Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Tuesday called for the $14 billion that U.S. prosecutors are looking to seize from infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman be put toward building the U.S.-Mexican border wall.
America’s justice system prevailed today in convicting Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka El Chapo, on all 10 counts. U.S. prosecutors are seeking $14 billion in drug profits & other assets from El Chapo which should go towards funding our wall to #SecureTheBorder. https://t.co/hPwEUVM6SP
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 12, 2019
He also urged Congress to pass legislation to ensure those funds go toward the border and a wall.
Mr. Cruz has advocated for this path before with his “Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act (ELCHAPO Act)” that would reserve any assets forfeited to the U.S. from the legal prosecution of Guzman or any other drug lord be used for border security and President Trump’s border wall.
The Texas Republican reintroduced the bill in early January.
“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,” Mr. Cruz said in a press release at the time.
On Tuesday, Guzman was convicted in a U.S. court of the 10 federal criminal counts against him, including drug trafficking and engaging in a criminal enterprise. He is set to be sentenced in June and is looking at life in prison.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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