‘Good news story’? Mayor of San Juan, DHS disagree

The mayor of San Juan expressed her dismay after the Homeland Security chief called the federal government’s Hurricane Maria response “a really good news story.”

“Damn it, this is not a good news story,” Mayor Carmen Cruz said in an interview with CNN. “This is a people are dying story.”

Cruz was responding to acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke, who said Thursday, “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.”

Cruz doesn’t see it that way. She listed the crises Puerto Rico is facing: Babies need to be fed, people need to be saved from buildings, food is scarce on the streets, dialysis patients aren’t receiving their treatment and food shipments have sat undistributed at ports for days.

Trump plans to visit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands next week.

His visit will come as his administration faces criticism for its response to Hurricane Maria, which has been complicated by a mix of geography, logistics and economics. Puerto Rico is a predominantly Spanishspeaking island dealing with bankruptcy, and while the residents are U.S. citizens, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands sit a thousand miles off the coast of Florida.

On Friday, the president said Puerto Rico is “totally unable” to handle the crisis on its own.