U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan wants Mexican drug kingpin "El Chapo" to help pay for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall.
In an opinion piece published by the Bradenton Herald, the GOP lawmaker, who represents Florida's 16th district, argued El Chapo's seized assets should be used to secure the southern border. Buchanan is co-sponsoring the EL CHAPO Act, which House republicans hope would accomplish just that. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, is sponsoring the Senate version.
"Congress should pass this commonsense bill to divert his blood money to help stop the flow of drugs and violence into our neighborhoods and give President Trump another tool to build the wall," Buchanan wrote in The Herald.
El Chapo, whose real name is Joaquin Guzman, was whisked away Thursday to a supermax prison in Colorado, his defense attorney said. The move came just hours after a federal judge in New York City sentenced him to life in prison.
The 62-year-old has faced extreme security measures because American authorities want to prevent a repeat of his legendary jailbreaks in Mexico, including a 2015 escape that involved a mile-long tunnel dug to the shower under his cell.
Tom Hays of the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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