Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday urged the passage of his legislation to use the ill-gotten gains of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to build a border wall after the drug kingpin was convicted of narcotics trafficking and other charges.
“It’s time to pass my EL CHAPO Act,” Cruz tweeted. “I urge my Senate colleagues to take swift action on this crucial legislation.”
The tweet includes a graphic of an imprisoned El Chapo surrounded by money bags with the caption: “Make El Chapo pay for the wall.”
Cruz’s Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act, which he reintroduced last month, would reallocate the forfeited assets of El Chapo and other convicted cartel bosses toward “border security assets” and President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.
El Chapo’s fortune includes assets worth a reported $14 billion that the U.S. government is trying to seize. Trump has demanded $5.7 billion for his promised border wall, though congressional negotiators have proposed a budget deal that includes far less.
“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 in a news release last month.