Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello says he will not run for re-election, but is not resigning

Governor Ricardo Rossello of Puerto Rico

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Embattled Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said Sunday he will not seek re-election and will step down as head of his party, but will not resign his post as leader of the island. 

Rossello made the announcement via a brief Facebook video as hundreds of viewers posted angry messages. He also said he is looking forward to facing the process of impeachment, whose initial stages have begun in Puerto Rico's legislature.

Rossello is facing public furor over an obscenity-laced online chat that showed the governor and his close advisers insulting women and mocking constituents, including victims of Hurricane Maria.

Public outrage over the leaked chats sent hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans marching to Rossello's official residence in colonial Old San Juan in recent days demanding his resignation.

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