A secret tunnel discovered last week on the US-Mexico border will be sealed by Mexican authorities, a military official in Ciudad Juarez said Saturday.
The tunnel, discovered on January 10, connects the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez with the Texas city of El Paso. On the Mexican side, it is about 1,000 feet and is equipped with lighting, ventilation and reinforcement to prevent falls, officials said.
Hidden in a storm sewer system that runs between the two cities, its reach is about 6 feet high and 4 feet wide, making it easy to move people or contraband, said the General Jose Lemus, commander of the Ciudad Juarez military garrison, which guards the tunnel.
Victor Manjarrez, a former Border Patrol division chief with more than 20 years of experience, told KDBC is affiliated with CBS that connecting the tunnel through the storm sewer system is a common practice among smugglers.
“This is definitely not a mom-and-pop operation. It has gone way beyond that,” he said.
Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
An investigation is underway, officials said.
The construction of the tunnel must have taken “a long time … it could be a year or two,” Lemus told reporters, declining to elaborate on how long it had taken. work in addition to the potential builders and operators.
He said the Mexican Attorney General's Office was responsible for the investigation and that it would be up to them to decide if the authorities were complacent because it was built without their attention.
Lemus also said that clues about the existence and location of the tunnel have been discussed by human traffickers on social media platforms like TikTok.
Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
Ahead of US President Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, both sides of the US-Mexico border have tightened security measures, as the returning Republican has promised a massive deportation of migrants soon. after taking office.
In the state of Chihuahua, which includes Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported a fire in a temporary camp for undocumented migrants, which led to the evacuation of 39 adults and 17 minors, according to state police. .
According to the Mexican newspaper Reforma, the fire was started by some of the migrants who were camping there to resist the efforts of the immigration authorities to detain them and transfer them to Mexico City for the send later.
The National Migration Institute did not respond to AFP requests for comment.
