US-Mexico Drug Tunnel Dismantled Between Tijuana and San Diego

U.S. authorities, together with Mexican officials, dismantled a sophisticated underground tunnel linking Tijuana, Mexico, with the Otay Mesa portion of San Diego, California. The tunnel, nearly 600 meters long and about 17 meters deep, was equipped with ventilation, electricity, rail tracks and a hydraulic elevator, allowing the transport of large drug shipments.

The operation, led by Homeland Security Investigations, resulted in the seizure of more than one ton of cocaine valued at roughly $45 million, the arrest of four suspects, and charges of conspiracy to use an unauthorized transborder tunnel. U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson praised the bilateral cooperation, calling it “a blow to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.” The tunnel is the first discovered in Southern California since 2022 and among the most complex found in the region.

Authorities on both sides emphasized continued joint efforts to locate and dismantle similar illicit smuggling operations along the border.