Did El Chapo Pay For Trump’s Wall? Senator Ted Cruz Claims $14 Billion From ‘El Chapo Act’ Will Pay For Wall


Although headlines proclaiming “BREAKING: Trump’s ENTIRE Wall Just Got Paid For By ONE Person & You Won’t Believe Who!” are spreading across social media, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has not yet paid for President Donald Trump’s border wall. As seen in the above photo, El Chapo was forced to turn his face towards press photographers as he was led away in handcuffs in Mexico City, Mexico, on Friday, January 8, 2016. At that point, El Chapo had been caught six months after he had escaped from a maximum security prison.

As seen in the above tweet from the verified Twitter page of Senator Ted Cruz, the politico wrote that the U.S. government is trying to get $14 billion from drug earnings from El Chapo in order to pay for President Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Though some folks are celebrating on social media, claiming that the problem of who will pay for the border wall has been solved, others are expressing doubt over whether or not the funding will be gained from El Chapo to pay for Trump’s border wall.

Claims that the $14 billion for Trump’s border wall is already in America’s hands are spreading fast on social media, along with claims that Cruz could be the world’s best problem-solver who is helping President Trump fulfill his promises of getting Mexico to pay for his border wall. As reported by the New York Post, Cruz plans to repurpose the $14 billion for Trump’s wall.

Cruz’s website calls the money “POTENTIAL ASSETS FORFEITED.”

According to the Cruz website, the El Chapo Act would earmark any funding forfeited to the U.S. in the wake of prosecuting El Chapo to go towards the funding of the border wall.

“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act. The bill would reserve any amounts forfeited to the U.S. Government as a result of the criminal prosecution of ‘El Chapo’ (formally named Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Lorea) and other drug lords for border security assets and the completion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. Government is currently seeking the criminal forfeiture of more than $14 billion in drug proceeds and illicit profits from El Chapo, the former leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel who was recently extradited to the U.S. to face criminal prosecution for numerous alleged drug-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. ‘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,’ said Sen. Cruz. ‘Ensuring the safety and security of Texans is one of my top priorities. We must also be mindful of the impact on the federal budget.'”

The statement went on to claim that garnering any “forfeited assets of El Chapo and his ilk” can help pay for the high cost of Trump’s wall and complete the controversial project.

As reported by the The Hill, whereas Cruz noted that $14 billion would go a long way towards paying for Trump’s border wall by getting the money from El Chapo’s coffers, it wasn’t clear how much the U.S. already possessed from El Chapo’s arrest. El Chapo is due to face charges after being extradited from Mexico to the U.S.

According to New York Magazine, El Chapo is currently sitting in a Manhattan jail. Trump’s proposed border wall is estimated to cost $20 billion.

The El Chapo Act is actually called the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Act. According to the New York Daily News, in 2009 El Chapo was listed as having $1 billion in assets.

[Featured Image by Marco Ugarter/AP Images]

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