'Bomb the Mexicans' is the GOP’s new 'build the wall': columnist

Calls for U.S. attacks on Mexican drug cartels, recently discussed in secret if at all, have become a loudly expressed talking point for Republicans who are trying to exploit the violent rhetoric for political gain, columnist Jean Guerrero wrote for The Miami Herald Thursday.

Guerrero notes that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent promises to deploy the military against drug cartels, along with his support for executing smugglers and his assertion that “you absolutely can use deadly force,” typify a new tone DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates have struck in recent months that makes “Build the Wall” seem quaint by comparison.

Guerrero writes that “Republican politicians are now expressing their bloodlust in public. As ‘Build the Wall’ loses its edge, ‘Bomb the Mexicans’ is becoming mainstream in the GOP.”

DeSantis isn’t alone, Guerrero writes, noting that Donald Trump has called for attacking the cartels “just like we took down ISIS.”

Guerrero contends that Republicans aren’t making a good faith argument, and that their rhetoric has more to do with racism than finding solutions to the ongoing opioid crisis.

Guerrero writes that “The idea exploits the grief of tens of thousands of Americans who’ve lost loved ones to fentanyl, sometimes made in Mexico with chemicals from China. Republican bills in Congress seek to authorize military force in Mexico. Other legislation would designate cartels in Mexico as foreign terrorist organizations or classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.”

“No politician has proposed bombing the U.S. corporations behind thousands of opioid-related deaths, but why would they? To rally American support for state violence, bloodmongers need racism.”

Guerrero notes that Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) has warned that such proposals could serve to lay the groundwork for a potential Mexican invasion.

Guerrero writes that “If Americans understood the economic realities of what drives drug trafficking and migration from the region — including the role U.S. corporations play in propping up corrupt local elites — they wouldn’t be advocating for more bloodshed. But Republican politicians aren’t interested in finding solutions for reducing migrants or for families harmed by opioid addiction. They’re into political gain, by any means necessary.”

Read the full article here.