Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Carmen Cruz San Juan Puerto Rico Mayor

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz speaks to the media as she arrives at the temporary government center setup at the Roberto Clemente stadium in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria on September 30, 2017 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

'We Need Water!' San Juan Mayor Rips Trump's Inadequate Response to Puerto Rico Crisis

"What you do when devastation hits you and there is no help on the horizon?"

Jake Johnson, staff writer

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 early 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 trip to Puerto Rico last week, 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."

As Cruz and others desperately plead for help in the midst of Puerto Rico's humanitarian emergency, Trump is at his golf club in Virginia—the 70th day he has spent at a golf course during his presidency.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
We need your help.

Support progressive journalism.

Common Dreams is not your average news site. We don't survive on clicks or advertising dollars. We rely entirely on your support. And without it, our independent progressive journalism simply wouldn’t exist. Every gift of every amount matters.

Join the fight and support our common dreams today.

Donate now

Latest News

See all
AOC on State of the Union

Ocasio-Cortez Says 'Elephant in the Room' Is Senate Democrats Blocking Their Own Party's Agenda

"The argument that we need to make here," the New York Democrat said of bipartisanship's dead end, "is that it's worth going it alone if we can do more for working people in this country."

Jon Queally, staff writer ·

G7 leaders drowning

On Climate and Covid-19 Emergencies, G7 Judged a 'Colossal Failure' for All the World to See

"Never in the history of the G7 has there been a bigger gap between their actions and the needs of the world. In the face of these challenges the G7 have chosen to cook the books on vaccines and continue to cook the planet."

Jon Queally, staff writer ·

Eric Adams on teachers and education

NYC Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams Rebuked for 'Dangerous' 400-Students-to-1-Teacher Theory

"Defunding schools to the point that we have a 400:1 student-to-teacher ratio so we can bankroll another huge expansion in an already-multibillion dollar police budget," said Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, "is how you build a school-to-prison pipeline."

Jon Queally, staff writer ·

G7 Protesters target richest nations over moral crisis of climate and vaccines

Lack of Patent Waiver Would Add Over $70 Billion to Cost of Vaccinating World: Oxfam

Most of that money, said a spokesperson for the group, "will go directly into the pockets" of Big Pharma shareholders.

Jon Queally, staff writer ·

Darnella Frazier

Darnella Frazier Receives Pulitzer Special Citation 'for Courageously Recording the Murder of George Floyd'

"Without Darnella, Derek Chauvin never would have been tried and George Floyd would have been blamed by the state for his own death."

Brett Wilkins, staff writer ·

Most Popular

 
  1. Progressives Rally to Defend Ilhan Omar After 'Bad Faith' Attack by House Democratic Leadership
  2. 'Dangerous and Unconscionable': Amnesty Finds Biden Is Illegally Expelling Thousands of Unaccompanied Children
  3. 'Egregious': Facebook Let Pro-Trump Group Pose as Leftists to Split Democratic Vote
  4. "Might as Well Be Titled, 'Why I'll Vote to Preserve Jim Crow'": Manchin Panned Over Op-Ed Against For the People Act
  5. 'Fossil Fuel Exit Strategy' Shows Transition to Renewable Future Totally Doable
  6. 'Climate Denial Masquerading as Bipartisanship': Progressives Reject Latest Infrastructure Compromise
  7. New Campaign to Fight Amazon's Push for World 'Dominated by Total Corporate Surveillance'
  8. Consumerism, Another Inheritance From the Slavery System
  9. NYC Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams Rebuked for 'Dangerous' 400-Students-to-1-Teacher Theory
  10. 'Little More Than a PR Gimmick': Critics Say G7 Vaccine Donation Pledges Won't Cut It