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Unfilled tunnels a weak link at border
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Jan 30, 2007 10:22pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Los Angeles Times |
| News Date | Wednesday, January 31, 2007 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Key points are plugged in U.S. and Mexico, but smugglers may still try to reuse the passages
By Richard Marosi, Times Staff Writer
January 30, 2007
SAN DIEGO — Seven of the largest tunnels discovered under the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years have yet to be filled in, authorities said, raising concerns because smugglers have tried to reuse such passages before.
Among the unfilled tunnels, created to ferry people and drugs, is the longest one yet found — extending nearly half a mile from San Diego to Tijuana. Nearby, another sophisticated passageway once known as the Taj Mahal of tunnels has been sitting unfilled for 13 years, authorities say.
Though concrete plugs usually close off the tunnels where they cross under the border and at main entrance and exit points, the areas in between remain largely intact. Filling the seven tunnels would cost about $2.7 million, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. Accessing tunnels that run under private property is also a problem, as is a lack of coordination with Mexican authorities.
Mexican authorities have told their U.S. counterparts that they've filled their end of the tunnels. But U.S. officials express doubt, citing the high costs and examples of tunnels being compromised. The Mexican attorney general's office, which handles organized crime, did not respond to numerous requests for interviews. |
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