PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home

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It's Wednesday, 12 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with a look at the Trump administration's border crackdown. Now, on the surface, the numbers show real progress. But when you dig into it, get below the surface, the cartels are still finding ways in.

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Later in the show, American teacher Mark Fogel is back on U.S. soil after spending three and a half years in a Russian prison on drug charges related to a small amount of medical marijuana. We'll bring you the details of his release. But first, the afternoon spotlight. The Trump administration's border crackdown appears to be making a serious impact if the numbers are anything to go by.

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According to a report from Fox, the daily average number of known gotaways, that's the illegal migrants who successfully entered the U.S. without apprehension, has dropped to just 132 per day since the beginning of February. Now, that's a staggering 93% decline from the peak numbers seen under the Biden administration, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security source.

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But while the numbers above ground look promising, below the surface, well, there's another battle playing out, one that's been going on for decades. Mexican drug cartels have been using tunnels to smuggle drugs, people, and weapons into the U.S. for years, and even with enhanced border security, these underground routes, well, they remain a major challenge. U.S.

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officials believe that hundreds of these tunnels have been built beneath the border over the years. Since the early 1990s, more than 230 have been officially discovered, most of them in California and Arizona. The areas around San Diego and Nogales in particular have seen the highest concentration of tunnels due to their favorable soil conditions.

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And while authorities continue to find them, many more remain undetected. Some of these tunnels are remarkably sophisticated. Now, we've heard a lot about the tunnel systems running beneath Gaza, but it's important to note that the drug cartels actually have a lot more resources than Hamas. Take the Otemesa Megatunnel. Now, that was discovered in 2022.

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The cartel-built passage stretched more than 1,700 feet from Tijuana to a warehouse in Otemesa, California. reaching depths at times of 61 feet. Unlike the crude smuggling tunnels of the past, this one had reinforced walls, a ventilation system, electrical wiring, and even a railroad track to efficiently move the drugs. When authorities finally found it, they seized over a ton of cocaine.

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That's a lot of coke. The Otay Mesa tunnel led directly to a warehouse in an industrial park, what's known essentially as a cover-up. Now, cover-ups are a key part of the cartel's smuggling operations. They're seemingly normal buildings, could be storefronts or warehouses or abandoned homes, used to disguise tunnel entrances.

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Cartels go to great lengths, of course, to make sure these sites blend in, using trap doors or fake floors, even hydraulic lifts, to conceal the tunnel openings. They're designed, of course, to evade detection for as long as possible, allowing smugglers to move the drugs without drawing attention. And it's not just the gear that's moving through these tunnels.

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Human smuggling operations are taking full advantage of this underground network. Reports from last year indicated that Mexican cartels were offering VIP smuggling packages for as much as $15,000 to help illegal immigrants enter the US via these tunnels.

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One senior Mexican official told USA Today that the La Linea cartel has allegedly been moving around 1,000 VIP migrants every month from Ciudad Juarez into El Paso through its tunnel system. These VIP clients reportedly include individuals who want to avoid detection at all costs, either because they have criminal records or because they fear deportation upon capture.

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For law enforcement, well, these tunnels are a nightmare. They're difficult to detect, they're costly to investigate, and constantly involving in sophistication. Unlike surface-level smuggling routes, these tunnels bypass traditional border security measures entirely. U.S. authorities have invested in ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors, and intelligence operations to locate them,

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Well, but the cartels are always adapting, always working to stay one step ahead. After all, they are highly motivated to protect their revenue streams. Coming up next, American Mark Fogel is back on U.S. soil after three and a half years in a Russian prison. I'll have those details after the break. Running a business isn't easy, and I know that firsthand.

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