By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--January 20, 2020
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Puerto Rico residents are outraged after discovering that emergency relief aid sent by President Donald Trump in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria remained hidden in a warehouse for more than two years.
“People in a southern Puerto Rico city discovered a warehouse filled with water, cots and other unused emergency supplies, then set off a social media uproar Saturday when they broke in to retrieve goods as the area struggles to recover from a strong earthquake. (Associated Press, Jan. 19, 2020)
“With anger spreading in the U.S. territory after video of the event in Ponce appeared on Facebook, Gov. Wanda Vázquez quickly fired the director of the island's emergency management agency. (AP) “The governor said she had ordered an investigation after learning the emergency supplies had been piled in the warehouse since Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in September 2017. “Vázquez said inaction by the fired official, Carlos Acevedo, was unacceptable.”That emergency supplies piled high in the Ponce warehouse for two years makes an inveterate liar out of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz—now running for Puerto Rico governor. Videos of Cruz wading waist deep in the aftermath flood waters of Hurricane Maria told a tawdry tale.
“In September 2017, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Cruz made frequent appearances on national and international television, criticizing Federal aid efforts for not getting the aid shipments into the hands of the people who needed them, accusing President Donald Trump and his administration of "killing us with inefficiency", and giving pleas for help in numerous media interviews. (Wikipedia) “At a September 29 press conference Cruz said:"We are dying here and I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles long... People are drinking off a creek. So I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell... So I am asking the members of the press, to send a mayday call all over the world. We are dying here... And if it doesn't stop, and if we don't get the food and the water into people's hands, what we are going to see is something close to a genocide”.“Speaking on Fox News, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Brock Long responded to Cruz's remarks saying that unity of command was the main thing needed for the relief effort to be successful, and suggested the mayor needed to go to the joint field office and "get plugged in”. “Responding to her statements, President Trump tweeted, "The mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump. Such poor leadership ability by the mayor of San Juan and others in Puerto Rico who are not able to get their workers to help.” “Many legislators responded to Cruz's comments and the Trump tweets. Speaking on CNN, Rep. Al Green said that he saw undertones of racism in the President's remarks. "If they were all Anglos, I don't believe the President would have the attitude that he has, because you don't hear that kind of dog whistle, of people not wanting to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, when the people are Anglos. That's something reserved for people of color." In tweets Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called Trump's remarks "offensive" and Sen. Ed Markey said that the President needed to apologize to the people of Puerto Rico, saying, ""The definition of 'poor leadership' is sitting at your golf club while millions of US citizens beg for your help, @realDonaldTrump," Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Puerto Rico was in "crisis" and Trump should "stop playing politics with their lives." Rep. Don Beyer writing the President "focused on aid efforts in TX & FL but ignored Puerto Rico. Now you attack San Juan's mayor for saying 'people are dying.' THEY ARE DYING."
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“News of the warehouse spread after online blogger Lorenzo Delgado relayed live video on Facebook of people breaking into the building. The scene became chaotic at times as people pushed their way in and began distributing water, baby food and other goods to those affected by the earthquake. (TIME) “Delgado later told reporters that he had received a tip about the warehouse, but gave no specifics on when. "The mayor of Ponce, María Meléndez, said she had not known about the warehouse and its contents. "Puerto Rico's secretary of state, Elmer Román, told reporters that Acevedo had not told him about the contents of the warehouse."How can this be? From (Canada Free Press, Oct. 2, 2017)
Even back in 2017, Puerto Rican truckers were leaving emergency supplies undelivered rather than distribute them to desperate survivors. (NPR, Sept. 28, 2017)
“It’s an island and ports were damaged and roads were impassable. The ships were waiting to dock to deliver the supplies. Trump didn’t delay his response, they had to repair damage before the ships could dock. Now, there are tons and tons of supplies there but the local truck drivers aren’t showing up to drive the trucks. Even if they did, I heard more than half the roads are damaged. So now they are airlifting in supplies to inaccessible areas. What more can Trump do?” Rueben Torres wrote in an email to Canada Free Press. “Still, the media keeps pushing the narrative that the federal government, and Trump, are ignoring Puerto Rico because he hates Hispanics. In other words, FAKE NEWS !!!!!!! How long are people going to keep falling for the same old lies? When are you going to realize you are being manipulated (willingly) so as to purposely divide the country? I have to say this. If you get your news from CNN you are a f#%king moron!! WAKE UP!!!” Torres wrote. “Puerto Rico’s main port opened Saturday allowing 11 ships stocked full of federal aid to dock. The ships delivered 23,000 cots, 1.6 million gallons of water, food, and generators. Many more ships are scheduled to arrive over the next few days. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials arrived with the ships and brought satellite phones to all of the island’s towns and cities. (Guardian)
MELENDEZ: I have to tell you that, for example, FEMA came three weeks after the Hurricane Maria to close it (ph). The governor - I saw the governor three weeks after the hurricane. The governor of us right now, the new governor in Puerto Rico, Wanda Vazquez Garced, this is the first day she has been meeting here in the cities that were affected. “CORNISH: So you feel as though you're seeing a faster reaction. You're seeing more support. MELENDEZ: The faster reaction. For example, the last community I have that received power was one year after Maria. Now my city has almost 57% to 60% of - with electricity, with power. And we have more than 88% percent of water. But the movements continue. They continue. We are worried there are many persons that stay in public parkings (ph) that are open. Nobody wants to be inside a house.About the discovery of the warehouse and its emergency relief contents, Melendez said: “This is outrageous,” she said. “Everyone knows what us mayors went through after Hurricane Maria to try and get help to our cities and how we’ve worked these weeks to provide basic supplies to people affected by earthquakes. Those involved owe us an explanation.” It is not what “us mayors” went through after Hurricane Maria to try and get help to their cities and to provide basic supplies to people affected by earthquakes, Madam Mayor, it’s what the good people of Puerto Rico were put through by their own politicians, with emergency supplies hidden in a warehouse, those politicians claim not to have known about. They’re the ones who are “owed an explanation”.
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