Ted Cruz wants to pass 'El Chapo Act' to make notorious drug lord pay for border wall
Texas senator Ted Cruz has an idea to fund President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.
Just make Joaquín Guzmán Loera, also known as "El Chapo," pay for the wall.
Cruz' Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act would take money from Guzmán and use the funds for "border security assets" and the completion of a border wall. Cruz reintroduced the bill Jan. 3.
Mexico's most notorious drug lord was convicted Tuesday of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation that could put the 61-year-old escape artist behind bars for decades in a maximum-security U.S. prison. Prosecutors are seeking $14 billion from "El Chapo," which is more than double President Trump's $5.7 billion wish list for the border wall.
Cruz' proposal comes a day after both political parties tentatively agreed to far less money for Trump's border wall, settling for a figure of nearly $1.4 billion, according to congressional aides. The funding measure is through the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
