(NewsNation) — A long, winding tunnel that is believed to be operated by Mexican cartels to illegally smuggle immigrants, drugs and weapons across the U.S.-Mexico border has been located by federal immigration officials.
Local law enforcement and border officials are working to fill and seal the tunnel, which was found near El Paso, Texas. Sources told NewsNation that transnational criminal organizations were using the tunnel to smuggle more than 800 people per week across the border.
However, authorities are still working to determine who dug the passageway, which is about 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Victor Avila, a former special agent with Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, told NewsNation that the tunnel is the first of its kind that he has seen near El Paso.
Among the women being moved through the tunnel each week were Venezuelan women who authorities said were victims of sex trafficking.
Data obtained by NewsNation showed that the El Paso Sector, which includes portions of Texas and New Mexico, was the second busiest in terms of encounters between migrants and immigration officials. The sector has also been determined to be the deadliest for migrants trying to cross into the United States illegally.
Avila said that people using the tunnel that was located recently are not likely to turn themselves into immigration officials but, instead, will fall into the category of “gotaways.”
The tunnel has reportedly been in use for more than a year. Several Mexican media outlets have reported that migrants have posted the tunnel on social media platforms like TikTok “as a safe and quick pathway” to get into the United States.
The tunnel also includes lighting and ventilation systems, which are all part of the passageway’s complex design.
“These tunnels are used not just for the movement of people – obviously, the movement of drugs and other illicit activities – money, weapons and anything that could fit through there,” Avila told NewsNation.