US authorities has discovered the longest smuggling tunnel by the on the Southwest border, which stretches more than three-quarters of a mile from an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to the San Diego area. The tunnel, discovered Wednesday, featured an extensive rail cart system, forced air ventilation, high voltage electrical cables and panels, an elevator at the tunnel entrance and a drainage system. While there were no arrests, no drugs found at the site and no confirmed exit point in the U.S., the length — more than 14 football fields — stunned authorities.
The tunnel exposes limitations of President Donald Trump’s border wall, which stretches several feet underground in the area and is considered effective against small, crudely built tunnels often called “gopher holes.”
The newly discovered tunnel is about 5.5 feet (1.68 meters) tall and 2 feet (0.61 meters) wide and runs at an average depth of 70 feet (21.3 meters) below the surface.
This tunnel was discovered by Mexican authorities in a Tijuana parking lot for cargo trucks, next to the city’s airport. U.S. authorities mapped its course, drilled a hole on the U.S. side and lowered a camera to determine where to start making their way through.
Authorities didn’t disclose who they believe was behind the tunnel but the area has been a stronghold of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. The cartel’s longtime leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was sentenced to life in U.S. prison in July.
