ATM Director accepts that it was a “mistake” to move boat

terminal to Ceiba.
Despite reiterating that she was considered a “hostage” on Monday night, she could not
say she received any physical threats.
Primera Hora
October 2, 2019 • 10:52 pm

“An error”, as described by the director of the Maritime Transport Authority (ATM), Mara Pérez,
the decision to transfer the boat terminal that offers service to the residents of Vieques and
Culebra from Fajardo to Ceiba.

This movement was promoted by the resigned governor, Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, despite
receiving the disapproval of the mayors of the area, as well as the Viequenses and
Culebrenses.

At that time, Juan Maldonado was the director of the Authority, who resigned in February after
authorizing the use of a ferry to carry trucks with supplies for a millionaire's wedding on Isla
Nena, which caused dozens of residents to have to wait up to 12 hours to get from Ceiba to
Vieques.

“I understand that it was not the right time [for the transfer of the terminal to Ceiba]. Really, I
don't know why they did it, but the reality of the case is that it was run over. A mistake was
made because he should have been ready to move in then,"

Pérez admitted to the Univision Playing Hard Ball program.

Although she was emphatic that "this is a situation of many years", she accepted that since her
arrival at the position of director, she has not ordered an investigation to know why the boats
were not maintained in the past.

UNIVISION: Playing Hard Ball October 2, 2019. Posted by Playing Hard Ball. 32,012 Views APP FaceBook

The terminal will remain the same for four months. The Viequenses held a demonstration on
Monday in which Pérez was delayed leaving Vieques, because they wanted the official to
experience the same impacts they suffer daily with ATM boats.

“The protest of us is that we understood that Mara has to feel what we really feel because it is
not that she sits here and tells us that this is a process that is not fixed from today to tomorrow,
that we understand. But here are some things that can be resolved immediately. There we have
a terminal that has no bathrooms. There people sleep on the floor. We sit are under some tents
where the bird droppings cover the floor. These are things that can be solved immediately,
”said Viequense leader Carlos Zenón in the program.

Immediately, the official stepped out: "Those things have been fixed," she said, and then
clarified:

“We still can’t do anything about the tent thing because we still work to stabilize under the EPA
[Environmental Protection Agency, in Spanish ], administrative order. That is why a construction
has not been done. We installed portable toilets, but I can't put additional toilets because I
can't build until we get out from under the EPA administrative order. ”

According to Pérez, there are still "about three to four months" to which they finish the
stabilization and then begin construction. The official said that she cannot relocate the terminal
in Fajardo because it is “worse."

A "hostage" Without Threats

Also, despite reiterating that Monday night was considered a "hostage," she could not say she
had received threats to her physical integrity, but only subscribed to the residents shouting. In
addition, she admitted that she was the one who locked herself in the box office, out of "fear"
that no one touched her physically.

Pérez was taken from the municipality municipality in a United Nations Rapid Action Forces
(FURA Spanish acronym) helicopter, although federal regulations prohibit these helicopters
from transporting citizens. A pilot was reprimanded for refusing to move the official, an action
taken by the commissioner of the Police Bureau, Henry Escalera.

The retaliation sparked criticism from various sectors, including that of Senate President
Thomas Rivera Schatz.

They compare it with baby case. Panelist Álex Delgado brought up the comparison of this
situation with which a family of Vieques lived who needed to transfer their sick newborn to the
big island, but could not find the way due to the stoppage of transport services through the
passage at the advent of tropical storm Karen.

In this case, a National Guard helicopter had to be used.

“For the baby, they spent five to six hours, deciding, to save a child's life,” said Delgado.