Víctor Rivera González

Who is Víctor Rivera González?

Victor Manuel Rivera Gonzalez is a Puerto Rican attorney and former Secretary of Corrections and Chief of Police, known in Puerto Rico, especially among prisoners and police officers, for his work during Sila María Calderón's administration.

After receiving an Education and later a Law degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Rivera Gonzalez gained experience and reputation working in various law-related fields, including the prosecutor's office, Interpol and NIE. He was later named Superior Court Judge, a position he held for a large part of his career.

After Sila María Calderón was elected governor of Puerto Rico in 2000, she appointed Rivera Gonzalez to be her Secretary of Corrections and later police superintendent, or police chief of the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Rivera Gonzalez, identified with the Popular PPD party, but having no particular loyalties to any of the major parties, was well known and liked by many, if not most of the prisoners soon after becoming Secretary of Corrections, due to his strong support for rehabilitation rather than mere punishment. Rivera Gonzalez would even, on occasion, reward good behavior in his prisons by inviting celebrities like Sugar Ray Leonard for exhibition matches or by creating basketball tournaments among the prisons.