Mayor:
President
Trump defended his handling of the crisis, claiming that his administration did a "fantastic job" and that Puerto Ricans are still being helped, but
"The administration killed the Puerto Ricans with neglect. The Trump administration led us to believe they were helping when they weren't up to par, and they didn't allow other countries to help us," Cruz told CNN.
"Shame on
After nearly a year of controversy over the death toll from the
The Puerto Rican government's longstanding official death toll from Maria had been 64.
Hurricane Maria wreaked widespread devastation and caused
Households on the island went for an average of 84 days without electricity, 64 days without water and 41 days without cellular telephone coverage after the storm.
In comparison, the death toll from 2005's Hurricane Katrina - the costliest hurricane in
Trump told reporters Wednesday that his administration is doing a "fantastic job in
Assistance to
The island was also deeply in debt, and its power grid was crippled by neglect even before the hurricane, he said.
"I think most of the people in
'Stain' on Trump presidency
One month after Maria, when the official number of people killed stood at 16, Trump said that the disaster was nothing compared to Hurricane Katrina's death toll.
"That shaped and hampered the type of response that we got, federal assistance, federal deployment and assets, to
"It is indisputable that thousands of people died because of the disastrously inadequate response," Velazquez told CNN.
The president's comments, plus images of Trump throwing paper towels at hurricane survivors, outraged Puerto Ricans.
Cruz was having none of it: "What is there to be proud of?" she asked
Puerto Ricans are "going to remember this forever."
AFP (http://www.voanews.com/author/27486.html)
President Trump touts ‘fantastic job’ in Puerto Rico even though Hurricane Maria death toll increased from 64 to 2,975
DeLauro Statement on New Official Puerto Rico Death Toll, Trump Statement
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