Sunday, January 6, 2013

New drug tunnel found near US-Mexican border

As if we don't have enough reasons to close the border to unsafe Mexican trucks, Agence France-Press brings us yet another:
Mexican authorities said they have discovered a “sophisticated” tunnel likely intended for smuggling drugs and migrants across the US-Mexico border. 
The entrance to the tunnel, which was still under construction, is located in a warehouse about 300 meters (328 yards) from the border between the Mexican city of Mexicali and Calexico, California, Mexicali police chief Marco Antonio Carrillo told AFP on Saturday. 
The tunnel — which is about 10 meters deep and 30 meters long — has a ventilation system and lighting and is considered the most “sophisticated” of such structures found in recent years, Carrillo said... 
Discoveries of such underground passageways along the US-Mexico border are not uncommon and authorities say they are used by organized crime groups to traffick drugs and people into the United States.
The death toll from Mexico's drug wars now stands at 70,000 since 2006. On Saturday, Mexican officials said 25 people were killed within 24 hours, and six bodies bore marks of torture.

And we want to open our borders to this?

Fortunately, only a handful of Mexican trucks are participating in the dismal little cross-border trucking pilot program. Still, the Teamsters are fighting it in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Oral arguments were heard in December, and we expect a decision sometime in the next few months.

Stay tuned.