Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló on Wednesday said he would resign after almost two weeks of protests calling for him to step down over a scandal involving offensive chat messages and government corruption that rocked the bankrupt island.

Rosselló said in a televised speech he would stay in his position until August&nbsp;2 when Puerto Rico Secretary of Justice Wanda Vazquez would take over as governor.

The first-term governor announced his resignation three days after he failed on Sunday to soothe critics' concerns by vowing not to seek re-election next year and giving up the leadership of his political party.

His term as governor has seen the island hit with back-to-back 2017 hurricanes that killed about 3,000 people and wreaked widespread destruction just months after the US&nbsp;territory filed for bankruptcy.

At-times violent protests have rocked San Juan and its historic colonial capital district since the July 13 release of leaked text messages between Rosselló and his closest allies, with an estimated 500,000 people attending the largest demonstration on Monday.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló on Wednesday said he would resign after almost two weeks of protests calling for him to step down over a scandal involving offensive chat messages and government corruption that rocked the bankrupt island.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló on Wednesday said he would resign after almost two weeks of protests calling for him to step down over a scandal involving offensive chat messages and government corruption that rocked the bankrupt island. Rosselló said in a televised speech he would stay in his position until August 2 when Puerto Rico Secretary of Justice Wanda Vazquez would take over as governor. The first-term governor announced his resignation three days after he failed on Sunday to soothe critics' concerns by vowing not to seek re-election next year and giving up the leadership of his political party. His term as governor has seen the island hit with back-to-back 2017 hurricanes that killed about 3,000 people and wreaked widespread destruction just months after the US territory filed for bankruptcy. At-times violent protests have rocked San Juan and its historic colonial capital district since the July 13 release of leaked text messages between Rosselló and his closest allies, with an estimated 500,000 people attending the largest demonstration on Monday.

Puerto Rico governor resigns after weeks of mass protests

Thousands of Puerto Ricans, led by protesters on horseback and with some banging drums and singing, marched on the governor's residence on Friday (July 19) demanding that he resign over hundreds of vulgar and offensive leaked chat messages. The march on Governor Ricardo Rossello's official San Juan residence was the latest in a week of sometimes violent protests over the messages attacking political adversaries, some of which were misogynistic and homophobic. The chats on a Telegram message group were published on Saturday (July 13) adding to Rossello's woes the same week that two of his former officials were arrested by the FBI as part of a federal corruption probe in the bankrupt U.S. territory. The protests are the latest troubles to rock Puerto Rico, which has been pummeled by bankruptcy and whipped by a devastating hurricane in 2017 that took a toll on the Caribbean island's already fragile economy. Hundreds of protesters on Friday gathered in streets near the governor's residence chanting, waving flags, banging pots and pans. Some carried placards reading "They Rob Us," according to videos posted on Twitter.

Waving flags and banging drums, Puerto Ricans demand that governor quit

Thousands of Puerto Ricans, led by protesters on horseback and with some banging drums and singing, marched on the governor's residence on Friday demanding that he resign over hundreds of vulgar and offensive leaked chat messages.

Protesters continued to push for the resignation of Governor Ricardo Rossello in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Monday (July 15).

"The people have spoken" - protests continue against Puerto Rico governor