Inside secret 1,000ft tunnel found between Mexico & US after officials checking out storm drain stumbled upon entrance

A SECRET 1,000ft smuggling tunnel has been discovered under the US-Mexico border by officials who were examining a storm drain.

The corridor connecting Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and El Paso in Texas features lighting, ventilation, and wooden beams to enhance its structural integrity and prevent collapses.

National Guard agent inspecting an illegal tunnel at the US-Mexico border.
A National Guard agent inspects an illegal tunnel measuring four by six feet
A member of the Mexican National Guard entering a closed illegal tunnel on the US-Mexico border.
US border agents stumbled across the entrance whilst inspecting a storm drain
National Guard agents at an illegal tunnel at the US-Mexico border.
The opening was concealed with a wooden platform
Illustration of a 300m smuggling tunnel between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas.

Officials believe it has been used by smuggling gangs to traffic people and contraband into the US.

The entrance was hidden in a storm drain and was discovered on January 10 by US border patrol agents who removed a metal grill covering the hole.

Upon discovering the tunnel, US agents alerted Mexican authorities, prompting an investigation to determine if local officials were aware of its existence.

General Jose Lemus, commander of the military garrison in Ciudad Juarez, described the tunnel as six feet high and four feet wide, providing enough space for individuals to walk through comfortably.

He added that it “must have taken a long time” to build, suggesting “it could have been one or two years”.

Victor Manjarrez, a former US Border Patrol sector chief with over 20 years of experience, said the tunnel was likely built by traffickers.

According to him, connecting a tunnel through a storm sewer system is a common tactic among these criminals.

He said: “It’s actually the most common way.

“Most of the tunnels, that’s over, I want to say it’s about 230, 240 tunnels along the southwest border since ’91.

“Most of those attach to some kind of infrastructure in the US.”

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An investigation has been opened to find out who built and used the tunnel, and who knew about it.

Victor said: “This is definitely not a mom-and-pop operation at all.

“It’s gone way beyond that.”

Jose said that the Mexican Attorney General’s Office is responsible for the investigation and will be in charge of determining if authorities were complicit in its construction.

National Guard agent inspecting an illegal tunnel at the US-Mexico border.
The underground passage was even equipped with ventilation and lighting
Journalists photograph a closed illegal tunnel at the US-Mexico border.
A cordon was placed around the entrance as an investigation opens into who operated the tunnel
National Guard agents guarding an illegal tunnel at the US-Mexico border.
National Guard agents stand around the discovered passage entrance#

Anthony Scott Goof, El Paso Chief Patrol Agent, said: “We are proud of the Agents who discovered this smuggling infrastructure used by transnational criminal organizations.

He added: “Our Agents are relentless in searching and surveying every square mile of the El Paso Sector.”

Officials have vowed to seal the tunnel off so it can never be used again, and workers have already been pictured blocking it with concrete on it on the US side.

Border security is being ramped up on both sides as President Trump takes office today.

He has promised a much tougher approach to immigration, including mass deportations “very early, very quickly” in his presidency.

He told NBC: “We’re already geared up, and it will begin.

“We have to get the criminals that have come here illegally out of our country.”

He reaffirmed his immigration pledges to a Washington rally the day before his inauguration on Sunday.

He said: “These are rough people [coming over the border] and they’re getting the hell out of our country – they’re out.”

“The border security measures I will outline in my inaugural address tomorrow will be the most aggressive, sweeping effort to restore our borders that the world has ever seen.”

NBC News also reported Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning several raids in Chicago, Illinois, after Trump gains power.

A source told the broadcaster that multiple locations would be targeted, and these could start as early as Tuesday.

A Mexican official stands in a 300-meter cross-border tunnel.
The illegal tunnel ran under the US border and the Rio Grande river
National Guard member inspecting a closed illegal tunnel at the US-Mexico border.
The discovery comes as security is being tightened on both sides of the border under Donald Trump’s imminent presidency
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