Ted Cruz used news of a request from federal prosecutors that notorious drug lord “El Chapo” be forced to forfeit more than $12 billion to re-up his call for that money to be used to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico.
The reparations to the U.S. taxpayer are justified, prosecutors said, because Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman acquired his billions as part of his drug empire that directly led to the death of thousands of drug-addicted Americans and victims of violent drug-related crime.
Prosecutors stated Guzman can pay the sum because “criminal forfeiture is viewed as part of the sentencing process,” according to Newsweek.
Guzman’s attorney’s say the former Mexican cartel leader has money problems and cannot pay that sum because it does not exist.
After a lengthy trial, Guzman was found guilty on multiple drug-related felonies and will likely face life in prison.
Earlier this year, legislation from Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks was introduced and sponsored by nearly a dozen Republicans that would reserve up to $14 billion seized from “El Chapo” for the construction project.
Cruz, who represents the border state Texas, has been one of the loudest proponents of the idea, which he said would help alleviate the growing crisis at the southern border.
“People across the United States are desperate for a sign that Washington is ready and willing to protect them from dangerous criminals and porous borders,” Cruz wrote a month later in an op-ed for the Washington Post. “Congress has two clear mandates from the American people: secure the border and save money. So let’s build a wall, and make El Chapo pay for it.”
