He similarly made a 100-day pledge to appoint a task force targeting drug-dealing in the region, as well as to convince American children that using drugs spurs drug-trade deaths south of the border.
Hispanics, especially Cuban-Americans and Puerto Ricans, are being wooed by all four GOP candidates heading into Tuesday’s Florida primary.
Romney has opened a nine-point lead over Gingrich in a Quinnipiac poll after losing to Gingrich in last weekend’s South Carolina primary, and his confidence was evident in a more than 20-minute speech that contained not one reference to his rival.
Gingrich, by contrast, singled out Romney by name as he defended his immigration views during remarks to the Hispanic Leadership Network immediately before Romney.
Gingrich, repeating some of the promises he made earlier to a Latin Builders Association meeting in Miami, told the crowd he would reorient the US vision from the Middle East to points south.
He not only urged the US military to move supervision of Mexico from its Northern Command headquarters in Nebraska to Southern Command in Miami, but he also called for rallying opposition to Fidel Castro in Cuba and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.
The former House speaker also reiterated what he described as a long-held view Puerto Ricans should be allowed to decide whether their island commonwealth should become the 51st state.
When a woman stood up in the crowd and challenged Gingrich to reveal his own preference, he did not yield.
“I believe the people of Puerto Rico should make the decision. It’s not my place to judge for Puerto Rico,’’ he said.
Romney was similarly noncommittal about his personal views, even as the former Massachusetts governor said he agreed with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno’s expectation that his residents will approve statehood in a November referendum.
