US President Donald Trump did not hesitate Thursday to put Puerto Rico, which is struggling to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria, saying that federal aid will not be “eternal.”
“We can not keep the Fema (emergency management agency, editor’s note), the army and the relief, which were incredible (under the most difficult circumstances) in PR (Puerto Rico) forever! “tweeted Donald Trump.
“Electricity and all infrastructure were disastrous before the hurricanes. The Congress will decide, “concluded the American president.
Puerto Rico, struck by Hurricane Maria on September 20, which left at least 44 dead, still wounds its wounds. Some 5,700 people still live in shelters and most of the island still lacks electricity and running water.
The governor of the island Ricardo Rossello this week asked the Congress for an additional aid of 4.9 billion dollars within the framework of a program of loans to the disaster victims of the island.
The request came a week after the US president asked Congress to release some $ 29 billion, including $ 12.77 billion in emergency aid and $ 16 billion to erase part of the colossal debt of the United States, island estimated at $ 73 billion.
“We do not abandon the Americans when they need them,” reacted on Thursday the head of the Democrats of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
Former Spanish colony, Puerto Rico became a US territory in the late 19th century before acquiring a special status of “Free Associated State” in the 1950s.
Once a prosperous island, the island of 3.5 million people began its economic decline in 2006 with the end of massive tax exemptions that attracted large multinationals and boosted activity. Then, the economic downturn and the fall in revenues inflated its debt.
The southeastern United States was also hard hit in August and September by two hurricanes: Harvey in Texas and Louisiana and Irma in Florida.
