Pres Trump to visit Puerto Rico amid criticism of disaster response

World Today

CORRECTS FROM MORAVIS TO MOROVIS- Ramon Sortre Vazquez, back, drinks coffee next to his brother Angel Luis, next to a flag of the United States in what is left of his house destroyed by Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Ramon suffers from diabetes and he says that he been 10 days without insulin because the lack of power has not let him keep the medicine in a cool place. (AP Photo / Ramon Espinosa)

The crisis in Puerto Rico is far from over. Infrastructure is in a shambles and many have been without electricity for the two weeks since Hurricane Maria struck the Caribbean island.

U.S. President Donald Trump plans to visit the region on Tuesday.

This comes as supplies begin to reach victims. Still, many doubt the president’s intentions when it comes to the island.

CGTN’s Nitza Soledad Perez reports from San Juan.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the island of Puerto Rico comes amid controversy over his administration’s response to the devastation left by Hurricane Maria.

Almost two weeks in, the U.S. territory is still without electricity, only about a third of residents have cell phone service, and fuel has become more coveted than gold.  But the U.S. president maintains his administration is doing great work in difficult circumstances.

“It’s been amazing what’s been done in a very short period of time on Puerto Rico. There’s never been a piece of land that we’ve known that was so devastated,” the president said.

But even his team admits there are problems. The general in charge of relief efforts said last week that there were not enough troops or equipment on the island and promised to deliver more. Many locals see the federal response as inefficient, but hope the president’s visit will bring the resources needed.

“I hope he doesn’t talk that much and takes a chance to observe. I want him to see that we do need help. I am not talking about money, we need trained people that want to help us,” Puerto Rico resident Mercy Castro said.

Over the weekend, President Trump said via Twitter that Puerto Ricans want “everything to be done for them.” That characterization of Puerto Ricans did not sit well with the millions in the region persevering through multiple layers of hardship.

Every morning on the radio and on local television, a now-familiar slogan is heard: “Puerto Rico rises up.” Islanders hope President Trump will see that first hand.