Republican U.S. presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visits the border community of Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, the current Governor of Florida, is calling for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to block Mexican ports to help stem the flow of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. through the Southern Border.
Of course, the United Nation’s Law of the Sea prohibits such an action under the principle of freedom of navigation.
Governor DeSantis announced the plan during a campaign stop in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Monday, where he touted his border security plan.
DeSantis’ says Mexican cartels are importing “precursor” chemicals on ships to produce synthetic fentanyl in Mexico which is then shipped across the border into the U.S.
“We’ll mobilize the Coast Guard and the Navy to interdict precursor chemicals,” Gov. DeSantis said Monday.
DeSantis’ campaign website confirms the plan, promising “direct action as needed to counter cartel activities.”
“And if the Mexican Government doesn’t do something about stopping the precursor chemicals for drugs going through Mexican ports into cartel hands, we’ll send in the Coast Guard and the Navy,” his campaign website states.
DeSantis’ campaign promise comes as the U.S. Justice Department last week announced the arrest of two individuals and unsealed three indictments in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York charging China-based companies with crimes related to fentanyl production, distribution, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals.
The indictments represent the first prosecutions against China-based chemical manufacturing companies and Chinese nationals for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.
The Biden Administration in March announced new plans to combat fentanyl smuggling into the U.S. via the Southern Border. Known as Operation Blue Lotus, the Department of Homeland Security campaign has resulted in a 300% increase in fentanyl seizures versus the same period last year, with 4,721 pounds of fentanyl seized and over 200 arrests made in the two months following its launch. The campaign involved the deployment of extra agents and officers, targeted inspections, advanced technology, and intensified intelligence gathering efforts.
In national polling, DeSantis trails former President Donald Trump by a wide margin despite state and federal criminal indictments against the former president in New York and Florida as criminal investigations into his conduct following his 2020 election loss continue.
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