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Texas: Border Patrol finds clandestine tunnel in El Paso used for human trafficking

"Transnational criminal organizations mistakenly think they can avoid detection by moving people and contraband underground. This recent discovery is a significant blow to their operations as it highlights our capability to disrupt their sophisticated smuggling networks," stated Jason T. Stevens, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso special agent in charge.

Varios inmigrantes ilegales en El Paso, Texas

El Paso border sector  (Photo by Paul Ratje / AFP)(Photo by Paul Ratje / AFP)

Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

A clandestine tunnel - located on the border between El Paso (Texas) and Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) - was discovered by Border Patrol agents in collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The passageway was used by criminal gangs for human smuggling.

The tunnel (approximately four feet wide and six feet high) is made of wooden beams, electrical wiring and ventilation. 

‘We are proud of the Agents who discovered this smuggling infrastructure used by transnational criminal organizations,’ said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good. ‘Our Agents are relentless in searching and surveying every square mile of the El Paso Sector. With our partners, we are committed to investigating these illicit activities and bringing all perpetrators to justice —those who endanger lives in these hazardous environments and circumvent the legal pathways to entering the United States.’

Smuggling and trafficking of Venezuelan women

Journalist Ali Bradley - who provided the exclusive - reported that the tunnel may have been used to smuggle and traffic Venezuelan women. Bradley pointed out that these types of structures are more frequent in the San Diego (California) area than in El Paso (Texas).

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