DeSantis Signals He Would Use Drone Strikes Against Mexican Cartels

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) speaks during the Moms for Liberty national summit at the Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said he would be open to using drone strikes on Mexican drug cartels.

When asked during a campaign event in Iowa on Nov. 2 whether he would use “drones” or other military means to target cartels, Mr. DeSantis said, “Yes. I’ve already said that.”

“We will absolutely reserve the right if they’re invading our country and killing our people, we have the right to defend this country,” the 2024 presidential hopeful added.

Mr. DeSantis said that if elected, he would “lean in against the drug cartels. We have the right to hold them accountable, and it’s not just if they happen to come over our border. If Mexico is not going to help us with that, well then we’re going to have to do what we have to do.”

The reason why, he argued, is because cartels are “killing tens of thousands of Americans right now,” referring to U.S. overdose deaths linked to fentanyl trafficked across the border.

“They’re trafficking people into this country. They’re abusing people—sexual abuse,” he told reporters. “It’s really the worst of humanity. I would categorize them as something akin to a foreign terrorist organization. I think that’s what they’ve proven to be.”

A border fence that divides Mexico and the United States in Tijuana, Mexico, on Nov. 21, 2018. Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo

Mexican officials also threatened to take legal action against Mr. DeSantis in June after he sent hundreds of illegal immigrants in Florida across the United States.

In June, the Republican governor drew headlines when he said he would back federal law enforcement at the southern border to use “deadly force” against criminal organizations that try to enter the United States.

“If the cartels are cutting through the border wall trying to run product into this country, they’re going to end up stone-cold dead as a result of that bad decision,” Mr. DeSantis said during an event in Texas.

His remarks are in line with a growing group of Republicans who have called for military action in Mexico. The United States—Mexico border remains a top 2024 presidential issue.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also have signaled support for using military force against cartels, an idea that Mexican officials have denounced.

Pushback from Mexico

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador rebuked calls from some U.S. lawmakers to use the military earlier this year, saying that such a move would imperil his nation’s sovereignty.

“We are not going to permit any foreign government to intervene in our territory, much less that a government’s armed forces intervene,” he stated at a news conference in March.

Over the weekend, Mr. DeSantis stopped in Iowa at the State Fair, coming after his campaign has dealt with a staff shakeup stemming from his lower poll numbers. National polling averages show he has received about 14 percent in Republican primary support, placing him second behind former President Trump.

Meanwhile, a survey released by polling company Cygnal in August found that 10 percent of likely Republican voters would name Mr. DeSantis as their preferred candidate. That’s compared to former President Trump, who has 53 percent, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who has 11 percent.

“This primary is a two-man race between Governor DeSantis and a man running in 2024 on the things he promised to do in 2016 and failed to do,” a spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign told news outlets in response to the poll.

“Governor DeSantis is the only candidate in the race who can beat Joe Biden and implement the agenda we need to reverse this country’s decline and revive its future.”

Campaign Shakeup

Earlier in the week, Mr. DeSantis replaced his campaign manager, Generra Peck, with his gubernatorial chief of staff, James Uthmeier. In July, he reportedly laid off dozens of staffers as part of a restructuring effort.

Dan Eberhart, a prominent Republican donor, suggested that the move was still too tepid given that Ms. Peck and Mr. Uthmeier are both simply switching from one senior campaign position to another similar position. Ms. Peck is remaining on the campaign team as chief strategist.

“Gov. DeSantis has to change the dynamics,” Eberhart told Reuters. “That much is clear. This is a realignment rather than a reset because both folks were already senior advisers.”

Peck’s reassignment came four days after Robert Bigelow, the biggest individual donor to a group supporting the DeSantis candidacy, told Reuters he would not donate more money unless the governor changed his approach.

Mr. Bigelow said he had told Ms. Peck, whom he called “a very good campaign manager,” that Mr. DeSantis needed to change his message to have a chance.

Reuters contributed to this report.