‘BUILD THAT WALL’

Ted Cruz Wants El Chapo to Pay for Wall

Texas senator is seeking $14 billion in drug profits to help pay for Trump’s dream project.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted Tuesday that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, convicted on 10 counts of drug-smuggling related offenses, should pay for President Donald Trump’s planned southern border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. “U.S. prosecutors are seeking $14 billion in drug profits and other assets from El Chapo which should go towards funding our wall to #SecureTheBorder,” Cruz tweeted. “It’s time to pass my EL CHAPO Act. I urge my Senate colleagues to take swift action on this crucial legislation.” Cruz reintroduced legislation he wrote in 2017 that would help the U.S. confiscate El Chapo’s assets, thought to be worth $14 billion. The bill, dubbed the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act, would make it possible to take any “illegally obtained profits resulting from any criminal drug trafficking enterprise led by Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera,” according to CNN. “By leveraging any criminally forfeited assets of El Chapo and other murderous drug lords, we can offset the cost of securing our border and make meaningful progress toward delivering on the promises made to the American people,” Cruz said when he first introduced the legislation.