Ciudad Juárez (Mexico). The clandestine tunnel discovered on January 10 under the Río Bravo (Río Grande in the US) and that connected to the border Ciudad Juarez with The Passin Texas, would have been operating for up to two years, according to preliminary calculations by Mexican authorities.
In a media tour by the Mexican Army, the Brigadier General of the General Staff of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), José Salud Lemos, explained that the tunnel has a length of almost 300 meters, only on the side. Mexican.
In addition to a height of 1.80 meters and a width of 1.20 meters, with “an electrical wiring system that illuminates its interior and a ventilation tube to allow the flow of oxygen,” according to the commander of the garrison of the border Ciudad Juárez.
While the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR) has barely undertaken the investigations surrounding this clandestine tunnel, the authorities already point out that this type of construction is usually used by criminal groups for activities such as trafficking of drugs, people and illegal goods and that These operations could have occurred for up to two years.
“As it was a work that was carried out in a hidden way, it must have taken a long time (to operate), I believe that some years, it could have been one or two years (that they were operating),” explained Lemos Cisneros.
Hidden access and technical sophistication
The tunnel was hidden within a natural sewage system, which complicated its initial detection. The underground structure connects Ciudad Juárez with El Paso, Texas, a strategic corridor on Mexico’s northern border.
The tunnel has wooden sheets on the roof and sides to prevent collapses, supported by 4×4 inch wooden posts.
The entrance is camouflaged with a wooden cover covered in cement, located on one side of Heroico Colegio Militar Avenue, in a central and patrolled area, which makes it even more striking that its construction has gone unnoticed.
Investigations in progress
The tunnel, guarded by elements of the Mexican Army and the National Guard, is the subject of an investigation led by the FGR.
The authorities detailed that they have not ruled out any line of investigation such as the one in which it is presumed that an amount was charged for the use of this tunnel and that it was reported on social networks.
“All that is on social networks, of course the authority is taking it into account. They were part of the clues to carry out the search,” commented the brigadier general.
Furthermore, he maintained that the collection of testimonies and investigations by the Mexican Prosecutor’s Office will reveal whether or not there was any type of complicity with government authorities “or how” their operation was carried out.
Impact on border security
Meanwhile, the detection of this tunnel has set off alarms among Mexican and US authorities, who have intensified operations in the region to locate other possible similar constructions.
“Coordination with the North American authorities is permanent. The information they have, the coordination has been essential to find this type of tunnels,” said Lemos Cisneros.
Although the tunnel will soon be closed on the Mexican side, authorities assured that the process will be carried out only after having collected all the evidence necessary for the investigations.
“The United States government has searched this entire part of the upstream and downstream in search of more tunnels,” added the brigadier general.
