Sen. Cruz to Congress: Make El Chapo Pay for the Wall

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called upon his Senate colleagues to pass his EL CHAPO Act to secure funding to build a wall following the conviction of Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka ‘El Chapo,’ on all 10 federal criminal counts against him. In January, Sen. Cruz reintroduced the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act, which would reserve any amounts forfeited to the U.S. Government as a result of the criminal prosecution of “El Chapo” and other drug lords for border security assets and the completion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Full text of Sen. Cruz’s bill may be viewed here.

“America’s justice system prevailed in convicting Joaquín Guzmán Loera, aka El Chapo, on all 10 counts. U.S. prosecutors are seeking $14 billion in drug profits and other assets from El Chapo, which should go towards funding our wall to secure the border,” Sen. Cruz said. “It’s time to pass my EL CHAPO Act. I urge my Senate colleagues to take swift action on this crucial legislation.”

Several media outlets covered Sen. Cruz’s call to action for his EL CHAPO Act. Selected news coverage is below: 

CBS News: Ted Cruz wants drug kingpin "El Chapo" to fund Trump's border wall
“While Washington continues to debate funding over President Trump’s long-promised border wall along the southern border, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says he has a solution for financing: Have convicted drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman foot the bill. […] Cruz urged his colleagues on Capitol Hill to pass his ‘EL CHAPO Act’ which he previously re-introduced early last month. The ‘Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act’ would reserve any amounts forfeited to the U.S. Government as a result of the criminal prosecution of ‘El Chapo’ and any other drug lords ‘for border security assets and the completion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border,’ Cruz said.”

Fox News: Ted Cruz wants ‘El Chapo’ and drug lords to pay for border wall
“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz thinks convicted Mexican drug cartel Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán should finance President Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall. […] The Texas Republican then urged his colleagues to pass the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act – or El Chapo Act – which would divert drug proceeds from cartel bosses to fund border security. Cruz first introduced the bill in April 2017 and reintroduced it in January. The reintroduction puts pressure on lawmakers to put in place a border security spending bill. ‘Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way to secure our southern border, and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals,’ Cruz said of his bill in a January news release. ‘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.’”

Breitbart: Ted Cruz Revives ‘EL CHAPO’ Bill to Pay for Border Wall
“Following the conviction of Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in a New York federal court on Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) revived his call to pay for border wall construction with the assets seized from drug traffickers. The Texas senator first introduced the EL CHAPO Act in 2017. […] He said that prosecutors are seeking the seizure of $14 billion in ‘drug profits and other assets’ from the jailed drug lord and that those funds should go toward building the border wall. In an effort to avoid another government shutdown, Congress passed a spending bill that includes $1.4 billion for ‘border barriers.’ This would include 55 miles of new fencing in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. If passed by Congress, Cruz’s EL CHAPO Act could provide the resources requested by President Trump without additional taxpayer-funds.” 

CNN: Ted Cruz pushes for El Chapo to pay for the wall after drug lord's conviction
“Sen. Ted Cruz is proposing a new source of funding for a border wall: recently convicted drug kingpin El Chapo. Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman was found guilty Tuesday of 10 counts, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. […] After Guzman's conviction on Tuesday, Cruz renewed calls to use the money for border security. ‘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,’ the Texas Republican wrote on Twitter. ‘It's time to pass my EL CHAPO Act. I urge my Senate colleagues to take swift action on this crucial legislation.’”

KHOU: (VIDEO) Senator Cruz Wants El Chapo to Pay for Wall
“Senator Ted Cruz has an idea on how to fund President Trump's proposed border wall, make ‘El Chapo’ pay for it. The drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán was convicted of running an industrial scale smuggling operation and prosecutors are seeking $14 billion from ‘El Chapo.’ which is more than double what it would cost to fund the wall. Right now, Senator Cruz is pushing for the EL CHAPO Act which would allow the 14 billion to go toward the wall.” 

KIDY: (VIDEO) Ted Cruz Wants to Pass ‘EL CHAPO ACT’
“Senator Ted Cruz is pushing for congress to pass the ensuring lawful collection of hidden assets, also known as the EL CHAPO Act, in order to provide security measures along the southern border. the bill would reserve any amounts forfeited to the U.S. government as a result of the criminal prosecution of ‘El Chapo’ and other drug lords for border security assets and the completion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Univision: (VIDEO) Ted Cruz urge al Senado a aprobar su propuesta de ley para que ‘El Chapo’ pague por el muro
“El senador republicano de Texas Ted Cruz pidió este martes a sus colegas en el Senado que tomen acciones para aprobar una propuesta de ley en la que ha insistido desde 2017 –y que volvió a presentarles a principios del mes pasado– que permitiría que los 14,000 millones de dólares que el gobierno estadounidense está tratando de obtener en resarcimientos de Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán sirvan para financiar el muro fronterizo. Este martes, tras conocer el veredicto de culpabilidad del jurado en el juicio del líder del cartel de Sinaloa, Cruz aprovechó para advertir sobre la necesidad de aprobar EL CHAPO Act (El Acta de ‘El Chapo’), la iniciativa por la cual no solo este capo sino otros narcotraficantes pagarían con los dineros que se les incaute por la polémica barrera con México.”

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