Sen. JD Vance endorses the U.S. military going after drug cartels in Mexico – By Michael Mitsanas (NBC News) / July 2, 2023
American presidents should possess the power to deploy the U.S. military to pursue drug cartels in Latin America, Ohio Sen. JD Vance told NBC News’ “Meet The Press” in an interview that aired Sunday.
“I want to empower the president of the United States, whether that’s a Democrat or Republican, to use the power of the U.S. military to go after these drug cartels,” Vance, a Republican, told host Chuck Todd.
The senator said fentanyl’s increasing popularity and the Mexican government’s apparent inability to quash the illicit narcotics trade necessitates his proposal.
“We have to recognize the Mexican government is being, in a lot of ways, destabilized by the constant flow of fentanyl,” Vance said. He said he has talked to Drug Enforcement Administration agents who think that with the amount drug cartels are bringing in, their revenue per year has gone up 14 times just in the last couple of years.
