According to the Daily Mail, the tunnel spanned nearly 3,000 feet, beginning beneath a home in Tijuana and ending near a warehouse in Otay Mesa, just south of San Diego.
Authorities said the tunnel was still under construction when it was discovered in April, but was already very advanced.
The tunnel was equipped with electrical wiring, lighting, a ventilation system, and even a rail system to transport drugs. Authorities believe the Sinaloa Cartel, once led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is behind the construction.
Although El Chapo is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado, the cartel remains a dominant force in Mexico and along the U.S. border.
Agents reported that the tunnel measured approximately 42 inches in height, 28 inches in width, and extended as deep as 50 feet underground. Mexican authorities discovered the entrance concealed beneath freshly laid tile flooring in a home in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood, the outlet reported.
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Border Patrol reports that the discovery comes amid tight border security, with fewer illegal crossings in recent years. Jeffrey Stalnaker, the acting chief patrol agent in San Diego, commended the agents who discovered the tunnel.
“Stopping drug tunnels like this is vital to keeping Americans safe,” he said. “I’m proud of our team and the help we got from Mexican police.”
Since 1993, authorities have discovered over 95 tunnels in the San Diego area. This latest tunnel will be sealed with concrete to ensure it cannot be used again, said the report.
Another tunnel was discovered earlier this year in El Paso, Texas. Found on January 9, it stretched from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, into El Paso’s storm drain system. Authorities said it had already been used for human smuggling, with some migrants reportedly paying as much as $20,000 to enter the U.S.
Like the tunnel in California, it was equipped with lighting, ventilation, and reinforced structural support to prevent collapse, the report noted.
A cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s successful 2024 campaign was shutting down predecessor Joe Biden’s “open border” policies and launching a mass deportation effort involving an estimated tens of millions of migrants in the country illegally.
To that end, shortly after his victory last November, thousands of retired law enforcement officers and military veterans have stepped forward to be a part of the team to track and deport those in the nation illegally, then-incoming border czar Thomas Homan told “Fox & Friends.”
“I shut my phone off Friday night because I couldn’t handle the phone calls, and texts and emails from thousands of ICE agents and border patrol agents excited about the rumor I’m coming back,” the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term said.
“But more important than that, thousands of retired agents, retired Border Patrol agents, retired military [want] to come in and volunteer to help this president secure the border and do the deportation operation,” he said.
Homan subsequently spoke to Donald Trump Jr. on his “Triggered” podcast via Rumble, where he promised “shock and awe” on the first day of the new administration when it comes to deportations of illegal immigrants.
“What’s your overarching message to Americans who are eager for major border action on minute one? Like, on inauguration day, one second in, how much will you be able to improve the lives of everyday Americans?” the president-elect’s son said to him.
“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” the incoming border czar said.
“You’re going to see us take this country back, and, look, like I said before, it isn’t just about the deportation operation. This is about saving the children and about securing the border. What’s the results? Less overdose deaths, less sex trafficking, for God’s sake, one of the worst crimes around, less migrants dying,” he said.
