Ted Cruz Proposes 'El Chapo Act' to Pay for Mexico Wall By Seizing Narcos' Assets Luis Gomez - San Diego Union-Tribune
go to original April 26, 2017

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweeted an illustration of a money bill bearing the face of Sinaloa Cartel Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and the words "El Chapo Will Pay For It" to propose the use of $14 billion of his assets to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. (@SenTedCruz/Twitter)

On Tuesday, the Texas Republican introduced a bill that proposes to use $14 billion worth of assets that U.S. prosecutors are looking to seize from former Mexican drug cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman for the construction costs for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

He tweeted about it several times in the day using his official Senate account and his personal one.

Under the bill — more precisely, the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act, or EL CHAPO Act — the money would come from criminal forfeiture of “drug proceeds and illicit profits” as a result of Guzman’s prosecution in the U.S.

Sen. Cruz’s proposal comes on the heels of a showdown between Democrats and Republicans over President Trump’s warnings that he would allow the government to partly shut down Saturday if a bill that authorized federal spending didn’t include some funds to begin construction of the border wall. Trump moved away from that idea but said he remained committed to the wall, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

...Sen. Cruz appears certain that the government can seize $14 billion worth of Guzman’s assets and put it to good use, but it remains unclear how much the U.S. government has seized from the drug kingpin or whether Mexico would allow the U.S. to sell the assets it seizes.

Read the rest at San Diego Union-Tribune

Related: 4 Reasons Senator Cruz's 'El Chapo' Bill Cannot Pay for an Unnecessary Border Wall (Cato Institute)

Related: Senator Cruz Touts 'El Chapo' Solution First Reported by LifeZette in September 2016 (LifeZette)

Related: The 5 Wackiest Ideas About Who Might Pay for the Border Wall Floated This Week (AlterNet)

Related: If Mexico Doesn’t Pay for Wall, US Undocumented Will: US Attorney General Sessions (Center for Research on Globalization)

Related: ‘El Chapo’ Complains About Reruns, Tap Water, Poor View at New York Prison (Vibe)

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