PUERTO RICO – The Director of the Emergency Management Agency, Carlos Acevedo, was fired by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez Garced, after a warehouse filled with emergency recovery supplies were discovered. The governor appointed Maj. Gen. José J. Reyes to replace him.
Early Saturday, a warehouse filled with cases of water, cots, baby food and other unused emergency supplies was discovered in a coastal city of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
It is believed that the emergency supplies date back to September 2017, when Puerto Rico was battered by Hurricane Maria.
Two other government officials were later fired. These two individuals acted as the Housing Secretary and the Department of Family Secretary.
Governor Vasquez voiced her displeasure with the situation in her statement by saying “There are thousands of people who have made sacrifices to help those in the south, and it is unforgivable that resources were kept in the warehouse. An investigation was launched by the Governor to determine if the supplies were mishandled.
Acevedo denied any allegations of mishandling, saying the agency has been actively distributing supplies even in the wake of the recent earthquakes, according to a statement released. He further indicated that no resident has been denied any supplies in the warehouse.
He said the 600 pallets of water were distributed when Hurricane Dorian and Hurricane Karen threatened Puerto Rico and during a drought that affected the island last year. Nearly 80 of those pallets remain in the warehouse because they expired, he said.
“There have not been orders to seize or destroy those items at any point,” Acevedo said in a statement.
Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced has ordered an investigation in to the matter.
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