ducks
04-26-2017, 10:51 AM
Infamous drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has a fortune of roughly $14 billion, and Sen. Ted Cruz thinks that will go a long way toward building the wall at the Mexican border "even in the face of Democratic obstruction."
"Yesterday I filed the El Chapo Act, that provides that if El Chapo is convicted, you know, the famed Mexican drug lord, the estimates are that his criminal fortune is roughly about $14 billion," the Texas Republican and one-time presidential candidate told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.
Coincidentally, the estimates for the cost to build a wall range from $14-20 billion," he continued. "My legislation provides that if those assets are forfeited, though assets from El Chapo will go directly to building a wall and to securing the border."
Guzman led the drug cartels, said Cruz, which are the ones crossing the border to smuggle narcotics, engage in human trafficking, and are engaging in murder and extortion, and seizing his wealth to build a wall would bring a "sense of justice."
"A sense of this is [this is] what's right to say the people who are violating the border like crazy," said Cruz. "We should use their ill-gotten gains to finally build the wall and finally ensure we have the assets to secure our border."
Guzman's assets are scattered worldwide, said Cruz, but the U.S. government has extradited him from Mexico and is proceeding with a criminal prosecution.
"The first step is to convict him," said Cruz. "Once he's convicted, the government is seeking the forfeiture of $14 billion and the government will go and prove where the assets are, and go forward with forfeiture, following a conviction."
Ordinarily, seized funds go to the U.S. Treasury for certain uses, but border security is not among them, said Cruz.
"My legislation is very simple. It says El Chapo's assets, and for that matter, any other drug cartels whose assets are forfeited, their money would go to building the wall and keeping the border secure and keeping the country safe," said Cruz.
President Donald Trump has sought $1.2 billion from the pending budget to start the wall construction, but said this week he'd be willing to put the measure on hold until September in order to avoid a government shutdown this weekend.
But Cruz said there is still a "radical left base" in the Senate that has other Democrats "terrified."
"It's the reason a couple weeks ago that they filibustered Neil Gorsuch, the first partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court justice in history," said Cruz. "[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer's left wing radical base is demanding that they oppose everything. I think they are trying to provoke a fight.
"Schumer is just trying to put more and more unreasonable demands, trying to force a shutdown to apiece those who want total resistance, total opposition who don't want the Trump administration to succeed."
"Yesterday I filed the El Chapo Act, that provides that if El Chapo is convicted, you know, the famed Mexican drug lord, the estimates are that his criminal fortune is roughly about $14 billion," the Texas Republican and one-time presidential candidate told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.
Coincidentally, the estimates for the cost to build a wall range from $14-20 billion," he continued. "My legislation provides that if those assets are forfeited, though assets from El Chapo will go directly to building a wall and to securing the border."
Guzman led the drug cartels, said Cruz, which are the ones crossing the border to smuggle narcotics, engage in human trafficking, and are engaging in murder and extortion, and seizing his wealth to build a wall would bring a "sense of justice."
"A sense of this is [this is] what's right to say the people who are violating the border like crazy," said Cruz. "We should use their ill-gotten gains to finally build the wall and finally ensure we have the assets to secure our border."
Guzman's assets are scattered worldwide, said Cruz, but the U.S. government has extradited him from Mexico and is proceeding with a criminal prosecution.
"The first step is to convict him," said Cruz. "Once he's convicted, the government is seeking the forfeiture of $14 billion and the government will go and prove where the assets are, and go forward with forfeiture, following a conviction."
Ordinarily, seized funds go to the U.S. Treasury for certain uses, but border security is not among them, said Cruz.
"My legislation is very simple. It says El Chapo's assets, and for that matter, any other drug cartels whose assets are forfeited, their money would go to building the wall and keeping the border secure and keeping the country safe," said Cruz.
President Donald Trump has sought $1.2 billion from the pending budget to start the wall construction, but said this week he'd be willing to put the measure on hold until September in order to avoid a government shutdown this weekend.
But Cruz said there is still a "radical left base" in the Senate that has other Democrats "terrified."
"It's the reason a couple weeks ago that they filibustered Neil Gorsuch, the first partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court justice in history," said Cruz. "[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer's left wing radical base is demanding that they oppose everything. I think they are trying to provoke a fight.
"Schumer is just trying to put more and more unreasonable demands, trying to force a shutdown to apiece those who want total resistance, total opposition who don't want the Trump administration to succeed."