By Alexander Ward, Matt Berg and Eric Bazail-Eimil

Asked by Fox News’ Martha MacCallum if he would support sending U.S. special forces over the border to take out fentanyl labs and disrupt cartel operations, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis replied: “Yes, and I will do it on day one.” | Francis Chung/POLITICO

With help from Sally Goldenberg, Shia Kapos and Daniel Lippman

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Overlooked in the horse-race talk of the Republican presidential debate Wednesday is that a candidate vowed to attack drug cartels inside Mexico — on his first day in office, no less.

Asked by Fox News’ MARTHA MacCALLUM if he would support sending U.S. special forces over the border to take out fentanyl labs and disrupt cartel operations, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS replied: “Yes, and I will do it on day one.”

“When I talk about using the Military to take on the drug cartels because they’re killing tens of thousands of our citizens,” the second-highest polling Republican later told SEAN HANNITY, “we have every right to do it, I’m going to do it. I’m not just going to get into office and say ‘forget about it.'”

We asked campaign spokesperson JOSE OLIVA to confirm that DeSantis wants American troops to enter Mexico on Inauguration Day. He said “no” and that talk of timing was “semantic.” Instead DeSantis’ intention is to be an “active president” and secure the southern border from his first moments in the Oval Office.

But, as commander in chief, DeSantis sees a need for military action against cartels if they keep trafficking fentanyl into the United States. “If you have an enemy over the border taking refuge, then America reserves the right to go in and protect Americans,” Oliva said. If neighbors like Mexico don’t take care of the problem on their own, “then America needs to act accordingly on their behalf.”

In a Thursday morning Fox News appearance, DeSantis pledged to interdict Chinese ships at sea, as some vessels carry precursor materials that go into fentanyl. It’s unclear, though, if he wants the Navy, Coast Guard or some other force in charge, what waters they’d operate in and how they will distinguish between legitimate commerce — fentanyl can be prescribed for cancer pain — and illicit shipments.

The “bomb Mexico” idea has been embraced by some in the GOP, and DeSantis just gave it its largest platform yet. He’s actively fundraising off the proposal, including selling t-shirts about leaving Mexican drug lords “STONE COLD DEAD.”

Rep. MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.), a DONALD TRUMP supporter who introduced an authorization for the use of military force to target cartels, told us “it's good to see other candidates getting on board and the idea getting more mainstream within the Republican Party.”

Meanwhile Democrats, from the Biden administration to lawmakers, are firmly against military options for the fentanyl problem.

“It’s a dangerous, dark path they’re taking our country down,” Rep. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-Texas) told NatSec Daily. “It’s a batshit idea” because such a military campaign could harm the U.S. economy — Mexico is America’s top trading partner — and lead to the demonization of Mexican-Americans and Latinos in general, like how Asian-Americans were targeted during the pandemic.

Many questions remain, including how deep into America’s neighbor DeSantis wants to strike, since cartels mostly operate deep inside Mexico, not right over the border. And, to date, we’ve heard no plan to handle the influx of asylum seekers who will run northward when violence spikes.

It ultimately may not matter, as polling shows DeSantis trailing far behind Trump for the nomination. But the former president’s return to the White House could yet mean U.S. military operations in Mexico are coming.

In the post-debate spin room, DONALD TRUMP JR. told reporters “everything that [DeSantis] said that actually got some applause was literally already Trump policy. We use the military to fight the cartels. It's a threat to a nation. That's Trump policy.”

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HOW DID PRIGOZHIN GO DOWN?: There are dueling reports about just how Wagner Group leader YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN’s plane went down yesterday.

Here’s the Wall Street Journal: “preliminary U.S. government assessments…suggest that a bomb exploded on the aircraft or that some other form of sabotage caused the crash.” (CNN, the New York Times, the Associated Press and the Washington Post also reported that an on-board explosion is the likely answer.)

Now here’s Reuters: “Two U.S. officials…said that it was likely a surface-to-air missile originating from inside Russia likely shot down the plane.”

Brig. Gen. PATRICK RYDER, DOD’s spokesperson, told reporters Thursday “we don't have any information to indicate right now...that there was some type of surface to air missile that took down the plane. We assess that information to be inaccurate.”

A U.S. official, speaking anonymously about a sensitive matter ahead of Ryder’s remarks, told NatSec Daily “our initial assessment is that it is likely Prigozhin was killed, but we’re continuing to assess and do not have any further information to provide at this time.”

For his part, Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY said Kyiv had nothing to do with it and pointed fingers at the Kremlin, our own CLAUDIA CHIAPPA reports. Prigozhin was one of 10 people killed in the crash, along with DMITRY UTKIN, a central Wagner figure and the group’s alleged founder.

Flight-tracking data showed that there were no issues on the radar of Prigozhin’s plane until 30 seconds before it dropped out of the sky, Reuters reports, and an unverified video of the accident shows it falling vertically from the sky.

Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN broke his silence on the crash Thursday, saying his one-time caterer was "a man of difficult fate” who made “serious mistakes.”

