Puerto Rico dismissed officials after it was discovered that there were warehouses full of non-perishable food, baby diapers, bottled water, and emergency aid.
The supplies were delivered in the wake of devastating Hurricane Maria but the items were never given to residents.
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Fox News reported: “The pallets of bedding, food, and medical supplies sat wrapped in plastic and unused in a warehouse for more than two years while Puerto Ricans suffered through the aftermath of a devastating hurricane and, recently, an earthquake.point 325 | 1
“Now their discovery has triggered a political firestorm.”
The video of the discovery was shared online and it quickly went viral. It showed Ponce residents breaking into the warehouse where they discovered emergency supplies.
Local authorities admitted that the supplies were meant for Ponce after it was struck by Hurricane Maria.
Fox News continued: “The video, posted live by blogger Lorenzo Delgado, shows a warehouse filled with water bottles, cots, baby food and other basic supplies that had apparently been sitting there since Hurricane Maria battered the U.S. territory in September 2017. A group of people is then seen breaking in and distributing the supplies.”
Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vasquez said to reporters that she is ‘shocked’ by the development. She said: “There are thousands of people who made sacrifices to bring aid to the south and it’s unforgivable that resources have been kept in a warehouse.”
She then fired director of emergency management, Carlos Acevedo, and “fired the heads of Puerto Rico’s housing and family departments, Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andújar,” according to the New York Post.
In statements, Acevedo indicated he knew about the emergency supplies but he believed the items to be ‘expired.’
He also claimed that several hundred pallets of water were distributed after Hurricane Karen and Hurricane Dorian hit the island.
His excuses were not satisfactory to those who have suffered water and food shortages since Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Elmer Roman, Puerto Rican Secretary of State, said that there are probably more warehouses full of supplies.
“The instructions are clear: All of the supplies that are available will be distributed,” he said.
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