Mexican drug cartels have equipped numerous tunnels with rail and cart systems to transport drugs beneath the US border, creating a significant challenge for the Trump administration in its efforts to reduce the influx of illegal narcotics into the country.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) states that while most illicit drugs enter the US through vehicles at southern border entry points, some are smuggled through cross-border tunnels and underground passages.
President Donald Trump has made repeated promises to halt the flow of illegal drugs into the US, implementing a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 107,941 people in the U.S. died from a drug-involved overdose in 2022.
Former DEA Senior Special Agent Michael Brown, who now serves as the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices, explained that the agency destroys drug trafficking tunnels to render them impassable.
Brown emphasized the need for DEA and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) personnel to intensify their efforts in investigating underground tunnels to uncover any “cover-ups” of the tunnels’ US exits.
These “cover-ups” typically involve using seemingly ordinary storefronts or warehouses to conceal tunnel entrances and exits.
“They (the cartels) move hundreds of kilos out and build a warehouse over the tunnel and call it Joe’s Pizza shop or Jose’s mechanic shop,” Brown said.
“It’s challenging to identify that in Eagle Pass or Brownsville [in Texas].”
The former DEA agent suggested that with effective management, federal authorities can identify sources to uncover the locations of the tunnels and potential US connections.
“Instead of trying to recruit an individual, say, ‘We’ll pay you a certain amount of money for information,’” Brown said.
Since Trump’s return to the White House, border crossings have significantly decreased.
There were 7,287 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first seven days (Jan. 20-26) after Trump’s inauguration by both Border Patrol between ports of entry and by the Office of Field Operations at ports of entry, with a daily average of 1,041 encounters a day.
This is in comparison to 20,086 encounters in the final seven days of the Biden administration (Jan. 13-19) prior to Trump’s inauguration, averaging 2,869 encounters a day.
“It’s amazing,” Brown remarked on the drop in border encounters. “The tunnels, however, pose a significant problem.”
Subterranean passageways are not a new phenomenon. Brown cited the use of tunnels during the Vietnam War and more recently, Hamas’ intricate network of tunnels in Gaza.
“Cartels have more money than Hamas, when you think about it. And, you know, it took hundreds of millions of dollars in aid money to build those tunnels,” he said.
He noted that tunnels are not simple underground holes but rather complex “underground cities” complete with air ducts, office space, weapon stashes, and railway tracks.
Brown expressed doubt that the US would take the same approach as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did in destroying the tunnels.
Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the IDF focused on dismantling the terrorist group’s tunnel network. In one instance, the IDF employed water to flood the tunnels.
“The US would never blow up a school under any circumstances,” he stated. “But if we had a 9/11 every day like Israel, I think American attitudes would change.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the DEA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and HSI for comments.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
