As I'm sure you've heard by now, drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison, plus 30 years, this past week. He was also forced to forfeit his fortune, which is estimated to be worth $12.6 billion dollars.
Unsplash | Sharon McCutcheon
Ted Cruz Wants To Use El Chapo's $12.6 Billion Fortune To Fund Border Wall
Made famous as the leader of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, El Chapo has escaped prison twice.
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After his recapture in 2016, the Mexican government made an extradition deal with the US. He would be tried by the US courts for his crimes, but with the condition that he would not face the death penalty.
Now that his sentence has been set, people have been wondering what would happen with his fortune.
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Senator Ted Cruz has an idea: put that $12.6 billion toward the building of the border wall between the US and Mexico.
In an interview with TMZ, the senator explained his reasoning.
TMZ
"It's only fitting. He made that money trafficking narcotics illegally into this country."
He also indicated that he had spoken to President Trump about it and the president was very enthusiastic about the idea.
This isn't a new idea for Cruz.
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Back in April 2017, he introduced the El Chapo Act to earmark the kingpin's fortune for border security, but it didn't get far. This past January, he reintroduced it, perhaps knowing that sentencing was in the near future.
What do you think? Should the money go to the wall, to other border security measures, or to something else entirely? Let us know in the comments!
h/t: TMZ
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