Posted on 09/12/2018 12:16:07 PM PDT by syriacus
FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers raided a warehouse last weekend belonging to the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority. Months after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island FEMA has been bringing men and material to the island to get the electric grid up and running but have been unable to get electricity to everyone due to a massive shortage of necessary equipment.
It seems PREPA (Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority) was stockpiling and hording 9sic) materials that were hidden from aid workers who have been trying to restore power to the island. USACE (United States Army Corps of Engineers) spokesperson Luciano Vera verified that federal officers were accompanied by armed security during the raid.
According to Vera, 2, 875 pieces of critical material along with sleeves of full-tension steel were just some of the materials recovered. The federal government began distributing supplies immediately to contractors.
Many contractors from the U.S. complained about the lack of rebuilding materials. It seems PREPA was making things extremely difficult and many of the workers just stood around at times. With the lack of supplies there wasn’t much headway to be made and things should have been moving much faster.
Mayors from around the island of Puerto Rico have been using municipal budgets to purchase grid restoration supplies.
Meanwhile, PREPA seemed to have many of these supplies stockpiled.
PREPA, who is Puerto Rico’s self-regulated power provider, is compromised by a majority of political appointees. Governor Ricardo Rossello has been in favor of privatizing the power company and many other government services on the island.
(Excerpt) Read more at executivetelegraph.com ...
From the company executive point of view, getting two warehouses full of goodies from the US government is better than getting just one.
Cut them loose. Seems PR is got it under control. They don’t need us anymore.
The problem with this bit of the American Empire now is that if it were “cut loose” their socialism, corruption and economic malfeasance would immediately seek another patron.
It would probably be China.
My above post shows exactly how inept and corrupt the PR government is...One chef was refused water when he was cooking and distributing free food. He had to BUY water to cook with...
SHAMEFUL to do this to your own people...(Just like democrats)
“The only problem being, “you touch it, you own it”.”
Unfortunately, we’ve “touched it” too much already. But I do think that the Feds should be making arrests of the senior folk at PREPA as a first start.
My former neighbor Mr. Del Rio was a very hard worker in his day.
He died recently at age 82.
He was the son of Puerto Rican immigrants and ran a contracting business in Westchester County before moving to Florida and doing factory work.
Katrina PT. II
Whatever doesn’t work or needs rebuilding will be “Hurricane Damage” for the next 10 years or more.
“If we dispossess the island, what’s to stop the Russians or Chicoms from moving right in.”
Nothing! That’s probably the only reason that makes any sense for us to be there. The problem now is these pieces of human waste are American Citizens. And if we made a move to dispossess them, most would take the first boat to Florida. If it has “can” in the ethnic dentity, it’s trouble.
Probably at least as many as suffered because of decades of mismanagement, corruption, and theft by the same-said utility company...
$72 billion in debt and a 45% poverty rate! WTF? PR is a disaster, which runs just like Mexico! There was a time when favored invading Mexico. Now Trump has made it clear that the wall is really the only answer.
“The Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF) said PREPA power had filed in the United States District Court of Puerto Rico for protection under Title III of the 2016 Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, which gave Puerto Rico and its agencies access to a workout process akin to U.S. bankruptcy.
“I believe that the Title III filing will provide PREPA the tools necessary to assure its uninterrupted operation and achieve a successful restructuring,” said Gerardo Portela Franco, Executive Director of AAFAF (just how big a lie is this one?)
PROMESA was created to help Puerto Rico emerge from a crisis marked by $72 billion in debt, a 45 percent poverty rate on the island and insolvent public pensions. Some public entities, including Puerto Rico’s central government itself, have already filed Title III cases.”
“My former neighbor Mr. Del Rio was a very hard worker in his day.”
And I see lots of Mexicans hard at work here in CA too. But the exception doesn’t prove the rule. On the whole, PR and Mexico are a drag on this country and it’s taxpayers.
See what that bitch has stashed in her garage, or better yet, audit her financial records. She dirty.
Well, without being argumentative, that’s kind of my point, and I might not have expressed what I wanted with my short comment.
The “US” (as we probably think of the US, which includes PR in some ways and in some ways does not) can supply wire and cable and insulators and switchgear and can send teams of people skilled in infrastructure rebuild (it’s not like rewiring a lamp) with bucket trucks etc; but as soon as the “US” takes over the effort as director, not only does it have to displace the local utility company (known to be thoroughly corrupt) but it has to develop the mgmt and rent and secure the warehouses and all that. As is, even if the locals were told to stand down and stay home they would never accept not being paid. Despite the horrific waste and the tragedy of having all the affected people without power for months and months, it’s cheaper to dump all the gear and supplies in a warehouse and let the local util co deal with it as they will. It’s stupid and wasteful but it would undoubtedly be more costly if we were to actually take over the entire effort. And the locals would vandalize whatever was built out of standard leftist protest and/or steal the parts and sell them as scrap. Or both. Right?
I think so too. Bigly.
Armed Federal Agents Seize 'Massive Store' Of Rebuilding Materials Kept From Puerto Rico's Hurricane VictimsNot that it wasn't worthy of the linked websitePuerto Rico electricity provider was "hoarding" critical items needed to restore electricity to the island.
Ping
Another Obamanista fraud!
It was all over the Austin, TX evening news how horrible Trump was with PR. Of course, the uber libs didn’t bother showing the pictures of the bazillion water bottles not dispersed to the people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
