A secret tunnel discovered last week on the US-Mexico border will be sealed by Mexican authorities, a military official in Ciudad Juarez said on Saturday.
The tunnel, discovered on January 10, connects the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez to the Texan city of El Paso. On the Mexican side, it is about 1,000 feet tall and equipped with lighting, ventilation and reinforced to prevent collapse, officials said.
Hidden in a storm sewer system running between the two cities, its access is about 6 feet high and 4 feet wide, making it easier for people or contraband to pass through, said Gen. José Lemus, commander of the military garrison of Ciudad Juarez, which guards the tunnel.
Victor Manjarrez, a former Border Patrol sector chief with more than 20 years of experience, said: KDBC, CBS affiliate that connecting the tunnel to the storm sewer system is a common practice among smugglers.
“This is absolutely not a family operation. It goes way beyond that,” he added.
Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
An investigation into its construction is underway, officials said.
Building the tunnel “must have taken a long time… it could have taken a year or two,” Lemus told reporters, declining to give details on how long it would run or who would have built and operated it.
He said the Mexican attorney general’s office was in charge of the investigation and would be responsible for determining whether there was complicity by authorities because the building was constructed without their knowledge. .
Lemus also said that clues to the existence and location of the tunnel had been discussed by human traffickers on social media platforms like TikTok.
Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images
On the eve of Donald Trump’s US presidential inauguration on Monday, both sides of the US-Mexico border have stepped up security measures, with the returning Republican pledging a mass expulsion of migrants soon after taking office.
In Chihuahua state, which includes Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported a fire at a temporary camp for undocumented migrants that led to the evacuation of 39 adults and 17 minors, according to state police.
According to Mexican newspaper Reforma, the fire was started by some migrants who were camping there to resist attempts by immigration authorities to arrest them and transfer them to Mexico City for later deportation.
The National Migration Institute did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.