DeSantis Vows to Send US Military Into Mexico to Stop Fentanyl Labs
(Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis pledged to send US special forces into Mexico to destroy fentanyl labs, disrupt cartel operations and stop the lethal drug from crossing the border.Most Read from BloombergWagner Chief Prigozhin Listed Aboard Crashed Jet, Reports SayHuawei Building Secret Network for Chips, Trade Group WarnsWagner Chief Prigozhin Was in Deadly Jet Crash, Russia SaysWagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Mercenary Who Defied Putin, Is Presumed DeadQQQ Up in Late Hours on Nvidia’s Bullish Forecast: Markets Wrap“Yes, I will do it from Day One,” the Florida governor said in response to a question at the first GOP debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. “The president of the United States has got to use all available powers as commander-in-chief to protect our country and to protect the people. So when they’re coming across, yes, we’re going to use lethal force.”Mexico would likely view such a move by a US president as a violation of its sovereignty by
(Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis pledged to send US special forces into Mexico to destroy fentanyl labs, disrupt cartel operations and stop the lethal drug from crossing the border.
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“Yes, I will do it from Day One,” the Florida governor said in response to a question at the first GOP debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. “The president of the United States has got to use all available powers as commander-in-chief to protect our country and to protect the people. So when they’re coming across, yes, we’re going to use lethal force.”
Mexico would likely view such a move by a US president as a violation of its sovereignty by an ally. The Mexican embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fentanyl trafficking through Mexico was among the most talked-about issues in the foreign policy discussion at the debate. The anesthetic-turned-street drug has caused tens of thousands of deaths in the US in recent years. President Joe Biden’s Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram has described fentanyl as “the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered.”
In 2019, China moved to declare fentanyl and its precursor chemicals controlled substances at then-President Donald Trump’s urging, but the change ended up diverting more of the trade through Mexico and that nation’s cartels.
“As president, would I use force? Would I treat them as foreign terrorist organizations?” DeSantis said. “You’re darn right I would.”
Read more: How Fentanyl Made the US Opioid Crisis So Much Worse: QuickTake
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