More than a year without being detected: this is how the tunnel between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso was hidden to cross migrants
As part of the follow-up carried out for the discovery of a border tunnel between Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua) and The Pass (Texas), personnel from the Secretary of National Defense allowed access to the media to document the clandestine passage.
The tunnel was discovered on January 10 by Mexican and American authorities. Its location is on the border between both countries, at gate 28, and passes through the Río Bravo.
It was reported that this tunnel was used for migrant traffickingmainly, because it was related to organized crime activities. Due to this, on January 16, United States authorities proceeded to close the passage on that side of the border.
Given these events, on the morning of Saturday, January 18, Defense personnel allowed the national press to tour the place where he was located. It was specified that the tunnel passage is located a few meters from the Plaza de la Mexicanidad in Ciudad Juárez.
The commander of the Military Garrison in said city, José Salud Lemos Cisnerosindicated to the media that this tunnel, being hidden, could have taken between one and two years to build, which made it difficult to detect by the authorities.
“As it was a work that was carried out in a hidden way, it must have taken a long time, I believe that a few years could have been one or two years“said Lemos Cisneros.
He explained that the tunnel extends along 300 meters on the Mexican side. Its dimensions are 1.80 meters high and 1.20 meters wide. According to the commander, access to the entrance had not been discovered previously because it was hidden in the sewers.
“Access is hidden through a natural sewage system who was in the area. The length on the Mexican side is approximately 300 meters. It has a height of one meter and 80 centimeters and is one meter and 20 centimeters wide. It is covered with polylines, with wood,” said Lemos.
Because the tunnel was hidden in a sewer system, it passed through the underground structure that connects Ciudad Juárez to El Paso, Texas. In addition to this, its entrance -located by the Four Centuries Boulevard— was camouflaged with a wooden lid covered with cement, which allowed it to go unnoticed.
Furthermore, it had a electrical wiring to illuminate the interior, as well as a ventilation system rudimentary for oxygen flow. In this way, the crossing of undocumented migrants was guaranteed.
According to reports from the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), multiple citizen reports were received about the presence of foreigners entering a sewer in the area, which caught the attention of the authorities.
Unofficially, it was announced that this tunnel — which was promoted on social networks such as TikTok — could be related to the criminal group. The Company. It is presumed that it could also have been used for drug trafficking.
Currently, the tunnel is under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and is guarded by personnel from the National Guard and the Mexican Army, pending its respective closure.
