Smuggler who used tunnel under U.S.-Mexico border pleads guilty
Prosecutors said Mexican smuggler Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez helped run an illicit operation that charged migrants as much as $30,000 to cross into the U.S.
A key figure in an illicit smuggling network operating beneath the U.S.-Mexico border has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, according to prosecutors. Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, the Mexican smuggler, helped run a criminal operation that charged migrants up to $30,000 to cross into the United States. The conspiracy involved a 1,000-foot tunnel running from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, into El Paso, Texas, connected to the city's storm drain system.
The tunnel was allegedly built by the notorious Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). Once inside El Paso's municipal storm drains, migrants were transported underground to exit points, including a modified box truck over a manhole. The smuggling operation, which also involved drug and weapons trafficking, was connected to other illicit activities through wiretaps and surveillance.
Davalos-Lopez discussed the details of the Juarez-to-El Paso tunnel, including how migrants moved through it and the associated fees, in intercepted calls. The conspiracy charge, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, marks a significant legal development in prosecuting cartel-linked smuggling as counterterrorism, as noted by U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons.
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