Jul 23, 2019

Puerto Rico police use tear gas in bid to break up huge street protests

Rebecca Falconer

Police clash with protesters in front of the governor's mansion on July 23, 2019 in Old San Juan. — Police clash with protesters in front of the governor's mansion in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo: Jose Jimenez/Getty Images

After a day of largely peaceful protests involving hundreds of thousands of people, Puerto Rico police used tear gas to try and disperse demonstrators from the streets of San Juan Monday night, Reuters reports.

Details: Protesters threw objects at police keeping the line between the governor’s mansion and those calling for Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to resign over leaked homophobic and sexist text messages, according to ABC News. Police said they deployed tear gas at 11 p.m. after several warnings to protesters to leave the area, per ABC.

The big picture: Police have used tear gas on protesters on previous nights over the past week, as pressure grows on Rosselló to step down. On Sunday, he said he'd resign as leader of his party and would not run for re-election next year, but he refused to step down as governor before the end of his term.

This article has been updated with more details on clashes between police and protesters.

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Puerto Rico police use tear gas in bid to break up huge street protests

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