A Mexican national tied to one of Mexico's most violent cartels just pleaded guilty to running a sophisticated smuggling tunnel under the Texas border—proving yet again that when Washington says the border is secure, it's lying to your face.
Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 29, entered a guilty plea in federal court in El Paso to one count of conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States, according to FOX 4 News. The tunnel, discovered in January 2025, ran between Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso. Intercepted communications showed Davalos-Lopez and his co-conspirators charged migrants upward of $30,000 a head for unlawful entry.
This wasn't some crude hole in the dirt. Federal investigators linked the operation directly to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación—CJNG—one of the most brutal transnational criminal organizations operating in the Western Hemisphere. The tunnel facilitated smuggling of humans, drugs, and firearms. That's invasion infrastructure, not immigration.
Davalos-Lopez was indicted in April 2025 and transferred to U.S. custody by the Mexican government under its National Security Law. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date hasn't been set.
Co-defendants in the broader operation have also pleaded guilty. Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez admitted to firearms trafficking supporting CJNG. Gustavo Castro-Medina pleaded guilty to financial wire transfers used to purchase firearms. The cartel wasn't just moving people—it was arming itself.
ATF Director Rob Cekada offered the usual boilerplate: "Criminals who traffic human beings and firearms are exactly the individuals ATF works every day to stop. Our focus is squarely on violent offenders and the criminal networks that threaten public safety."
The investigation involved the FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Border Patrol, under Joint Task Force Alpha and the Homeland Security Task Force initiative. Multiple federal agencies, international cooperation, and the best they can promise is 10 years for a cartel operative running a tunnel that moved humans, guns, and drugs into American communities.
Meanwhile, Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden administration have insisted the border is secure. A sophisticated CJNG tunnel charging $30,000 per head tells a different story. The cartels aren't testing the fence—they're building permanent infrastructure underneath it, and they're doing it with impunity.
The question isn't whether the border is secure. It's how many more tunnels are operating right now that federal authorities haven't found.
