On January 2, 2025, the Honorable Governor, Jennifer A. González Colón, granted the privilege of appointing her to the position of Acting Secretary of Justice.

Attorney Janet Parra Mercado has 26 years of public service experience, with 22 of those years as a prosecutor. She comes from a hardworking family; her parents, José A. Parra and Marta Mercado instilled in her the value of hard work and sacrifice. She has three children, Fernando Antonio, Luis Ernesto, and Manuel Jose, who grew up visiting the prosecutor1s office and supporting their mother in her role as a prosecutor. She is the grandmother of two girls, Penelope Isabel (9 years old) and Maily Charlotte (1 year old), who are her greatest treasures.

A brief summary of her career and public service performance:

Attorney Janet Parra Mercado studied law at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 1995. She was sworn in as a lawyer in January 1996.

In September 1996, she began working in public service as a lawyer in the Department of Housing. In 1999, she started working in the Department of Justice as Director of Opinions. In 2000, she was appointed as a prosecutor. Subsequently, from November 2001 to 2009, she worked in the Specialized Unit for Domestic Violence, Sexual Crimes, and Child Abuse at the Bayamon Prosecutor1s Office. In 2009, she was appointed as Director of the Specialized Units for Domestic Violence, Sexual Crimes, and Child Abuse, Coordinator of the Drug Court Program, and Director of the Unit for the Prosecution of Drunk Drivers. During this period, she was appointed by the Governor as a member of the Regulatory Board of the Re-education and Re-training Programs for Aggressors of the Department of Corrections. She was also a member of the Suicide Prevention Co1mnission of the Department of Health and the Traffic Safety Commission of the Department of Transportation and Public Works. She participated in the “Value Your Life11 program of the Department of Justice, where for two years, she visited schools, colleges, and universities, delivering a message of prevention to the youth.

In 20121 she was appointed Director of the Investigation and Complaints Center of the Bayamon Prosecutor’s Office. In January 2021, she was appointed as Director of the Division of Domestic Violence, Sexual Crimes, and Child Abuse of the Bayamon Prosecutor’s Office, and in April 2021, she was appointed to head the Organized Crime Division of the Department of Justice. In May 2022, she decided to practice law privately, specializing in criminal matters.

For years, Attorney Parra Mercado has always been available to visit schools and colleges to give lectures encouraging young people to serve the country and make a difference. She has also participated in several meetings with university students at the Interamerican University Law School to share her experiences. In her roles as prosecutor and defense attorney, she has always been firmly committed to achieving justice for those she represents.