Scroll down for more reactions on the warlord’s demise, with a brilliant “South Park” reference.

ICYMI — Biden admin shrugs at Prigozhin’s death as questions about Wagner’s future linger by Alex

NEW OBIT: Yevgeny Prigozhin — hot dog tycoon, warlord and mutineer — dead at 62 by our own JAMIE DETTMER

MORE TIME FOR GERSHKOVICH: A Russian court extended the pretrial detention of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter EVAN GERSHKOVICH by three months, according to WSJ’s ANN SIMMONS. The decision, announced by a court spokesperson after a closed-door proceeding in a Moscow courthouse, means that Gershkovich will remain under detention until Nov. 30.

Gershkovich was detained on espionage charges in March. Both the Journal and the U.S. government reject the allegations against Gershkovich, arguing that he is being targeted by the Russian government for his reporting. Washington designated Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” earlier this year.

“We are deeply disappointed he continues to be arbitrarily and wrongfully detained for doing his job as a journalist,” the Journal said in a statement today. “The baseless accusations against him are categorically false, and we continue to push for his immediate release. Journalism is not a crime.”

UKRAINE IN CRIMEA: Ukraine’s military said its forces conducted a daring operation in Russian-occupied Crimea today, coinciding with the country’s independence day, our own VERONIKA MELKOZEROVA reports.

Ukrainian forces arrived via sea and fired on Russian troops, inflicting casualties and damage to equipment, military intelligence said on Telegram, posting a video of the supposed operation.

“All goals and tasks have been completed. At the end of the special operation, the Ukrainian defenders left the scene without casualties,” it added.

BRICS BY BRICS: Leaders of the bloc including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said they invited Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to join the group, our own CLAUDIA CHIAPPA reports. Their BRICS membership would begin in January.

The choices have raised eyebrows, given Argentina and Egypt’s economic woes, Iran and Saudi Arabia’s heated rivalry in the Middle East and Ethiopia’s ongoing security challenges. But MIHAELA PAPA, a senior fellow with the Fletcher School at Tufts University, told NatSec Daily that the expansion is a “win for China” and a “pragmatic and strategic move” that could increase the bloc’s financial and market cooperation. It could also improve the group’s clout on the international stage.

“The strengthened group is also likely to play an important role in multilateral negotiations,” Papa said. “So it needs to be taken seriously.”

CIA SEXUAL HARASSMENT: As a CIA trainee faces criminal sentencing for sexually assaulting a colleague in a Langley stairwell, more female CIA employees are coming forward with stories of sexual harassment and misconduct at the hands of colleagues and superiors, according to an investigation from the Associated Press’ JIM MUSTIAN and JOSH GOODMAN.

The AP report comes as lawmakers pursue a bipartisan probe of the agency’s handling of sexual misconduct and Congress considers legislation to help CIA victims of sexual assault, as our own DANIEL LIPPMAN scooped earlier this year.

IT’S THURSDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at [email protected] and [email protected], and follow us on X at @alexbward and @mattberg33.

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MORE DEBATE: Believe it or not, there’s even more natsec stuff to discuss from last night’s debate. (We know! We’re excited, too!)

To aid or not to aid? The divide over funding Ukraine’s military efforts was on full display, with VIVEK RAMASWAMY and DeSantis saying they would cut off funding to Kyiv while others defended U.S. support to the embattled nation, our own GAVIN BADE reported.

“I find it offensive that we have professional politicians who will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their pope, Zelenskyy, without doing the same for the people in Maui or the south side of Chicago,” Ramaswamy said, referring to the Ukrainian president.

DeSantis hedged more, saying that he would stop aid to Ukraine unless European governments stepped up to “pull their weight.” Those views earned applause in the room — and are in line with how some likely GOP voters feel about the issue.

‘And it shows.’ Ramaswamy’s foreign policy was expectedly targeted on stage. Among other stances, he wants to strike a deal with VLADIMIR PUTIN over Ukraine to pry Russia from China and put time limits on U.S. defensive support for Taiwan and Israel.

No attack on his worldview was more notable than NIKKI HALEY’s, who has made her time as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration central to her campaign pitch.

“You want to go and defund Israel, you want to give Taiwan to China, you want to go and give Ukraine to Russia,” she said, looking straight at him in a testy exchange. “Under your watch, you would make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”

Yes, hitting Ramaswamy — who leads Haley — is good politics. But the fight underscored the tensions between the populist and traditional wings of the Republican Party over foreign policy.

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CHINA REVIVES RECRUITING: Beijing has quietly restarted a program to recruit elite scientists from other countries to bolster its technological prowess almost two years after it was shut down following U.S. investigations, Reuters reports.

The Thousand Talents Plan has come back under a new name and format, with a broad mission of advancing the country’s tech proficiency, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The outlet also reviewed over 500 government documents spanning 2019 to 2023.

The recruiters are offering lavish perks, including subsidies to buy property and a sign-on bonus normally between $420,000 to $700,000, the people said. The program, named Qiming, recruits experts from “sensitive” or “classified” areas such as semiconductors, two of the people said.

