Eugenio Marlin, Vice President of the Ibero American Action League was honored as the Hispanic Business Person of the Year in Rochester Tuesday afternoon. Marlin was the first Dominican to receive this award.
At the annual luncheon hosted by the Rochester Hispanic Business Association, Marlin reacted to the events in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria
"I know that patience is going to start running out, and things will get tough because the needs of the people get greater as days go by."
Pete Otero is a retired dean from MCC. He said both he and his wife have family in Puerto Rico.
Through a number of third party sources, Otero says they have heard his wife's family in Ponce were safe, but scraping to get by.
He says his cousins in Cataño have not been heard from since the storm.
Otero says it feels like their hands are tied trying to send help.
"We can’t even wire money at this point because the electrical systems are not in place or set up so that we can even provide resources for them at this point. So they're worried."
Otero said he was disapppointed in the President's delayed trip to the US territory, and that he expected a speedier response
Marlin echoed these same frustrations, also saying that the President was not doing a good job being "Consoler in Chief."
"People need to listen to words of hope and commitment. And those things are not coming across."
Trump said he will try and stop by the US Virgin Islands as well.