Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a tweet that his administration has made significant strides in defending the state from cross-border criminal activity, citing results from a year of his strike force’s work.
"In one year, our drug and human smuggling strike force has resulted in thousands of felony charges and seized enough fentanyl to kill 1.8 million Floridians," his tweet said. "Our success is a blueprint for states across the nation looking to protect their communities from Biden's Border Crisis."
“The Biden administration is asleep at the wheel, and Florida will not sit idly by while drugs continue to pour across the open southern border and into our communities,” he said in an accompanying press release.
The law enforcement strike force was formed in 2022 and involved the collaboration of several different agencies, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and other local offices, the press release said. The goal of the group is to counter the flow of drugs and trafficking into and throughout Florida.
DeSantis’ tweet included an infographic with several statistics on the work done by his strike force from June 2022 through July 2023. The infographic says the strike force confiscated eight pounds of fentanyl, 3.4 pounds of cocaine, 5.4 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.6 pounds of heroin, 85.4 pounds of marijuana, and various amounts of other drugs. Strike force efforts have led to over 40 charges of human smuggling, nine recoveries of stolen vehicles, and more, the infographic said.
In the press release, DeSantis said the strike force is a blueprint for other states, representing a commitment to defense at the border.
DeSantis, the 46th governor of Florida, graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School, served in the U.S. Navy, and worked as a prosecutor, his state biography says. He became a congressman in 2012 and has been governor since January 2019.
