A top Puerto Rican official has been fired by the governor after a massive warehouse full of unused aid supplies from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria was discovered, CNN reports.
A group of civilians discovered mountains of supplies inside the warehouse in the city of Ponce on Saturday. Among the supplies were bottles of water, tarps, and cots, all stacked onto pallets that were meant for widespread distribution after the hurricane struck over two years ago. As videos of the discovery went viral and outrage spread, the governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Garced, responded by firing Carlos Acevedo, director of the Office of Emergency Management.
The discovery not only reveals significant mismanagement within the Puerto Rico government in response to the hurricane, but also vindicates President Donald Trump and the federal government.
In the immediate aftermath, the president and the federal government were falsely accused of not responding fast enough and not sending enough aid, mostly by left-wing figures such as San Juan Mayor Carmen Cruz. President Trump then claimed that a lack of communication between federal officials and local officials was responsible for the delay in distribution of aid, a statement that appears to have been proven true by this latest scandal.