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Recently discovered ‘sewer’ tunnel into U.S. likely in use two years

Ciudad Juárez, Juárez —  A clandestine tunnel discovered in Ciudad Juarez has likely been in use two years. The tunnel was discovered on January 10 connecting Ciudad Juárez with El Paso, Texas.

Mexican authorities made the discovery after citizen reports of people emerging from “a sewer”. An area surveillance operation lead them to the finding.

Mexican Army Brigadier General of the General Staff of the Secretariat of National Defense (Defense), José Salud Lemos said that the tunnel is almost 300 meters long on the Mexican side alone.

The Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) has only recently taken over the investigations surrounding the tunnel. Authorities are still investigating who used the tunnel, which they say, is often for human and drug smuggling as well as illegal trafficking.

“As it was a project that was carried out in a hidden manner, it must have taken a long time (to operate). I think a few years, it could have been one or two years (that they were operating),” said Lemos Cisneros.

The tunnel was hidden inside a natural sewer system which complicated the initial detection by authorities. The underground structure connects Ciudad Juárez with El Paso, Texas, a strategic corridor on Mexico’s northern border.

According to Lemos Cisneros, the tunnel is 1.80 meters high and 1.20 meters wide with “an electrical wiring system that illuminates its interior and a ventilation tube to allow the flow of oxygen,” he said.

The tunnel has wooden sheets on the roof and sides to prevent collapses, which are 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 patrolled area.

The tunnel, which is currently being guarded by the Mexican Army and the National Guard, is the subject of an investigation by the FGR, who are working with the U.S.

Recently discovered 'sewer' tunnel into U.S. likely in use two years

“Coordination with the North American authorities is ongoing. The information they have, the coordination has been fundamental in finding these types of tunnels,” said Lemos Cisneros who added “the U.S. government has been searching this entire stretch upstream and downstream for more tunnels.”