Republican Sen. Ted Cruz wants to make Mexicans pay for the wall — at least some of them, that is.
The El Chapo Act was introduced by Cruz Tuesday, according to Axios, and it would use seized assets from drug lords such as Mexican Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to pay for the wall on the southwestern border.
Recaptured drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is escorted by soldiers at the hangar belonging to the office of the Attorney General in Mexico City, Mexico January 8, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo
Federal prosecutors are trying to seize $14 billion in assets from El Chapo, and the border wall has been estimated to cost $21.6 billion. “Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals across our southern border,” Sen. Cruz told Axios.
The White House has yet to receive sufficient funding to build a wall on the southern border, and Trump maintains that Congress will eventually appropriate the money and get paid back from Mexico. “Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall,” Trump tweeted Sunday.