Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to use the United States Military to go after drug cartels, pointing out that they are “killing our children.”
During the second Republican primary debate held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on Wednesday evening, DeSantis compared the Mexican drug cartels to being “foreign terrorist organizations.”
“As commander-in-chief, I will use the U.S. military to go after the Mexican drug cartels – they are killing our children,” DeSantis said.
Ron DeSantis vows to go after drug cartels:
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) September 28, 2023
“As commander-in-chief I will use the US military to go after the Mexican drug cartels — they are killing our children… Mexican drug cartels are going to be treated like the foreign terrorist organizations that they are.”#GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/JCicJPEi15
“Mexican drug cartels are going to be treated like the foreign terrorist organizations that they are,” DeSantis continued.
Roughly 79,770 Americans died from opioid-related drug overdoses in 2022, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This represented a decrease from 80,997 deaths reported the previous year.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and DeSantis are among the candidates who have expressed that they would use military force against the drug cartels in Mexico to stop the increased flow of opioid fentanyl into the U.S.
Roughly 25,591 lbs. of fentanyl have been seized during the 2023 fiscal year, an increase from the 2022 fiscal year which saw 14,699 lbs. of fentanyl seized, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.