Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he is determined to shield Florida from refugees seeking shelter from the chaos and gang violence erupting across the Caribbean island of Haiti.
The Florida governor and former Republican presidential candidate’s comments come just days after he said he would dispatch 250 Florida law enforcement officers to establish a flotilla force south of the Keys to intercept any vessels coming to the Sunshine State.
The move was announced shortly after the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission intercepted a vessel off the Sebastian Inlet in Palm Beach County carrying 25 Haitian refugees, including five children.
The vessel was also carrying illegal narcotics, firearms, and night vision goggles, DeSantis told Loesch.
“Look, Dana, I’ve got to defend my state,” he said. “I’ve got enough issues just dealing with people fleeing from blue states moving to Florida,” he said.
In addition to using officers out at sea, the Sunshine State governor suggested he may use busses to relocate Haitian refugees to Democratic areas such as Martha’s Vineyard.
“We do have our transport program … that’s going to be operational,” DeSantis told former Breitbart editor and podcaster Dana Loesch on Tuesday.
“Haitians land in the Florida Keys, their next stop very well may be Martha’s Vineyard,” he said.
Haiti is an estimated 840 miles from Florida. Haitians have suffered a terrible ordeal as their homeland has begun collapsing in the absence of political leadership.
Armed gangs have taken control of various areas of the Port-Au-Prince capital city and seized control of government buildings as many civilians have tried fleeing the metropolitan area in fear for their lives.
Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry also resigned after a joint meeting between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) met and convinced him to step down as a measure to help quell the violence.
The situation in Haiti is increasingly becoming more dire, leaving an estimated 15,000 people homeless with 1.4 million Haitians facing famine, according to human rights groups.
Related Story: Ariel Henry Out: Haiti’s Prime Minister Relinquishes Power, Transitional Leadership Under Consideration
