Mexican drug cartels have been using sophisticated tunnels equipped with rail and cart systems to smuggle drugs under the US-Mexico border. This poses a significant challenge for the Trump administration as it strives to combat the flow of illegal narcotics into the country.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), while most illicit drugs enter the US through vehicles at southern border entry points, some are also brought in through underground tunnels and passageways. President Donald Trump has made promises to halt the influx of illegal drugs into the US, including imposing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that an estimated 107,941 individuals in the US died from drug-involved overdoses in 2022. To address the issue of drug trafficking tunnels, the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) personnel work to uncover and destroy these tunnels, as well as investigate cover-ups of tunnel exits disguised as normal storefronts or warehouses.
Former DEA Senior Special Agent Michael Brown, now the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices, emphasized the importance of intensifying efforts to identify tunnel locations and potential US connections. Brown highlighted the complex nature of these tunnels, which can resemble underground cities with various amenities like air ducts, office spaces, weapon caches, and railway tracks.
While border crossings have decreased since Trump’s return to the White House, the issue of drug smuggling through tunnels remains a significant concern. Brown compared the cartels’ financial resources to that of Hamas, noting that the cartels have billions of dollars at their disposal.
Unlike the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which used drastic measures like flooding tunnels to combat Hamas attacks, Brown does not believe the US would take such extreme actions. He acknowledged that American attitudes towards tunnel destruction could change in the face of ongoing security threats.
Overall, the fight against drug trafficking tunnels requires continued collaboration between law enforcement agencies and a strategic approach to identifying and dismantling these underground networks. Fox News Digital has reached out to relevant agencies for further comments on this ongoing issue.
