A key figure in a smuggling network that used an underground tunnel beneath the U.S.-Mexico border has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bring migrants into the United States. The tunnel, which stretched from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to a public storm drain system in El Paso, Texas, was reportedly constructed by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a powerful drug trafficking group. On the Mexican side, the tunnel extended approximately 1,000 feet and was used to move migrants through the storm drains to exit points, such as a modified box truck over a manhole. Migrants were instructed to climb directly from the drain into the truck through a trap door. The smuggling operation charged migrants up to $30,000 to cross into the U.S. Prosecutors said Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez played a major role in managing the illegal operation. Investigators used wiretaps and surveillance to link the smuggling business to other alleged illegal activities, such as drug and weapons trafficking. Intercepted calls revealed Davalos-Lopez discussing details of the Juárez-to-El Paso tunnel, including how migrants moved through it, the fees charged, and logistical arrangements. Davalos-Lopez did not plead guilty to terrorism charges, but his associate, Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, did last month. She admitted to conspiring to provide material support to CJNG and also faced charges related to drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, and smuggling undocumented immigrants. The case highlights a shift in how the U.S. has begun prosecuting cartels, treating drug, gun, and human smuggling crimes as terrorism. Under the Trump administration, cartels have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations, giving prosecutors the authority to pursue more severe charges for actions that were once categorized as organized crime. Davalos-Lopez’s conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. This case has served as an early test of the Trump administration’s strategy to treat cartel-linked smuggling as counterterrorism. U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas stated that the defendants were central figures in a criminal enterprise that had a significant, harmful impact on both sides of the border. The operation smuggled drugs and undocumented immigrants into the U.S. while also trafficking firearms into Mexico, which were then used to further facilitate the movement of drugs and illegal aliens across the border.