NEW YORK • Rapper Pitbull (above) is lending celebrity bite to humanitarian efforts in Puerto Rico after it was ravaged by Hurricane Maria.

The Miami-based musician, 36, sent a private plane to ferry cancer patients for treatment in the United States after the storm interrupted flight schedules.

People magazine said Puerto Rican Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez thanked Pitbull in a Spanish-language tweet on Tuesday, writing: "Thank you @pitbull for lending your private plane to move cancer patients from PR to USA so that they can get chemo."

The rapper joins other stars, such as Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, in initiatives to help Puerto Rico bounce back.

But Ricky Martin was not in a charitable mood - towards American Airlines. The Puerto Rican native posted a complaint online that it charged more than US$2,000 (S$2,720) a person for flights out of the Caribbean island in the wake of the hurricane.

"This is not right. US$2,249 for a flight Miami-San Juan. Come on, we are in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. There should be a law against this kind of abuse," he wrote.

The normal fare can be as low as US$145.