After White House official praises Maria response, San Juan mayor says people are dying

A White House official's praise of the government's response to the post-Hurricane Maria devastation in Puerto Rico drew a sharp rebuke Friday from the mayor of San Juan, as Puerto Ricans grew more desperate in their struggles to obtain basic life-sustaining supplies.

Elaine Duke, the acting head of Homeland Security, said Thursday that she was "very satisfied" with the U.S. government's response to the island's disaster so far and the progress that has been made.

"I know it is really 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," she said.

But the suggestion that there was anything good about the situation didn't sit well with Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz.

After CNN played Duke's comments for the mayor, Cruz called them "an irresponsible statement."

"Well, 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. When you have to pull people down from their buildings, because -- I'm sorry, but that really upsets me and frustrates me.

"I would ask her to come down here and visit the towns and then make a statement like that, which frankly, it is an irresponsible statement. And it contrasts with the statements of support that I have been getting since yesterday when I got that call from the White House.

"This is, damn it, this is not a good news story. This is a 'people are dying' story. This is a 'life or death' story. This is 'there's a truckload of stuff that cannot be taken to people' story. This is a story of a devastation that continues to worsen."

Duke visited the island Friday, surveying the ravaged landscape by helicopter in an hourlong tour. She drove past still-flooded streets, twisted billboards and roofs with gaping holes, and offered encouragement to some of the 10,000 emergency personnel who she says the U.S. government has on the ground.

She also sought to put the "good news" remark behind her.

"Let me clarify," she said Friday upon her arrival in San Juan. Duke said she meant "it was good news that people of Puerto Rico and many public servants of the United States are working together."

The Trump administration has vowed to give the island its full support. On Thursday, it appointed a three-star general to coordinate with relief agencies, and it waived the Jones Act, which was seen as a hindrance to getting aid to the island.

But residents remained in dire straits Friday, with fuel, clean water and other basic supplies running short. The entire island of 3.4 million people remained without electricity, with little phone service. At least 16 people have died, although some experts say that number is likely to grow.

Cruz implored President Donald Trump from afar to "make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives." The president asserted that U.S. officials and emergency personnel were working against daunting odds, and seeing "incredible" results.

But Cruz said, "We are dying. And you are killing us with the inefficiency. ... I am begging, begging anyone that can hear us, to save us from dying."

PERSONNEL ON ISLAND

Trump, in remarks Friday to the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, said his administration was "engaged fully in the disaster and the response and recovery effort."

More than 10,000 federal civilian and military personnel are on the island, Homeland Security Adviser Thomas Bossert said Thursday at the White House. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken over efforts to restore power, he said, including transporting fuel for generators and getting it where it's needed.

John Rabin, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's acting regional administrator for the area, said personnel were "driving through the woods, cutting paths to get to municipalities."

By Friday, thousands more Puerto Ricans received water and rationed food as the aid bottleneck began to ease. Telecommunications were back for about 30 percent of the island, nearly half of the supermarkets had reopened at least for reduced hours, and about 60 percent of the gas stations were pumping.

But more than a week after the Sept. 20 hurricane hit the island, many people were still desperate Friday for necessities, most urgently water.

Trump said Puerto Rico is "totally unable" to handle the catastrophe on its own. "They are working so hard, but there's nothing left," Trump said. "It's been wiped out."

But while voicing solidarity and sympathy with Puerto Rico, he again drew attention to the island's pre-hurricane debt burden and infrastructure woes.

"Ultimately the government of Puerto Rico will have to work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort -- it will end up being one of the biggest ever -- will be funded and organized, and what we will do with the tremendous amount of existing debt already on the island," he said. "We will not rest, however, until the people of Puerto Rico are safe."

Earlier he tweeted: "The fact is that Puerto Rico has been destroyed by two hurricanes. Big decisions will have to be made as to the cost of its rebuilding!"

Appearing on MSNBC shortly afterward, Melissa Mark-Viverito, speaker of the New York City Council and a native of Puerto Rico, said Trump was treating Puerto Ricans as "second-class citizens."

"There is a double standard of how Puerto Ricans are being treated," she said, calling the Trump administration's response to the hurricane "deplorable."

On Twitter on Friday, Trump continued to tout his and his administration's response to the disaster, relaying that Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello had said: "The administration and the President, every time we've spoken, they've delivered."

During an interview Friday morning on MSNBC, Rossello said he is grateful for the federal help, as well as assistance that's been provided by 17 states.

But, he added: "The response still is not where it needs to be, certainly it's not."

Speaking to the media, and taking no questions, Duke said neither she nor Trump will rest until displaced Puerto Ricans are back home; schools, hospitals and clean water are back; and the island's economy is moving again. Duke said she is aware that people are suffering and "clearly the situation in Puerto Rico after the devastating hurricane is not satisfactory."

On his way to New Jersey for the weekend, Trump praised his emergency management director, Brock Long, for doing a "fantastic job" and pointed out that Duke is serving in an acting capacity and "she's working very hard."

Information for this article was contributed by Daniel Victor of The New York Times; by Darlene Superville and Luis Alonso Lugo of The Associated Press; by Jonathan Levin, Jordyn Holman, Christopher Flavelle, Daniel Flatley and Laura Blewitt of Bloomberg News; and by John Wagner of The Washington Post.

A Section on 09/30/2017