San Juan mayor's harrowing plea: 'Mr Trump, I am begging. We are dying here'
Carmen Yulín Cruz spoke on about the growing crisis in Puerto Rico – and appealed directly to the US president. Read a transcript of her speech here
Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, spoke on Friday afternoon at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. Like the rest of the US territory, the capital of Puerto Rico was hit hard this month by two hurricanes, Jose and Maria.
The island is now struggling to repair damage, restore basic services and maximise the impact of a federal aid effort which Donald Trump and his administration have trumpeted but which many critics of the president have called slow and politically motivated.
On Friday, Trump continued to insist that Puerto Rican leaders had praised his efforts and said logistical difficulties were slowing the delivery of aid.
“This is an island,” he said, “surrounded by water. Big water, ocean water.”
As she spoke to reporters, Cruz became emotional. This is a transcript of her remarks:
‘We are dying here. We are in trouble’
“We are dying here. And I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles. So, mayday, we are in trouble.
“Fema [the Federal Emergency Management Administration] asks for documentation, I think we’ve given them enough documentation.”
“They had the gall this morning – look at this [gestures to two large binders filled with paper] – they had the gall this morning of asking me: ‘What are your priorities, mayor?’
“Well, where have you been?
“And I have been very respectful of the Fema employees. I have been patient but we have no time for patience any more.
“So, I am asking the president of the United States to make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives.
“They were up the task in Africa when Ebola came over. They were up to the task in Haiti [after the earthquake of 2010]. As they should be. Because when it comes to saving lives we are all part of one community of shared values.
“I will do what I never thought I was going to do: I am begging. I am begging anyone that can hear us to save us from dying. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying. And you are killing us with the inefficiency and bureaucracy.
“We will make it with or without you because what stands behind me is all due to the generosity of other people.
“Again, this is what we got last night: four pallets of water, three pallets of meals and 12 pallets of infant food. Which, I gave them to Comerío, where people are drinking out of a creek.
“So I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell because my people’s lives are at stake. And we are but one nation. We may be small, but we are huge in dignity and zealous for life.
“So I’m asking members of the press to send a mayday call all over the world. We are dying here. And if we don’t stop and if we don’t get the food and the water into people’s hands, what we we are going to see is something close to a genocide.
“So, Mr Trump, I am begging you to take charge and save lives. After all, that is one of the founding principles of the United States of North America. If not, the world will see how we are treated not as second-class citizens but as animals that can be disposed of. Enough is enough.”
