Mexican troops have uncovered a drug tunnel that is currently being built, linking Nogales, Sonora, with its counterpart in Arizona. This tunnel has ties to the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa cartel.
This operation occurred this week in downtown Nogales. Authorities in Mexico received information about a house associated with Sinaloa Cartel members and commenced surveillance efforts, which ultimately led to them securing a search warrant.
During the raid, troops arrested Luis Fernando Garduno Perez, who works for the Sinaloa cartel’s Los Salazar cell and was monitoring the location. While investigating the site, authorities found a tunnel about 80 yards long that was in the process of being built. The tunnel was aimed north toward Arizona, but it wasn’t finished yet and had no exit on the U.S. side.
The tunnels are connected to Los Salazar, a criminal group based in Sonora, linked with the Sinaloa Cartel and allied with Los Chapitos. Reports indicate that Los Chapitos are involved in an intense conflict with former ally Los Mayos, following the kidnapping and subsequent handover of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada to U.S. authorities. This betrayal appears to have split the Sinaloa Cartel and escalated violence across Mexico.
The Sinaloa Cartel is recognized as one of six Mexican drug cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government. The U.S. Department of Justice has called out Los Chapitos as one of the principal groups implicated in the ongoing fentanyl crisis affecting the United States.
