Puerto Rico — «rich port» — so named by the Spanish colonizers once the jewel of the Spanish crown in the early 16th century, seized in the Caribbean sea. Today Puerto Rico is a Freely associated state (Spanish Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico), or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (eng. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) is dependent on the US territory with the status of «unincorporated organized territory» (is under control of the United States, not being an integral part); act on the territory of the U.S. Constitution is limited; the Supreme power belongs to Congress, but the territory has its own system of self-government.
Puerto Rico consists of the main island of Puerto Rico and many smaller Islands and reefs, including Mona (Isla de Mona), Vieques (Vieques), Culebra (Culebra), Desecheo (Desecheo) and Caja de Muertos (Caja de Muertos). Of the five Islands, only Vieques and Culebra are inhabited throughout the year. On the Isle Mona inhabited only by the employees of the Puerto Rico Department of national resources.
The main island is 170 km long and 60 km wide, mostly mountainous with large coastal areas in the Northern and southern parts. The official languages in Puerto Rico are Spanish and English. Spanish is the main language in state institutions, although English is a compulsory subject of education, from primary school to the second year of the Institute.
As of 2006, approximately 3 860 120 people use Spanish as their primary language and 82 000 — English. Although a relatively small part of the islanders have adopted English as their main language, the majority of the population in the major cities speak both languages or at least understands English and uses it in certain situations.
Inhabits Puerto Rico about 3 million 725 thousand people. Puerto Rico was a major tourist center with well-developed pharmaceutical and industrial structure. Political status is still not defined, in this connection, in recent years, the island hosts a variety of plebiscites.
20 September 2017 hurricane «Maria» hit Puerto Rico. The scale of destruction was catastrophic: were aborted connection and electricity, only less than half of the population remains unable to use drinking water, roads were under the rubble, most buildings were destroyed by a natural disaster, 34 people were killed…
The island on which lives of 3.4 million people, it is hard to leave: the main airport in San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico, opened two days after the hurricane, but works on minimum capacity. It can accept and send only a limited number of aircraft due to failures of radars; automated registration system do not work; the queue for the flights from some airlines reach tens of thousands of people.
Recovery Puerto Rico is complicated by the fact that the island has no money. Government of Puerto Rico in 2016 declared bankruptcy, the region needs about $ 70 billion, the island’s infrastructure is obsolete and is in poor condition. The US President Donald trump has temporarily suspended the Jones act (according to which freight shipping between Puerto Rico and mainland USA is only possible on American vessels (built in the U.S. and managed by Americans) only a week later after the hurricane, which caused criticism of the President. But the problem is not only in the courts.
Now in Puerto Rico there are about 12 thousand rescuers, but the people, according to local authorities, is sorely lacking. Also big problems with organization of distribution of humanitarian aid, which accumulates in the ports. The scale of destruction in Puerto Rico that need help not less than 50 thousand people.
When the mayor of San Juan Carmen Cruz turned 29 September to Washington, in fact, with a plea for help, trump said she was poorly managed by the city, and accused the Democrats is that they have set up a Puerto Rican politician against him. Mutual criticism of politicians, however, have had the result, and on October 3 the President of the United States Donald trump flew to Puerto Rico to meet with island residents affected by hurricane «Maria».
During a five-hour visit, trump met with the Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosello, military personnel and victims of the storm. In the program of stay on the island, talks with Kenneth MAPP Governor of the U.S. virgin Islands, which also was hit by hurricane «Maria».
However, Donald trump felt it necessary to emphasize that «unplanned» expenses on liquidation of consequences of hurricane «Maria» became a heavy burden for the US budget. «I don’t want to say it here in Puerto Rico, but you struck a blow for our budget, knocking him off course, he said. – We spend a lot of money on Puerto Rico, but that’s okay. We saved a lot of lives.»
Observers praised as «strange» behavior trump during the distribution of humanitarian aid in one of the churches of San Juan — the President laughed and threw into the crowd packing with the paper towels… According to the Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosello, more than half of the water supply and Sewerage is still not working. Federal and local authorities the joint efforts of trying to maintain 50 of the 69 hospitals of the island. He added that on Tuesday or Wednesday to the island must arrive by the American hospital ship Comfort.
More than 720 of 1100 petrol stations island resumed its work, receiving the fuel from the continental US. However, the mayor of San Jose, the capital of Puerto Rico, who previously played with aggressive criticism of trump for the failure of aid to the island during a humanitarian catastrophe, Carmen Yulin Cruz, whose house was also damaged by the hurricane, currently continues to live with his family in one of the temporary shelters. «There is only one goal – to save lives, Kruse said Sunday in an interview to ABC, asked about the comments trump her. – Any dialogue should produce results. All I did last week, and this is asked for help».
As stated in the air of CNN , a member of the house of representatives , Nydia Velasquez, visiting their relatives in Puerto Rico after the hurricane, «the real situation» on the island does not meet the «calming» of Donald trump.
«I do not agree with the President, she said. Most of the people here are just trying to survive and save their families». Unfortunately, the tragedy of the people affected by the hurricane in Puerto Rico diverted the attention of the tragedy with the mass massacre in Las Vegas… it is Obvious that reversed the whole infra-structure of the island, which in turn will require external financial borrowing. How soon the island nation will once again become a tourist-attractive place, if according to experts only for restoration of power supply of the island will take several months? How to survive all this time, the residents incorporated in the USA States, time will tell…
