Arrest at Trump’s Florida Property Raises Security Concerns

 

Palm trees moved slowly as a light ocean breeze passed through Palm Beach, Florida last Saturday. That was the day a woman entered the grounds of U.S. President Donald Trump¹’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump has called the property his “winter White House.”

The woman told security officials she was going to the resort’s swimming pool. She showed them two Chinese passports with the name Yujing Zhang.

The security officials did not know if she actually had permission to enter, so they called the front desk at Mar-a-Lago.

The property is on an island between the Atlantic Ocean and a small waterway called Lake Worth Lagoon². The land was developed in the 1920s and bought by Donald Trump in 1985. Today it is part house, hotel and restaurant. It has a spa, a s wimming pool, workout machines and tennis courts. There is a nearby golf club also called Mar-a-Lago – or “Sea to Lake,” in Spanish.

Trump goes to Mar-a-Lago every few weekends to enjoy the warm weather, rest and do government business. Hundreds of people who have paid to be members of Mar-a-Lago are also permitted to visit the area. However, they must be checked and questioned by security.

On this day, March 30, security officials noted³ that the name Yujing Zhang sounded similar to a club member. They gave her permission to enter the grounds.

When the woman came inside, she spoke⁴ to workers at the front desk. She said she was there a little early for a “United Nations Friendship Event.” But the event did not really exist.

Later, she said a friend had told her to come to Mar-a-Lago. She claimed she wanted to talk to someone in the Trump family about Chinese and American economic relations.

Workers and security officials quickly grew suspicious⁵. Officials searched her belongings⁶ and found four cell phones, a laptop computer, and an external hard drive. They also found a small device containing a computer virus – but nothing for her to wear while swimming in the pool.

Zhang was charged with making false statements to government officials and illegally entering a restricted area. She has been detained⁷ until a court hearing later this month.

Officials are also looking into whether Zhang was part of a larger effort to reach Trump and try to do harm. They are treating the case as a possible threat.

The event raises concerns again about the difficulty of keeping Mar-a-Lago secure.

David Kris is an expert on foreign intelligence at Culper Partners, a consulting business in Seattle, Washington. He says Mar-a-Lago is not well-defended and is at risk of both physical and cyber attacks.

A top official at the security company CTC International Group described guarding Mar-a-Lago as a “nightmare⁸.” The number of people who can come and go make protecting Trump and the property much more difficult.

The U.S. government spends more than $3 million on security at Mar-a-Lago every time Trump visits there. The agency responsible for guarding the president is the Secret Service. The agency said in a statement that its work at Mar-a-Lago is the same as at other places the president visits for a short time.

Trump himself also dismissed security concerns after the arrest. “We have very good control,” he told reporters.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

breeze - n. a gentle wind

resort - n. a place where people go for vacations

desk - n. a place where people can get information or be served at a hotel

cyberattack - n. an effort to damage or destroy a computer network or system

nightmare - n. a very bad or frightening experience or situation

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 lagoon   

n.泻湖，咸水湖

参考例句：

• The lagoon was pullulated with tropical fish.那个咸水湖聚满了热带鱼。
• This area isolates a restricted lagoon environment.将这一地区隔离起来使形成一个封闭的泻湖环境。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 suspicious   

adj.可疑的，容易引起怀疑的，猜疑的，疑心的

参考例句：

• A man was hanging about the house in a suspicious manner.一个男人在房子周围可疑地荡来荡去。
• He's so suspicious he would distrust his own mother.他这个人疑心太重，连自己的母亲也不相信。

6 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

7 detained   

留住( detain的过去式和过去分词 )； 耽搁； 拘留； 扣留

参考例句：

• One man has been detained for questioning. 一个男人被拘留审问。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group. 他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 nightmare   

n.恶梦，可怕的事物，无法摆脱的恐惧

参考例句：

• I was glad to awake from such a nightmare.我庆幸终于从噩梦中醒来了。
• I had a nightmare last nightand,lost sleep.昨夜我作了个恶梦，失眠了。