Mexican National Pleads Guilty in Sophisticated Cartel Tunnel Smuggling Scheme
A Mexican national has admitted participating in an elaborate human-smuggling operation that transported illegal migrants through an underground tunnel connecting Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas.
Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 29, pleaded guilty in federal court in El Paso to one count of conspiracy to bring undocumented migrants into the United States, according to the Justice Department.
Federal authorities said Davalos-Lopez conspired with other smugglers to move migrants beneath the southern border, bypassing official ports of entry and avoiding federal inspection.
Law enforcement discovered the tunnel in January 2025 while investigating criminal networks operating in the El Paso region. Court records show that investigators intercepted telephone conversations in which Davalos-Lopez allegedly discussed the tunnel, the number of migrants transported through it and the prices they were charged.
According to investigators, migrants were asked to pay as much as $30,000 for illegal passage into the United States.
“Criminals who traffic human beings and firearms are exactly the individuals ATF works every day to stop,” said ATF Director Rob Cekada.
“Our focus is squarely on violent offenders and the criminal networks that threaten public safety. If you fuel cartel violence or exploit our communities, we will find you and hold you accountable,” he added, per Fox7.
A federal grand jury indicted Davalos-Lopez and several alleged co-conspirators in April 2025. Mexican authorities subsequently transferred him to the United States under Mexico’s National Security Law.
The prosecution forms part of a larger federal campaign targeting human-smuggling organizations and cartel-linked criminal networks operating along the southern border.
Other defendants connected to the tunnel investigation have faced separate allegations involving migrant smuggling, illegal firearms trafficking and support for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, commonly known as CJNG. The United States has designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization.
Ricardo Guadalupe Dominguez, another defendant connected to the operation, received a 42-month federal prison sentence earlier this year. Prosecutors said members of the smuggling network used specialized vehicles and equipment to modify drainage infrastructure and connect existing storm drains to tunnels constructed beneath the border.
Authorities said Oscar Ivan Carrillo, who was sentenced to 33 months behind bars, assisted with building sections of the underground system and directing migrants into the United States.
Prosecutors described an operation built around secrecy and deception. Smugglers allegedly parked a modified box truck over a manhole, then used a trap door inside the vehicle to extract migrants from the tunnel without drawing attention.
Federal officials said the case against Davalos-Lopez was brought through the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, which targets transnational criminal organizations involved in human trafficking, migrant smuggling and other cross-border offenses.
Davalos-Lopez faces up to 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been set, and a federal judge will determine the final punishment after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, according to Fox7 in Austin.
The case underscores the scope and sophistication of the criminal infrastructure President Donald J. Trump inherited when he returned to the White House. Trump’s promise to restore border security, expand deportations and dismantle trafficking organizations played a major role in his 2024 election victory.
The tunnel prosecution also comes as senior federal officials warn that America’s national-security challenges extend far beyond illegal immigration.
FBI Director Kash Patel delivered a troubling assessment Wednesday about the expansion of foreign espionage and clandestine activity inside the United States.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel said foreign intelligence services linked to China, Russia and Iran are becoming increasingly aggressive in their attempts to penetrate American institutions, obtain advanced technology and steal sensitive national-security information.
China represents the FBI’s most serious counterintelligence challenge, according to Patel, while Russia and Iran continue conducting extensive intelligence operations against the United States.
“Our adversaries, including Russia, the PRC, and Iran, continue to undermine our core institutions, and they are becoming more aggressive and more capable,” the bureau has noted in congressional testimony describing the threat.
Rather than concentrating on those dangers, however, ranking Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and other Democratic senators used the hearing to question Patel about staffing reductions, revised FBI hiring standards and claims that the bureau has become politicized under his leadership.
The developments highlight the range of threats confronting the Trump administration—from cartel-linked smuggling networks operating beneath the southern border to hostile foreign governments conducting covert operations inside the country.