To fund construction of a new U.S. border wall, Donald Trump and senior advisers are considering various ideas, including the use of assets seized from drug cartels and others in the illicit drug trade.
As the debate over who will pay for the wall dominates the discussion on cable news, sources involved in the pre-planning of the GOP nominee’s Mexico trip told LifeZette the Trump camp is looking for innovative ways to pay for the construction of the border wall that both countries can support. Sensitivities in Mexico regarding Trump’s visit, and specifically paying for the border wall, are running high.
A senior Trump policy advisor stressed the proposal was just one of several funding options being discussed and said the idea was not raised during Trump’s meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Advocates of the “make the cartels pay” plan believe it has the added benefit of punishing the “worst of the worst who bring violence to our streets and prey on innocent Mexicans and Americans,” while giving political cover to both leaders to accomplish their objectives. Sources close to both the Mexican government and the Trump campaign have confirmed that this proposal exists, but wish to remain anonymous given the preliminary nature of the discussions.
A graceful, mutually acceptable solution to the contentious issue of funding a border wall is possible, contrary to what various media outlets are reporting, another source insists.
The plan could involve the creation of a “joint border security fund,” where assets seized by law enforcement in both nations are deposited, then deployed for construction and maintenance of the border structure to the benefit of both Mexico and the United States.
That solution could go a long way toward paying for Trump’s wall within the first term of his presidency.
According to the Justice Department’s annual audit of its existing seized assets forfeiture fund for fiscal year 2015, that fund totaled more than $8.7 billion. That figure does not include any assets seized from the cartels by the Mexican government.
A detailed analysis of the cost of constructing the wall conducted by the Bernstein Group estimated the project would cost in the range of $15 billion to $25 billion, but Trump contends he could get the construction done for closer to $8 to $10 billion.
The plan would uniquely incentivize both nations to ramp up efforts to degrade and destroy the illegal drug trafficking market.
A 2012 estimate compiled by the RAND Corporation at the request of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, found that Americans, on average, spend $100 billion annually on the four most widely trafficked illegal drugs: crack/cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine (meth).
Much of that money crosses the border into Mexico, fueling the strength and violent potential of the cartels.
A 2013 study published by the University of Pittsburg estimated the annual profits hauled in by the cartels in Mexico total $25 to $30 billion dollars.
A combined, cooperative effort to boost border enforcement could bring significant economic, national security, and health and safety benefits to millions of citizens in both nations.
“For decades, the illicit drug and arms trade has endangered and destroyed the lives of countless Mexicans and Americans,” noted one individual who has advised Trump on immigration. “It would be sweet justice to use their illegal profits and property for something good.”
Peña Nieto clearly sees the tremendous potential of securing the border.
“We need to have an overall focus on the border that deals with undocumented immigrants, the flow of drugs, weapons, and cash all at the same time,” Peña Nieto said at the press conference following the meeting with Trump.
Trump shared the sentiment.
Trump said the two countries had a “shared objective of safety and prosperity” in stopping the “flow of drugs and illegal weapons,” at the Wednesday press conference.
“That solution could go a long way toward paying for Trump’s wall within the first term of his presidency.”
Send it to Hitlery after her (s)election.
Tinder for the fireplace.
Those cartels are rich and powerful for exactly the same reason Prohibition-era gangs were rich and powerful. The problem is that the vast majority of people either (1) aren’t bright enough to understand this, or (2) understand it just fine but publicly pretend otherwise because they profit in some way from drug prohibition.
I really think they’re going about this wall thing funding wrong.
In fact I’m staunchly against the wall being built.
Because I have a better solution.
Instead of building a wall.
We dig a 100’x100′ deep continous trench on the border.
Then fill it with depleted uranium and nuclear waste.
Hell…throw some medical biohazard syringes in there too.
Any casualties can simply be back filled over.
Can you imagine the cost savings on just maintaining a big hole..?
Hey….like I would tell my clients.
I offer solutions.
Not answers.
Now pay me.
This entire wall and its funding are just a side-show distraction. Another piece of nonsense to fill your brain, and pass as “news.”
No one’s building any wall along the border, and if they wanted to there’s plenty of money for it. If the Pentagon can misplace 6.5 Trillion dollars, this wall can be built with spare change.
The average American can only NAME seven political issues, and he’ll only pay attention to so many news items at all. If they keep your mind occupied with nonsense, they make YOU irrelevant, because they’ll be making their next move while you’re distracted.
Forget the wall, forget rockets to the moon, and you may as well forget about Trump and Hillary altogether, too. Remember that you’re being attacked on a daily basis, and that no one in our government gives a rat’s rectum regarding what you think, or who you vote for.
Remember that cops can blow you away, rob your house, or rape your wife for amusement, and the courts won’t do squat to punish them for it.
Remember that you can be thrown in jail and held indefinitely with no trial, no phone call, or no due process whatsoever. Remember that everything you own is being systematically removed from your possession so crooked politicians can hand it over to foreigners.
But forget all about this stupid wall.
Tramp, sorry Trump, has got to get real. You cannot build a wall down the middle of a river. This wall stuff is total bull dren adn it is PR to get people to vote for this ass wipe.