Should El Chapo Fund Trump’s Border Wall? Ted Cruz Thinks So

Finding money for the Mexican border wall is a big issue in American politics with President Donald Trump vouching to go to any extent including Emergency to make it a reality.

Even as Democrats are demurring against splurging a massive $7.1 billion for Trump’s poll plank, a brave new idea by a Republican senator is going viral.

The timing is also not missed, after dreaded drug lord El Chapo Guzman was found guilty by a New York on 10 criminal charges and a possible life term sentence likely in June this year.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, writing in the Washington Post called for utilizing the confiscated assets of drug lords, including El Chapo to fund the costly border wall in making America secure.

According to Cruz, Congress has two clear mandates from the American people. One is making the border secure and the other being saving money.

“So let’s build a wall, and make El Chapo pay for it”, Cruz argued.

Cruz reminds that he has already reintroduced the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act in the Senate in January to guide the government on using the ill-gotten wealth of drug dons to fund the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Why drug lord’s money?

In the article, the senator justifies why El Chapo’s drug revenue needs to be spent on securing America. He recalls the don’s boast to media in 2015 that he supplied more methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, cocaine and than anyone in the world.

That year America lost the lives of 50,000 people for opioid and other drug diseases. Later the number soared to 70,000 plus in 2017.

Cruz argues that the fortune of $14 billion El Chapo amassed from drug trading must forfeit to the federal government. Such an act would deter all future criminals and drug cartels including MS-13 from going scotfree with the drug trade.

Guzman’s lawyer says ‘no way’

However, Jeffrey Lichtman, the lawyer for Joaquin “El Chapo” rubbished the proposal of Sen. Ted Cruz.

He said it is likely that not Guzman but the Texas Republican will pick up the bill. The lawyer made it clear that it will never happen.

“Sen. Cruz surely knows that the government has seized none — not a penny — of Mr. Guzman’s assets so getting him to pay for the wall is ludicrous,” Lichtman said.

Federal prosecutors are reportedly considering the plan to seize the drug don’s assets worth $14 billion.

However, Cruz still stays bullish on his pitch. The January statement of the senator reiterated the idea of leveraging criminally forfeited assets of El Chapo and other murderous drug lords to “offset the cost of securing our border and make meaningful progress toward delivering on the promises made to the American people.”