Prosecutors won an indictment from a federal grand jury against a man they say engineered a drug-smuggling tunnel under the U.S.-Mexico border for a major Mexican cartel.
They said Luis Manuel Hernandez Victoria, known as El Ingeniero, oversaw a nearly 2,00-foot long tunnel for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, that ran from Tijuana into the U.S. near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
The tunnel had a rail system to speed contraband through and was fixed with ventilation and electricity.
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When the tunnel was busted this year, authorities seized $45 million in cocaine.
Mexican news reports said Mr. Hernandez was arrested in Jalisco on Oct. 15.
“Hernandez engineered his own downfall,” said Adam Gordon, the U.S. attorney in Southern California. The indictment was returned Thursday.
The material support for terrorism charge was available because the Trump administration last year designated CJNG and several other major Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations.
Mr. Hernandez was also indicted on several conspiracy charges related to the tunnel’s use for smuggling drugs.
Authorities were tipped off in 2025 after wondering about Buy 4 Less, the retail store on the U.S. side that was the terminus.
The store was in a small strip mall but had little customer traffic.
The tunnel dipped 55 feet below ground and had a hydraulic lift to go down. It penetrated more than 1,000 feet into the U.S.
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