Authorities announced on Monday the discovery of a smuggling tunnel on the border with Mexicowhich is the length of a football field on the US side and leads to a warehouse in an industrial zone.
The construction of the tunnel that goes from Tijuana to the San Diego metropolitan area was carried out in one of the most armored sections of the borderillustrating the limitations of former President Donald Trump’s border wall.
Although they are considered effective against small, crudely constructed tunnels called “mole holes”, walls are not effective against more sophisticated passageways that run deeper.
Authorities have found some 15 sophisticated tunnels on California’s border with Mexico since 2006, with lighting, ventilation, railways and hydraulic elevators.
Most of the tunnels, including the one announced Monday, are in San Diego’s Otay Mesa industrial zone, where clay-type soil makes digging easy and where warehouses provide cover.
Cross-border tunnels date back to the early 1990s and have been used mainly to smuggle tons of marijuana.
The DEA said in 2020 that the tunnels are usually found in California and Arizona, and they are associated with the Sinaloa Cartel.
Under federal law, authorities they must cover the US side of the tunnels with concrete once discovered.
JM
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