With Two Shipping Containers Of USVI Mail Stuck In Puerto Rico, Postal Service Will Ship Mail Directly To Territory From Mainland

The U.S. Postal Service will start shipping mail to the territory directly from the U.S. mainland instead of the regular Puerto Rico route, following lobbying from local leaders as thousands of mail headed to the territory have been stuck in Puerto Rico.

“We have contacted the White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the USPS to identify short and long-term solutions,” said Governor Kenneth Mapp in a release issued Thursday. Mr. Mapp explained that at least two shipping containers of mail have been delayed in Puerto Rico. Read more

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, a member of the House Government and Reform Committee, released the following statement after meeting with Deputy Postmaster Ronald A. Stroman regarding postal service delays in the U.S. Virgin Islands:

“Today I met with Ronald A. Stroman, Deputy Postmaster General for the United States Post Office. I was informed by the Deputy Postmaster General that the Postal Service added 200 temporary workers in Puerto Rico to sort backlogged mail and daily flights are continuing to move the mail.

“I have received the commitment of the US Postal Service through Deputy Postmaster General Stroman that within the week mail for the Virgin Islands will be sorted and routed through Miami instead of Puerto Rico in order to address the problems expressed by the residents of the Virgin Islands. The United States Postal Service will be using a commercial carrier to route mail for the residents of the Virgin Islands in order to ensure timely delivery.

“The Deputy Postmaster General has acknowledged that it is important for him to be in the Virgin Islands to assess firsthand the damages to our postal facilities in order for him to understand the concerns of the residents of the Virgin Islands. He has accepted the invitation from my office to make a visit to the territories in short order to understand and see for himself the concerns I and the people of the Virgin Islands have concerning our longstanding issues with the mail service. I look forward to his visit to the Territories and working with him to alleviate our problems with our mail service.”

Air National Guard delivers mail to Puerto Rico