U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have discovered a “narco tunnel” at the southern border, which is likely intended for use by the cartels to smuggle drugs and people.
'SECRET DRUG TUNNEL': U.S. and Mexican officials uncovered a secret tunnel in Mexico near the border wall last month. Mexican police identified it as a "narco tunnel" used for trafficking drugs and people into the U.S. This marks the third time such a tunnel has been found near… pic.twitter.com/fR81WL86gH
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During a joint investigation with the Sonora State Police, CBP discovered the tunnel near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Luis Rio Colorado using drone technology. Mexican authorities have since confirmed that the incomplete tunnel found south of Yuma, Arizona, is a “narco tunnel” that is likely intended to be used for the cartel’s drug smuggling and human smuggling operations. This is the third “narco tunnel” discovered near Yuma in 2024 alone, according to reporting from AZ Family.
Authorities have not yet confirmed which cartel is behind the construction of the “narco tunnel,” but according to the DEA’s 2024 Drug Threat Assessment, the Sinaloa Cartel typically builds tunnels in this area. Many of these tunnels are highly sophisticated, even having electricity and ventilation systems.
Near the U.S.-Mexico border, special agents from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), working alongside Mexican authorities, uncovered an elaborate underground tunnel concealed within a residence in California.
The tunnel has no exit on the U.S. side of the border.
It… pic.twitter.com/Hgjejy4PXm
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) November 26, 2024
“The Sinaloa Cartel exerts near-total control over the border region south of Arizona, giving the cartel easy access to the San Luis Rio Colorado and Nogales [ports of entry],” the DEA explained.
According to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram: “At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates, who DEA is tracking world-wide. The suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and money launderers all play a role in the web of deliberate and calculated treachery orchestrated by these cartels.”
“DEA will continue to use all available resources to target these networks and save American lives,” she added.
The discovery of this “narco tunnel” comes as the U.S. heads into a new presidential administration that has vowed to put a stop to illegal immigration and to fight the cartels.
While outgoing President Joe Biden has let these cartels continue their drug smuggling and human trafficking relatively unabated, President-elect Donald Trump plans to secure the nation’s borders and reverse Biden’s disastrous and deadly open border policies — which hopefully includes finding a way to put an end to the cartel’s efforts to tunnel under the border wall.
