DeSantis Advocates Deadly Force Against Mexican Drug Cartels
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, indicated Thursday that if elected he will implement “new rules of engagement” for Mexican drug cartels.
The candidate spoke with Fox News’ Jesse Watters and was asked about his recent visit to the nation’s southern border. The host asked if DeSantis bearing witnessing the border chaos affected his opinion on illegal immigration.
The Florida governor replied that what he saw confirmed what he already knew : “it’s worse than you think when you actually go down there. He recounted a startling sight at an incomplete section of the border wall in Arizona.
DeSantis saw a man look out from the wall with no border patrol in the area. According to the candidate, they were “in town processing people.”
The man signaled for people to come on out and they were able to cross unchecked.
The product they are smuggling into the U.S., DeSantis charged, is killing Americans. This means the military should be there to stop cartels from “cutting through our fence to bring drugs in.”
When this happens, he declared, “that’s going to be the last thing you do because we’re going to leave you stone cold dead.” As much as anything, this statement summarized what DeSantis described as the new rules of engagement if he is elected.
The Florida governor further told Fox News anchor Marthan MacCallum that on day one in the Oval Office, he will declare a national emergency.
DeSantis insisted that “all options are on the table” for national defense against the scourge of illegal migration. While there is a lot of discussion about the open border, “people are dying by the tens of thousands.”
DeSantis, whose deficit to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is getting wider, promised to engage the Navy and National Guard in ending the flow of deadly fentanyl into the nation. He said resources of both will interdict Chinese precursor chemicals from reaching Mexican ports.
Estimates are that 80,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses in 2022.
He also pledged to join Panama in closing the Darien Gap, a particularly dangerous stretch of jungle through which migrants travel from Central America to the U.S.
