Ron and Casey DeSantis, members of the Florida first family, made a series of provocative statements at a Mamas for DeSantis event in Iowa.
The governor reiterated his intention to implement a military response plan to thwart cartel smuggling.
DeSantis was incensed by how a video that Fox News contributor Bill Melugin had shown a human smuggler posing for the camera while he guided alleged illegal immigrants through what looked like a mechanically sawed opening in the border wall built by Trump was described.
If elected, according to DeSantis, drug cartels will be declared foreign terrorist organizations, and government assets will be allowed to “engage” with anyone who can be positively identified as being involved with a cartel.
DeSantis stated there will be set standards for who federal forces can directly take lethal action against, without specifically mentioning the video because he had not seen it himself.
That part of the border scenario reminded him of his experience serving overseas in the military, when it was hard to tell Al-Qaeda fighters from Iraqi citizens because they wore plainclothes rather than recognizable uniforms.
“If you can positively identify them or if they’re making a hostile action or they’re displaying hostile intent, then you engage,” DeSantis said.
“We will engage appropriately, but just the fact that you’re able to engage — that is going to have a massive deterrence effect because these people are not going to want to go in there and run into a buzzsaw.” he continued.
“The cartels have been eating our lunch for years and years, and they’re poisoning tens of thousands of our fellow citizens,” DeSantis concluded.
[READ MORE: Megyn Kelly Claims Trump has Lost ‘Several Steps’ Mentally]
