NARCOmex Under Our Open & Undefended Borders

Federal Agents Discover Mexican Drug Tunnel as Border Violence Escalates
Last week, U.S. authorities discovered a 600-yard tunnel connecting a warehouse in Tijuana, Mexico to one in the industrial San Diego neighborhood of Otay Mesa. (CNN, Nov. 3, 2010) Discovery of the tunnel was the result of a continuing investigation by the San Diego Tunnel Task Force, which is made up of representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Drug Enforcement Administration and the California National Guard. (Customs and Border Patrol Press Release, Nov. 4, 2010) Roughly 26 tons of marijuana was transported through the tunnel to San Diego, about ten of which were intercepted by U.S. authorities as a tractor trailer was transporting the stash from the Otay Mesa warehouse. The Mexican army found five tons in Tijuana. (CNN, Nov. 3, 2010)

The tunnel was fully equipped with a lighting, ventilation, and rail system, demonstrating the growing sophistication of the Mexican drug cartels. (L.A. Times, Nov. 3, 2010) “This wasn't a mom-and-pop operation, or, in this case, a husband and wife operation,” said ICE Director John Morton. (BBC News, Nov. 4, 2010) “This is clearly organized crime at work. This was the cartels.” (Id.) Morton also said the seizure was particularly unusual because U.S. authorities caught the smugglers in the act, whereas most discoveries are of abandoned tunnels. (Id.) Smuggling occurred for approximately one month prior to U.S. authorities shutting it down. (Id.)

The discovery of the tunnel, which is only one of about 75 along the U.S-Mexico border to be unearthed in the last four years, comes at a time when violence is escalating along the U.S.-Mexico border. (L.A. Times, Nov. 3, 2010) Last week, six American citizens were killed in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez in only six days, including two University of Texas students who were killed when gunmen opened fire on their car. (CBS News, Nov. 4, 2010) And over the weekend, at least 20 additional people were killed due to the drug-cartel violence in Ciudad Juarez, increasing the total to over 6,500 murders in the city since 2008. (CBS News, Nov. 8, 2010)