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Caribbean-Latin America
Massive stockpile of bottled water found in Puerto Rico a year after Maria
2018-09-12
[NY Post] Trump's Fault™
Hundreds of thousands of water bottles meant for victims of Hurricane Maria are still sitting at a Puerto Rico airport ‐ nearly a year after the deadly storm, according to a report.

A photo showing the bottles in boxes and covered in a blue tarp on a runway in Ceiba was shared widely on social media Tuesday evening.

"Although you don't believe it… almost a million boxes of water that were never delivered to the villages," posted Abdiel Santana, a photographer working for a Puerto Rican state police agency who took the pictures. "Is there anyone who can explain this?"

FEMA acknowledged to CBS News on Wednesday that the bottles were brought inland in 2017 in the wake of the hurricane and that they were turned over to "central government."

It is unclear where the breakdown that caused the bottles to never be distributed was caused.

Celebrity chef José Andrés, who brought a crew of volunteers to help feed victims of Maria in the wake of the storm, called for an "official independent investigation" into what happened to the stash of drinking water.

"My teams knew about it but first they will say, ‘no we can not use them,' months later water was no good for human consumption," he tweeted. "We were ‘buying' water because they wouldn't give it to us." He didn't specify who "they" was.

The revelation comes as President Trump doubled down on his administration's response to Hurricane Maria on Wednesday and lashed out at the mayor of San Juan, who has been a critic of the effort, as s Democrat "incompetent."
True, but with hip glasses
Posted by:Frank G

#15  Since Democrats are in charge there, I'm going with incompetence.

You get two more guesses, Raj. All three together would probably be a complete answer.
Posted by: gorb   2018-09-12 22:45  

#14  Nobody steals free stuff. Put a sign on boxes “water $10 per box” and they will be gone in a few days.
Posted by: Airandee   2018-09-12 20:19  

#13  They saw what Katrina did to W, so they tried to Katrina Trump.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2018-09-12 18:54  

#12  They do drink coffee.
Posted by: Fred   2018-09-12 18:29  

#11  Puerto Ricans don't drink water.
Posted by: Jeasing Jeaque5937   2018-09-12 16:37  

#10  ...in English.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2018-09-12 16:07  

#9  If I recall correctly, it was more important for the mayor of San Juan to get in front of the cameras to say nasty things about Trump than to supervise distribution of the water bottles.

She had time in a hurricane to get a professionally silk-screened t-shirt and baseball cap trashing Trump
Posted by: Frank G   2018-09-12 15:58  

#8  Who said "Loggies don't need no RFID"?
Posted by: Skidmark   2018-09-12 15:42  

#7  Has that mayor gone up for reelection since? It'll say a lot about Puerto Rico one way or the other when that happens.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2018-09-12 14:35  

#6  If I recall correctly, it was more important for the mayor of San Juan to get in front of the cameras to say nasty things about Trump than to supervise distribution of the water bottles.

Do I have the priorities right?
Posted by: Tom   2018-09-12 14:13  

#5  Unexpectedly™... Indeed. Corrupt officials discover that no one will buy their government bonds. They have to stop paying for anything that doesn't bring in the graft that keeps them in power.
...So power lines don't get repaired, infrastructure crumbles, and Disaster Relief Supplies rot in a warehouse. Unless somebody hid them their hoping to sell them later...
Posted by: magpie   2018-09-12 14:10  

#4  Add some malice; starving your own population is quite totalitarian; exempli gratia, African Liberation Theory.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2018-09-12 11:26  

#3  It is unclear where the breakdown that caused the bottles to never be distributed was caused.

Since Democrats are in charge there, I'm going with incompetence.
Posted by: Raj   2018-09-12 11:15  

#2  Send them to the Carolinas - problem solved.
Posted by: Raj   2018-09-12 11:14  

#1  "Unexpectedly"™
Posted by: DarthVader   2018-09-12 10:59  

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