As Trump administration officials – and President Donald Trump himself – continue to speak glowingly about ongoing recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, took to Twitter on Sunday to slam the U.S. government for painting a rosy picture that doesn’t comport with the dire facts on the ground in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Under 12 percent of Puerto Rico’s power has been restored, according to government data, and many still lack access to safe drinking water – a fact Cruz was quick to highlight.
“The American people want to help,” Cruz wrote, “but the U.S. government does not want to help.”
Cruz then aimed a tweet directly at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Brock Long, accusing him of neglecting to respond to hospital power outages.
In an interview on ABC‘s “This Week” Sunday, Long refused to even acknowledge criticism of his agency’s sluggish response to Hurricane Maria, saying that the Trump administration has “filtered out” the San Juan mayor.
Long went on to insist that – despite abundant evidence to the contrary – the Puerto Rico recovery is progressing thanks to the Trump administration’s efforts.
During his recent to Puerto Rico, Trump complained that the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria has “thrown our budget a little out of whack.” He also said Puerto Rico’s crisis is not a “real catastrophe like Katrina.”
Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory, individuals and charities on the U.S. mainland trying to send supplies to the island are facing a series of bottlenecks that are keeping help from reaching those most in need.
The barriers range from a lack of communication to blocked roads to a shortage of vehicles and drivers to make deliveries.
As a result, one Port of San Juan terminal is storing 3,400 containers — more than double the usual number, said Jose “Pache” Ayala, vice president and general manager for Puerto Rico at Crowley Maritime Corp.
