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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 30 September 2017

US to Americans: Puerto Rico angry over ‘good

Stay away from Cuba after ‘attacks’ news story’ remark by official
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Continued from Front U.S. pullout would end up half-century estrangement LUIS ALONSO LUGO
rewarding the aggressor. despite only 90 miles of Associated Press
While American tourists On the other hand, officials separation. In 2015, Presi- WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump
aren’t known to have been have struggled with the dent Barack Obama and pledged to help Puerto Ricans recover basic neces-
hurt, the agency said they moral dimensions of keep- Cuban President Raul Cas- sities and security in Maria’s ruinous aftermath as his
could be exposed if they ing diplomats in a place tro restored diplomatic ties, homeland security chief tried to escape a tempest
travel to the island — a pro- where the U.S. government embassies were re-opened of her own making, set off when she called Washing-
nouncement that could cannot guarantee their and travel and commerce ton’s response to the hurricane a “good-news story.”
hit a critical component of safety. restrictions were eased. Elaine Duke, the department’s acting secretary, drew
Cuba’s economy that has The administration consid- Trump has reversed some a sharp rebuke from San Juan’s mayor for seeming to
expanded in recent years ered expelling Cuban dip- changes but has broadly play down the suffering.
as the U.S. has relaxed re- lomats from the U.S., officials left the rapprochement in “When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a
strictions. said, but for now no such place. good-news story,” Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz told CNN
At least 21 diplomats and action has been ordered. After considering options on Friday. “Damn it, this is not a good-news story. This
is a people-are-dying story.”
For his part, Trump said Puerto Rico is “totally unable”
to handle the catastrophe on its own. “They are work-
ing so hard but there’s nothing left,” he said. “It’s been
wiped out.” He said the government is “fully engaged
in the disaster and the response and recovery effort.”
Yet even in voicing solidarity and sympathy, he drew
attention again to Puerto Rico’s pre-hurricane debt
burden and infrastructure woes, leaving doubt how
far Washington will go to make the U.S. territory whole.
“Ultimately the government of Puerto Rico will have to
work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding
effort — it will end up being one of the biggest ever
— will be funded and organized, and what we will do
with the tremendous amount of existing debt already
on the island,” he said. “We will not rest, however, until
the people of Puerto Rico are safe.”
Earlier he tweeted: “The fact is that Puerto Rico has
been destroyed by two hurricanes. Big decisions will
have to be made as to the cost of its rebuilding!”
Duke visited the island Friday, surveying the ravaged
landscape by helicopter in an hourlong tour and driv-

In this Aug. 14, 2015 photo, a U.S. flag flies at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba. Senior U.S. officials ing from the airport past still-flooded streets, twisted
say the United States is pulling roughly 60 percent of its staff out of Cuba and warning American billboards and roofs with gaping holes. She met local
travelers not to visit due to “specific attacks” that have harmed U.S. diplomats. officials and federal personnel on the ground, and
(AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) tried to move on from remarks that stunned people in
family members have That incensed several law- that ranged all the way to Puerto Rico a day earlier.
been affected. The de- makers who had urged the a full embassy shutdown, Speaking to the press, and taking no questions, she
partment said symptoms administration to kick out Tillerson made the deci- said neither she nor Trump will rest until displaced
include hearing loss, dizzi- all of Cuban’s envoys. “It’s sion to reduce all nones- Puerto Ricans are back home, schools, hospitals and
ness, headache, fatigue, an insult,” said Florida Sen. sential personnel and all clean water are back and the island’s economy is
cognitive issues and diffi- Marco Rubio, a vocal critic family members. Also in- moving again. Duke said she is aware that people are
culty sleeping. Until Friday, of Cuba’s government, in cluded in the recall is Scott suffering and “clearly the situation in Puerto Rico after
the U.S. had generally re- an interview. “The Cuban Hamilton, currently the the devastating hurricane is not satisfactory.”
ferred to “incidents.” Til- regime succeeded in forc- highest-ranked diplomat at During this season’s trio of monster hurricanes — Har-
lerson’s statement ended ing Americans to down- the mission. Staffing at the vey, Irma, Maria — Trump and his administration have
that practice, mentioning scale a number of person- embassy in Havana was al- drifted into the perilous territory of premature self-
“attacks” seven times; the nel in Cuba, yet it appears ready lower than usual due congratulation in the face of unfolding catastrophe,
travel alert used the word they’re going to basically to recent hurricanes that seemingly unmindful of the “Brownie moment” that
five times. keep all the people they whipped through Cuba. scarred George W. Bush’s presidency.
Still, the administration want in America to travel Cubans seeking visas to en- Bush famously told his emergency management di-
has pointedly not blamed freely and spread misinfor- ter the U.S. may be able to rector, Michael Brown, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck
Cuba for perpetrating the mation.” apply through embassies in of a job” during what proved to be a tragically inept
attacks, and officials have The U.S. travel warning nearby countries, officials federal response to deadly Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
spent weeks weighing said, “Because our person- said. The U.S. will stop send- Trump has repeatedly boasted about the positive re-
how to minimize the risk for nel’s safety is at risk, and ing official delegations to views he said his administration is getting from Puerto
Americans in Cuba without we are unable to identify Cuba, though diplomatic Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for its relief effort, even
unnecessarily harming rela- the source of the attacks, discussions will continue in as people in remote towns struggle to find food, wa-
tions or falling into an ad- we believe U.S. citizens Washington. ter and other basics. Then Duke said before leaving
versary’s trap. may also be at risk and The United States notified Washington that the federal relief effort was a “good-
If the attacks have been warn them not to travel to Cuba early Friday via its news story” because of “our ability to reach people
committed by an out- Cuba.” embassy in Washington. and the limited number of deaths.”
side power such as Russia The moves deliver a sig- Cuba blasted the Ameri- “Let me clarify,” she said Friday upon her arrival in
or Venezuela to drive a nificant setback to the can move as “hasty” and San Juan. She said she meant “it was good news that
wedge between the U.S. delicate reconciliation be- lamented that it was being people of Puerto Rico and many public servants of
and Cuba, as some inves- tween the U.S. and Cuba, taken without conclusive the United States are working together.”q
tigators have theorized, a countries that endured a investigation results. q