The wife of Puerto Rico’s governor apologized on Wednesday for sending candles to people on an island where more than 400,000 power customers remain in the dark five months after Hurricane Maria.

Beatriz Rosselló said she just wanted to send a message of unity and hope.

“I’m very sorry that the gift was misinterpreted,” she said.

The candles were accompanied by a wooden Christmas ornament made by inmates who created them from pieces of a century-old tree that the category 4 storm toppled at the governor’s mansion on 20 September. The gift was accompanied by a message saying: “May this piece represent the transformation and resilience of the people of Puerto Rico.”

Mayor Rafael Surillo of Yabucoa told the Associated Press that he received one of the candles last week and felt it was in poor taste. The southern coastal town of 38,000 people that he represents was the first one hit by Hurricane Maria, and only about 12% of people there have power.

“I don’t understand the point of such a gift,” he said, adding that its arrival was incredibly untimely.

Surillo, who is from the main opposition party, said that neither Rosselló nor her husband, Governor Ricardo Rosselló, had visited Yabucoa.

“We’ll receive them with open arms,” he said. “We demand that they pay attention to the most devastated town.”

It’s unclear how many people received the candles. Beatriz Rosselló said they were sent out in December and January but did not provide further details.

A Rosselló spokeswoman did not respond to a message for comment.