Alleged cartel engineer indicted over 1,900-foot cross-border drug tunnel in San Diego

Federal officials pointed to the charges as part of a crackdown on transnational criminal networks, focusing on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which the U.S. government designated a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20, 2025.

SAN DIEGO — A Mexican engineer dubbed “El Ingeniero” has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly designing and constructing a sophisticated cross-border subterranean tunnel used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to traffic tens of millions of dollars in narcotics into California, authorities announced Thursday.

Luis Manuel Hernandez Victoria, 60, of Guadalajara, Mexico, faces charges including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to construct or finance a cross-border tunnel, conspiracy to use a tunnel to import controlled substances, and conspiracy to import controlled substances.

If convicted, Hernandez faces up to life in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

Federal prosecutors allege Hernandez engineered a 1,933-foot-long tunnel that stretched from Tijuana, Mexico, to a storefront operating under the name “Buy 4 Less” at 2498 Roll Drive in San Diego, near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.