FBI, reservists deliver food, water to residents in remote areas of Adjuntas Puerto Rico

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Elvis Umanzor | FBI special agents deliver emergency rations and water to families who don’t have access to distribution centers in Vegas Arriba, Adjuntas, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 11, 2017. Government agencies have joined efforts to provide disaster relief in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria caused catastrophic damage. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Elvis)  

ADJUNTAS, PUERTO RICO

10.11.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Elvis Umanzor 

49th Public Affairs Detachment   

ADJUNTAS, Puerto Rico – FBI agents and U.S. Army reserve soldiers walked door-to-door with food, water and tarps to reach residents in remote locations in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, Oct. 11, 2017, to increase disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Maria.
Special Agent Phillip Irizarry, from the bureaus Binghamton, New York, office, said it was important to partner with the U.S. Army and maximize efforts to reach the residents in remote areas isolated by landslides, downed power lines, and eroded roads.
“We are using our own law enforcement vehicles, which aren’t really conducive to carrying large payloads,” said Irizarry, “so we coordinate with them to bring as much aide to the people.”
FBI agents and analysts have teamed up with reservists from the 393rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 166th Regional Support Group, 1st Mission Support Command, who provide M1078 LMTV light utility trucks to load and deliver commodities, including baby supplies to orphanages and special needs supplies to elderly homes.
Sgt. Ashley Green, a Juana Diaz native and human resource specialist, said it was a unique experience to work with the FBI for the first time, and the FBI’s intelligence proved useful in finding the locations in most need.
“It’s very organized,” she said. “They have the good intelligence; we aren’t just going around not knowing where to go.”
Green said she was happy to help her people, and the residents were teary eyed and grateful to see help arrive, but that it was also difficult.
“It’s been hard to see your own people having so much necessity of water, food,” Green, said in a voice fraught with emotion. “It’ll give you a good life experience to appreciate what you have.”
Special Agent Jon Isakson, from the bureau’s division in Salt Lake City, Utah, lived in Puerto Rico four years and visited the island many times with his wife before the category five hurricane hit the island and left residents struggling to survive.
“It’s hard to see the island like this,” said Isakson. “I‘ve seen it under better conditions, so it’s hard to see the people here going through this, seeing so much destruction on their island.”
Isakson, who’s been with the bureau for 13 years, said the FBI doesn’t usually conduct humanitarian support missions and focuses more on law enforcement, including security and protection, in these types of situations, but that he was happy to be part of this mission.
Irizarry said it was a privilege to be able to come back to Puerto Rico, in particular Adjuntas where he has family roots.
“It’s great to help anyone on the island, anyone in trouble, but it has a particular significance for me since my family left here in the 50’s, and to come back and hear their stories and try to lift their spirits in probably one of the worst events they’ve been in.”
Irizarry praised the soldiers’ hard work, who also helped by interpreting between locals and non-Spanish speaking agents and setting up central distribution locations. “I’ve just seen them with, or without, direction taking the initiative,” he said.
“The use of the military in this situation is very special,” said Orlando Plaza-Plaza, an Adjuntas native who retired from the Army. “It’s an exceptional labor and the people need it,” he added. “I was in the military … and we military are dedicated to help.”
Plaza-Plaza said he and other residents help elderly people who cannot help themselves by taking food and water to them from distribution centers and have been cutting trees and removing debris to help clear the roads in the neighborhoods.
“I try to do all I can, like [the Army] who are doing the maximum,” he said. “I understand the big trucks can’t go to places with limited access; they’re doing an exceptional job and really trying to help the people.”
“There are more people like us volunteering … and there are others coming,” Irizarry added. “When tragedy strikes in the United States, in America, we are all one.”
More than 200 FBI agents have partnered with the Department of Defense to provide relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico since hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the region.

• Date Taken: 10.11.2017
• Date Posted: 10.12.2017 15:40
• Story ID: 251470
• Location: ADJUNTAS, PR