Trump Tweet Hits Sore Spot: Slow Pace of Puerto Rico’s Recovery
- Deep in debt, island couldn’t afford critical aid from states
- Hospitals still relying on shipments of diesel from FEMA
Ryan Says Puerto Rico on 'Its Own Two Feet' Is Goal
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President Donald Trump’s Thursday morning tweet that the federal government can’t help Puerto Rico forever infuriated some of the U.S. commonwealth’s political leaders. It also raised a pressing question about the island’s recovery: Why is it taking so long?
More than three weeks after Hurricane Maria, authorities reported Friday that the proportion of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents with electricity actually dropped to 9 percent from 17 percent after a plant serving San Juan failed. The lack of power has worsened a crisis where disease is spreading and a third of the population still lacks potable water.