CADEN HAYNOR / NEWS EDITOR

Recent actions by the Trump administration are causing bipartisan concern amongst students. These actions caused media investigations and legal questioning from the American public.

The President’s strikes on alleged cartel boats have turned out to be one of the most controversial aspects of his presidency. These actions have sparked international accusations of war crimes being thrown at the Trump administration. 

The first strike was on Sept. 2, where a U.S. missile  strike targeted a Venezuelan boat  with  multiple  hits  ordered by  U.S. Defense   Secretary  Pete  Hegseth. There have been 20 known strikes on boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean since the first strike, killing 77 people according to Hegseth. 

USD  sophomore  Bryce Elder commented  on  these    strikes.

“I was so shocked to see the President actually post attacks on ships,” Elder stated. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to do these things.  I did not know that [the United States] ordered  multiple  hits  when  they saw survivors. That is crazy.”

In the past two months, Trump has also pardoned five high profile individuals with federal charges against them. 

George  Santos is a former U.S. representative who faced federal charges for wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. Trump released Santos from prison, stating that he was mistreated in prison.  

Trump granted clemency to founder and former CEO of crypto exchange company Binance Changpeng Zhao, who was convicted of money laundering and  violating  U.S.  financial   laws.  These laws were violated because he did not adequately implement an anti-money laundering program at Binance.

The  President   also pardoned a  former  member of his  administration.  Rudy Giuliani, former   mayor  of    New    York  City  and  Trump’s   personal  lawyer during  the    2020  election,  faced multiple lawsuits and criminal investigations   related   to  election interference and defamation. 

Other   pardoned  officials  include Henry Cuellar, the long-serving   Democratic Representative from Texas, who was indicted alongside   his  wife  on  federal   bribery   and  conspiracy charges after being accused of accepting bribes from foreign entities in exchange for political favors. Following this pardon, Cuellar ran for re-election as a Democrat, which Trump condemned. Another clemency grant   that   shocked  people was on  Former   President of   Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández,  who  U.S.   federal   courts convicted of smuggling 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

USD first-year Nathan Oshefsky shared his reaction to the Trump administration’s strikes and pardons.

“I  think it’s good that he’s trying to  get  rid   of   the  drugs that are being transported illegally, but I think it could definitely be done in a more humane way,” Oshefsky  said. “We  don’t even know  what’s in those boats, so killing the people is not a good thing. I also think that it’s a bit hypocritical for Trump to pardon a drug trafficker and then say that he’s trying to stop them by blowing up ships. He has to pick a side.”

These pardons have sparked intense international backlash, with European media networks and politicians calling them a breach of the international justice  system. Some international law experts are considering researching the legality of the President creating the precedent of pardoning international crimes.

Another event that caused national concern over the Trump administration was the release of the Epstein files, which mentioned the President multiple times in correspondence with Jeffery Epstein, who was charged with the sex trafficking of minors. Republicans have criticized Trump’s opposition and subsequent handling of the files, causing  a fracture within the MAGA movement.

There are ongoing investigations   in   multiple  countries on the potential war crimes tied to the military strikes on suspected drug boats and the legality and  political  use  of  Trump’s pardons of high  profile  individuals.