Luis Raúl Torres Cruz (born March 5, 1960, in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican independent politician formerly affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He is a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives since 2000, representing the 2nd District. He served as Minority Leader for the PDP in the House of Representatives from 2012 to 2013, following the resignation of

Héctor Ferrer Héctor Jose Ferrer Ríos (March 27, 1970 – November 5, 2018) was a Puerto Rican politician and attorney. He served as a legislator in the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2012 for three consecutive terms. He was the pres ...

Early years and studies

Luis Raúl Torres Cruz was born in

on March 5, 1960. Torres began his studies at the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón with the intention to complete a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. However, he transferred later to the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico where he completed a bachelor's degree in Business Management.

Professional career

From 1981 to 1982, Torres worked as Administrative Officer of the Public Relations Division of the Teachers Association of Puerto Rico.

Political career

Torres first ran for the House at the

1996 general elections File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, but lost to Edwin Mundo from the PNP. He ran again on

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and won, defeating Mundo this time. After being elected again in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Torres was selected by his party as the House Minority Whip. In February 2012, he succeeded

as Minority Leader after Ferrer's resignation. Torres was reelected in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and again in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. On 4 May 2022 Torres Cruz notified Popular Democratic Party leadership that he would b
breaking from the PDP delegation
and continue as an independent representative.

Personal life

Torres has been a member of the

Mita Congregation The Mita Congregation ( es, Congregación Mita) is a Christian denomination with headquarters in Puerto Rico. The congregation has chapters in the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, El Salvador ...

since his childhood. Torres is single, but has two daughters from a previous marriage. In 1993, he was involved in a case of domestic abuse against his then-wife and, despite not being convicted, he completed a rehabilitation program. Torres himself said in an interview that he has "an excellent relationship" with his former wife.

References

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External links

Luis Raúl Torres
on CamaradeRepresentantes.org
Luis Raúl Torres Profile
on WAPA-TV
Luis Raúl Torres announces he is leaving the PDP
on

Telemundo Puerto Rico Telemundo Puerto Rico may refer to: * Telemundo Puerto Rico (TV channel) * WKAQ-TV WKAQ-TV (channel 2) is a television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, airing programming from the Telemundo and NBC networks. It is Owned-and-operated station, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres Cruz, Luis Raul 1960 births Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Living people Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico