let me in on this secret — the most eagerly awaited secret — I couldn’t believe it,” Giraud said Sept. 23 while hosting the news conference at which the governor announced that Puerto Rico would host the pageant in 2026.
The news conference was held at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico with executives from the organization. A screen in the background played a recorded message from Miss Universe owner, Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú, who thanked González “for decisively pushing this initiative forward.”
Bermúdez was present during the announcement. He is one of the key people organizing the pageant on behalf of the government, according to the sources. For years, the publicist has been connected to the beauty pageant world, including the Miss Universe and Miss World franchises in Puerto Rico.
“We’re going to make the most of this, in terms of thinking outside the box and holding major events for this pageant,” said the governor, who that day promised a $200 million impact on Puerto Rico’s economy.
Photo provided
She also said that, to secure the beauty pageant, she committed about $9 million in public funds. Of that amount, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company disbursed $3 million amid several scandals within the Miss Universe organization, including an organized crime accusation against Rocha Cantú in Mexico and an arrest warrant for fraud against the other owner, Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, in Thailand.
In February, despite the unresolved allegations, Tourism announced that it would continue with its plan to host the pageant under a new agreement, this time with Miss Universe CEO Ronald Day, a Panamanian executive who was also present when Puerto Rico was announced as host. Day joined Miss Universe after serving as Telemundo’s chief content officer, where he was among those responsible for La Casa de los Famosos.
Several sources said that, beyond his consulting services, Bermúdez directly intervenes in decision-making within the Tourism Company, including decisions involving Miss Universe and Fitur in Madrid, as well as Sounds of Puerto Rico — a campaign and series of free concerts around the island — and the recently announced tourism promotion campaign Yo te quiero Puerto Rico.
The government allocated more than $2 million to the new promotional campaign, of which more than $1.3 million went toward the participation of Daddy Yankee and Olga Tañón, another friend of Bermúdez.
Photo provided
It is a pattern like what occurred during the Rosselló Nevares administration, when reggaeton artist Ozuna, then a Bermúdez client, fronted advertising campaigns for the administration in power at the time.
“Administrative decisions, including those related to awarding sponsorships, are the responsibility of Puerto Rico Tourism Company officials who have the authority to make them,” Bermúdez told the CPI.
The design of Puerto Rico’s booth at Fitur, as well as the Sounds of Puerto Rico and Yo te quiero Puerto Rico campaigns, have all been handled by the Publicidad Tere Suárez agency.
Although the agency was linked to the Pedro Pierluisi administration, at least three sources said Bermúdez has helped the company obtain advertising contracts under the González administration because of the friendship between the publicist and the agency’s president, Tere Suárez Castro.
In just a year and a half, Publicidad Tere Suárez has accumulated nearly $24 million in contracts across at least a dozen agencies.
“I have not taken any steps with any government agency to seek, recommend or favor the hiring of Publicidad Tere Suárez,” Bermúdez said. He explained that his dealings with advertising agencies “are limited to coordinating matters related to ongoing projects” and denied participating in their “selection, contracting or awarding.”
La Fortaleza also denied having instructed Bermúdez to hire an advertising agency.
Suárez did not answer the CPI’s questions.
Since February, the CPI has requested Publicidad Tere Suárez’s invoices from the Tourism Company, but the agency never provided the documents.
Another company that has received financial support from Tourism is Sorasan Productions, a company owned by producer Soraya Sánchez. Since January 2025, the company has received more than $1.6 million in Tourism sponsorships for productions including Objetivo Fama 2025 ($800,000) — on which Maripily served as a guest judge — and the Premios Tu Música Urbano 2025 ($500,000).
Sorasan Productions also received $150,000 in film incentives from the Department of Economic Development and Commerce to bolster the Film Commission’s image. Of the total, $55,000 would go toward “producer services expenses,” while the rest would be divided among a photo booth ($15,000), a discussion panel ($25,000), a mini-documentary titled Reggaeton Honors ($20,000) and a short-film competition ($35,000), whose winner received a $1,000 prize.
Both Sánchez and Bermúdez denied any intervention by the publicist on behalf of the producer or in connection with the sponsorships awarded by the Tourism Company.
“The sponsorships we have received are based on the value of our projects and the benefits we offer in return,” Sánchez said. She also said the contracts, incentives and sponsorships she has received from the government “did not begin with the current administration and do not depend on my personal or professional relationship with Carlos Bermúdez.”
“Carlos has been my friend for many years, and we have maintained a friendship independently of our respective work. Professionally, as happens among many people in the entertainment industry, he has at times collaborated by facilitating contacts or arrangements involving artists with whom he has a professional relationship, such as Ozuna and other talent. That is completely different from arranging or facilitating government contracts or sponsorships for my company,” she said.
In addition to a close friendship, Sánchez and Bermúdez have a business relationship. In 2024, they co-produced the play La Casa de Maripily: ¡Se vale todo!. Both told the CPI that projects related to Maripily are the only business ventures they undertake together and that none has received government sponsorship.
Beyond the presence of artists at La Fortaleza and at events paid for with public funds, Carlitos’ touch is also evident in the governor’s public image: from riding a motorcycle on the highway or dancing reggaeton, to the use of live videos and Reels showing her living a happy, Instagrammable life, like a fairy tale. This comes as large parts of the population lack water and electricity, among other needs.
In April 2025, one such moment went viral. On her podcast De todo menos política, González had her husband, José Yovín Vargas, as a guest.
“And you know you’ve got me crazy about you?” the governor said.
“What?” Vargas asked.
“That you’ve got me crazy about you,” she clarified.
“Meow,” he replied.
More than a year later, the first couple meowed at each other again during a fundraiser for the governor’s birthday. Once again, the Reel of the moment went viral.
Bermúdez himself said it in 2014 when he tweeted: “A good circus doesn’t depend only on jugglers, but also on a good tent, chairs, flooring, ushers and the best popcorn. Otherwise, it’s just one more.” During his second stint at La Fortaleza, the publicist is making sure the González administration is not just one more.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