Read: Chinese hackers are targeting Taiwanese organizations, Microsoft warns by our own MAGGIE MILLER (for Pros!)

FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– GEORGE ON THE MOVE: The Army’s acting chief left for Europe Wednesday for his first overseas trip in the post.

Gen. RANDY GEORGE will observe key training, modernization, and logistics efforts in Germany as well as meet with units deployed to Poland and Romania, spokesperson Maj. JEFF LEE told us. George will also meet with counterparts while he’s on the one-week trip, Lee said, “to show that the Army will continue to deliver ready combat power.”

‘OVERSIGHT AT THE SPEED OF WAR’: The Pentagon’s Inspector General is sending two staffers to work full time out of the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, the first time the office will have a permanent presence in Ukraine since the start of the war, our friends at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report.

The officials will be in place by the end of the month, DOD Inspector General ROBERT STORCH revealed during a sitdown in his office on Wednesday. It has long been a priority for him to get his people on the ground there to help oversee the billions of dollars in U.S. security assistance flowing into the country.

Having full-time staff in Kyiv reporting directly to him will “give us a different view” of the aid and how it is being tracked and handled, Storch said, since they will be able to meet with Ukrainian officials in person on a regular basis, rather than doing it virtually or during occasional visits.

“We’re doing oversight at the speed of war,” he said.

SPACECOM BASE INQUIRY: House Armed Services Committee Chair MIKE ROGERS (R-Ala.) is calling on the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Biden administration’s move of the U.S. Space Command to Colorado Springs, reversing a Trump administration decision to make Huntsville, Ala. the command’s base location.

“National security decisions of this magnitude and significant economic interest require the process to be standardized, repeatable, transparent and deliberate,” Rogers wrote in a letter to Comptroller General GENE DODARO. “Based on numerous administration officials talking to the press, the decision by President Biden appears to be anything but.”

HACKERS BE GONE: A top cyber lawmaker in the House says it’s about time all federal contractors with access to government data and networks have an agency-approved vulnerability ID process to curb attacks from bad guys, our friends at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) report.

The aptly-named Federal Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act landed this morning by way of House Oversight cyber subcommittee Chair NANCY MACE (R-S.C.) and strong arms businesses who work with federal agencies to implement vulnerability disclosure policies in line with National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines.

The bill “will play a crucial role” in protecting critical infrastructure and keeping attackers at bay and away from sensitive government information, Mace told MC in a statement.

OMG, THEY KILLED YEVGENY! YOU BASTARDS!: Prigozhin’s allies are predictably pissed that it appears Russia killed the paramilitary leader by shooting down his plane on Wednesday, our own GABRIEL GAVIN reports.

While little is known about the crash’s circumstances right now, Wagner’s social media mouthpieces were quick to suggest the light aircraft’s sudden crash — en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg with many of the group’s leadership on board — was no accident.

“The fact that our best soldiers died in battle is the will of God,” wrote the pro-Prigozhin “Fatherland” Telegram channel. “Probably whoever organized it thinks he’s won, but he hasn’t … if it’s a knife in the back, the motherland will survive but your fate as Judas is unenviable.”

Rusich Group, a neo-Nazi paramilitary unit closely aligned with Wagner, chimed in with an ominous Telegram post: “Let this be a lesson to all. Always go all the way,” likely referring to Prigozhin’s failed mutiny against the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, there aren’t any tears being shed in Ukraine, Veronika reports. Many of Prigozhin’s opponents reacted with memes and sarcastic comments after the fiery plane crash that, as some have speculated, may have been caused by a Russian missile.

“Well, Prigozhin specifically asked to send him more weapons,” Ukrainian standup comedian ANTON TYMOSHENKO quipped in a Facebook post.

— MATTHEW FERRARO is stepping down from WilmerHale to join the Biden administration as senior counselor for cybersecurity and emerging technology with the Department of Homeland Security. He starts next week.

— KEVIN HIGGINS and PAUL FARLEY have joined WestExec Advisors as senior advisers. Both men spent at least 30 years at the CIA.

— DAVID PETRAEUS and FREDERICK KAGAN, The Washington Post: Ukraine’s counteroffensive might yet surprise critics

— ALEXANDER GABUEV, The Financial Times: After Prigozhin, Putin reigns supreme

— BETH SANNER, The Cipher Brief: Prigozhin’s final lesson was that not even he could escape Kremlin rules

— National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN will host his counterparts from France, the United Kingdom and Germany on Friday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. Sullivan, a European diplomat told Ravid, set up the meeting “as part of an effort to hold a strategic thinking session about issues related to the war in Ukraine, China and Africa in an informal setting.”

— The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 6 a.m.: Small states: strategies for success in a competitive world

— The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, 8:30 a.m.: Conference to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance

— The National Defense Industrial Association, 11 a.m.: August meeting of the logistical management division

Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who we volunteer to perform the most dangerous missions in Mexico.

We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who has the best foreign policy experience, and it shows.

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