'Good news story': Trump administration slammed for Puerto Rico response

The mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital city has slammed a senior Trump administration official for calling the government’s disaster response “a good news story,” comments that came amid mounting criticism of the federal reaction to the hurricane.

Trump administration officials have defended the federal effort, with acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke telling reporters on Thursday that the relief effort “is proceeding very well considering the devastation that took place”.

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Where is Puerto Rico’s aid?

Many Puerto Ricans are accusing the US of being sluggish in its aid response even as President Trump defended the recovery efforts made by his administration.

She called the federal response “a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane.”

After watching Duke’s comments, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz appeared visibly taken aback during an interview on CNN, calling the remarks “irresponsible” and saying they upset her.

“Maybe from where she’s standing, it’s a good news story,” Cruz said. “When you’re drinking from a creek, it’s not a good news story. When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story.”

“Dammit, this is not a good news story,” Cruz said. “This is a people-are-dying story. This is a life or death story. . . . When you have people out there dying, literally scraping for food, where is the good news?”

Cruz praised the federal government for getting “boots on the ground”but she said the situation in Puerto Rico has worsened as people have struggled to get basic supplies such as food and water.

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Residents of Puerto Rico, a US territory home to more than 3 million Americans, have struggled without electricity, drinking water, food and medical supplies since Hurricane Maria tore across the island on September 20. Many hospitals remain without power, and fears are mounting about the spread of infection and disease the longer people lack electricity and clean water.

As the dire situation has worsened, the federal government’s initial response has drawn increasing scrutiny.

Critics of the administration have compared it to the government’s poor reaction to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 or unfavourably contrasted it with the efforts shown after other disasters, including the recent intense hurricanes that battered Texas and Florida.

The retired three-star general who commanded the massive US military response to the Haitian earthquake of 2010 told The Washington Post that it is fair to “ask why we’re not seeing a similar command and response” in Puerto Rico.

Cruz warned after Maria hit of “horror” in the capital city’s streets, and she has expressed fears about looting.

She pleaded with the federal government to remove “red tape” that is slowing down the relief efforts.

“The FEMA people have their hearts in the right place,” she said of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But, “there is a bottleneck somewhere.”

Cruz said it is critical to find an immediate solution: “People will die. People have died.”

As many as seven people are believed to have died in their homes because of lack of oxygen or dehydration, Cruz said. The municipality rescued 11 people from a nursing home with severe dehydration.

After a call from the White House, Cruz said, FEMA personnel were deployed to the San Juan municipal office, which she said was an encouraging sign. Federal officials also sent pallets of water, food and nourishment for infants and toddlers.

Cruz said she shared with the White House some of the costs the city has already incurred: The municipality invested more than $4.8 million in preparation for and in response to Irma, she said. Hurricane Maria costs already mounted to $6.9 million as of Wednesday.

She said there were 3,000 shipping containers in the San Juan port that hadn’t been moved because the gates couldn’t be opened electronically, adding: “I’m sorry, you open the gates and by hand you push everything out.”

From a historic city wall in Old San Juan, wooden signs could be seen from a basketball court below: “SOS, we need water, canopies, food. La Perla.”

“Despacito,” the signs read. “Don’t abandon us.”

The Washington Post