Mexican military forces found a narco-tunnel that was being built connecting Nogales, Sonora, with its sister city in Arizona. The tunnel is connected to the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
The raid took place this week in downtown Nogales. According to information released by Mexican authorities, they learned of a house that was being used by Sinaloa Cartel members and began a surveillance operation that provided them with enough information to obtain a search warrant.
Mexican military forces raided the place and were able to arrest Luis Fernando Garduno Perez, an operator with the Los Salazar cell of the Sinaloa Cartel who was guarding the property. While searching the area, authorities found a tunnel under construction that measured almost 80 yards long. The tunnel was heading north towards Arizona, but had not been completed and did not yet have an exit on the U.S. side of the border.
The tunnel is linked to Los Salazar, a Sonoran-based criminal organization that is part of the Sinaloa Cartel and has been an ally of Los Chapitos. As Breitbart Texas has reported, Los Chapitos have been waging a fierce turf war with their former allies, Los Mayos, after they kidnapped Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and turned him over to U.S. authorities. That perceived betrayal split the Sinaloa Cartel into two and led to a dramatic rise in violence throughout Mexico.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of six Mexican drug cartels currently listed as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. Government. The U.S. Department of Justice has pointed to Los Chapitos as one of the main groups behind the current fentanyl crisis in America.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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