The community is awash with gossip about the raids Tuesday on Plaza Extra’s three supermarkets: guns and plans to blow up Hovensa found in underground tunnels beneath Fathi Yusuf's home and/or the St. Croix store, millions of dollars found in a safe, hijackers who worked at the grocery stores prior to Sept. 11, money-laundering, and more.
There may be no truth in any of these rumors; there may be some truth in one or more of them. The point is, we don’t know.
As a community we are totally reliant on federal and local officials providing us with factual information about these raids.
The federal officials have weighed in with what is admittedly very little information. This, they say, is to avoid jeopardizing an ongoing investigation by showing their hand. We also assume they are trying not to undermine any future trial by prejudicing a potential jury.
But where are our local officials? Where is the governor?
He is never loathe to call a last-minute press conference to give good news about whatever he thinks is going to secure his re-election. So, why not call a news conference to tell an alarmed and confused public what these raids mean to us as a community, including what he and his administration will do to counter the inevitable bad publicity that is already resulting.
These are trying times for all of us. The Virgin Islands has now been caught up in the global fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks on our country. If ever this community needed strong, pro-active leadership, this is the time.