Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria. He is about to lose $ 400 million more at the Trump border.

President Donald Trump is building his wall and Puerto Rico will pay for it.

The Ministry of Defense has published a list of 127 military construction projects that have been delayed, with the agency transferring $ 3.6 billion to finance the construction of fences along the southern border, and the US territory is one of the hardest hit.

The ministry said it was withholding over $ 400 million in funding for ten construction projects on the island, including an electrical substation and a National Guard readiness center. A senior defense official downplayed the potential impact of this change and noted that most projects on the island – which are still recovering from the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017 – do not should not begin before September 2020 at the earliest.

"We do not see ourselves delaying these projects and we are fully engaged in this recovery," said the official.

The US territory of Guam, threatened with a missile strike by North Korea in 2017, is expected to lose $ 250 million in construction projects, the agency said.

The hijackings also affected 23 states, New York and New Mexico – both represented by Democrats – taking the brunt of the shock.

New York is losing funding for $ 160 million worth of construction projects at the West Point US Military Academy – $ 95 million for a technical center and $ 65 million for a parking lot. New Mexico loses money for an $ 85 million operation at Holloman Air Force Base and $ 40 million for a White Sands missile facility.

"I visited the current RPA training center in Holloman earlier this year. The building is collapsing and some equipment is held together with tape. To say that this facility, which supports the training of 100% of Air Force MQ-9 crews, needs to be urgently replaced would be a euphemism, "said Senator Martin Heinrich, DNM, in a statement.

He added that the White Sands Test and Evaluation Center "was built in 1962 and has recently caught fire." Stealing funds from these military construction projects that are essential to fund the White Sands' political project. President is a senseless attack on military preparedness and the health and safety of our men and women in uniform. "

The diversion also touched the red states. Utah loses $ 54 million in funding for two projects at Hill Air Force Base.

Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he was "disappointed" by the move.

"Financing the border wall is an important priority, and the executive should use the appropriate congressional channels, rather than diverting funds already allocated from military construction projects and thereby undermine military readiness," he said. Romney in a statement.

The Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, which is still recovering from Hurricane Florence last year, loses more than $ 40 million in funding for two projects that were planned to the beginning of 2020.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that it would temporarily suspend funding for 127 projects aimed at protecting borders, and withdraw $ 1.8 billion from projects destined for the United States and $ 1.8 billion worth of projects. military installations in the world. The move was authorized by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

Defense officials said they hoped the Congress would "hand over" the money raised from the projects. A senior defense official acknowledged that there was "no guarantee" that the projects would be funded in the future.

Officials released Wednesday a list of affected projects. Internationally, US facilities in Germany are losing the most funding – more than $ 550 million. This includes funds for squadron operations, reinforcement of hangars and construction of a primary school.

The bases in Japan are losing about $ 450 million, including funding for two operating facilities. The South Korean bases have a command and control center worth $ 17.5 million and a "hangar for unmanned aerial vehicles" of $ 53 million.

Also allocated $ 18 million in utilities and infrastructure in an unspecified "classified location".

The senior defense official said the Pentagon had made contact with European allies to see if they could contribute to the costs of delayed projects abroad. "I can tell you that we have routine conversations with our allies and partners about burden sharing in general and that we have contacted them today to discuss the list specifically," he said. said the manager.

The Ministry of Defense has also released new details on how the $ 3.6 billion would be spent – building 175 km of border fencing at 11 sites in California, Texas and Arizona. The Pentagon estimates that each mile will cost about $ 20 million.

The Pentagon said 117.5 miles of construction will be new and 56.5 miles will be replaced by fencing.

The most expensive part of the construction will be in Laredo, Texas. D.O.D. plans to build "about 52 miles of a new main pedestrian fence system" along the Rio Grande for more than $ 1.2 billion.

The next most expensive project is $ 630 million to replace "31 miles of vehicle gates with new pedestrian fences" near the Barry M. Goldwater chain in Yuma, Arizona, as well as for an additional $ 527,000. millions of dollars for 31 new pedestrian fences. The firing base is used by the air force for air-ground bombing exercises, while another part of the range is operated by the Marines.

Construction should begin by the end of the year.

Trump declared a national emergency situation at the border in February with the aim of bypassing Congress and taking money from other regions for building walls. The Border Wall was one of the first promises of Trump's campaign during the 2016 election. He repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for its construction during the campaign.

The Republican representative on the Armed Forces Committee of the House, Mac Thornberry's representative from Texas, congratulated the president for his action, stating, "We continue to face a very real crisis on the southern border."

He also called on Congress to add more money to pay for the military construction funding hijacked by the president.

"I regret that the president was forced to divert funds from our troops to deal with the crisis," Thornberry said. "It is important that the Congress now reinstate funding for the diverted military construction for border security.In case of failure, it only forces our troops to pay for political discord in Washington."

Haley Talbot and Frank Thorp V contributed.