DeSantis reiterates support for deadly force against cartels: ‘You lay them out.’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Off the heels of multiple visits to the border and months of denouncing what he calls the “Biden border crisis,” Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his support for authorizing deadly force against drug cartels at the U.S. southern border.

“I think these cartels are basically foreign terrorist organizations,” he said in an interview with NBC News.

“They are responsible for killing more Americans on an annual basis than any other group or country throughout the entire world,” he said. “And yet, this is just happening, and it’s happening in communities all across the United States.”

Speaking about the border, he noted that “most of the border doesn’t have a wall,” casting shade on former President Donald Trump’s administration, and that parts that did have a wall were being repaired during one of his recent visits due to cartel vandalism.

“They’re like, ‘we’re repairing the hole the cartels cut through – the steel beams,'” DeSantis continued.

“So if you see that happening, and they got the satchel of fentanyl strapped to their back, you use deadly force against them,” he declared. “You lay them out, you will see a change of behavior.”

“You have to take the fight to the cartels. Otherwise, we’re going to continue to see Americans dying.”

The comments echo what the governor said in June that cartels cutting through the border to run deadly drugs into the U.S. will end up “stone cold dead.”

DeSantis released a border control policy platform in late June, which involved activating the military across the border into Mexico to defend against cartel aggression.

“When we go in on day one, we’re going to marshal every bit of authority that we have, will work with Congress when we need to, we’ll take executive action when we can, and it will be a day one priority,” DeSantis said at the time.

His campaign said the Mexican government will be expected to assist in cracking down on the cartels, and that if they “drag [their feet],” he will “reserve the right” to send the military across the border and across water bodies to block cartel supplies from entering Mexico.

“If the Mexican government won’t stop cartel drug manufacturing, DeSantis will surge resources to the Navy and the Coast Guard and block precursor chemicals from entering Mexican ports,” his campaign promised.