While people across the country are getting their stimulus checks, the citizens of Puerto Rico are still waiting for their money to be disbursed.
The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz, told MSNBC on Saturday that no one in the United States territory received the $1,200 they were promised from the federal government.
"No one in Puerto Rico has received their $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks from the federal government," Mayor Yulín Cruz said. "We’re having problems with a local $500 check that the governor said was going to be distributed."
Most Puerto Rican citizens meet the criteria to receive a $1,200 check from the government. Also, the $2 trillion economic stimulus plan authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to distribute $200 million in food assistance to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Mayor Yulín Cruz went on to explain that several federal promises have been delayed. She claims that there are more than 130,000 unemployment applications that have not been answered on top of the new requests for food stamps that have been backlogged.
As of Wednesday, over 1,300 people on the island have been infected by the virus, which has led to 83 deaths. The outbreak has forced the local government to extend its lockdown until May. This will only add to Puerto Rico's dire need for economic assistance from the federal government.
