Mexican engineer indicted over CJNG cartel’s drug tunnel into San Diego
A Mexican engineer accused of building a drug-smuggling tunnel between Tijuana and San Diego has been indicted on charges including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, federal prosecutors announced. Authorities seized more than a ton of cocaine when the passageway was discovered.
Luis Manuel Hernandez Victoria, 60, of Guadalajara, was charged Thursday by a federal grand jury, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Known as “El Ingeniero,” or “the Engineer,” he is the seventh person charged in connection with the tunnel.
Prosecutors allege Hernandez designed and constructed the tunnel for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.
The tunnel was discovered May 29 inside a purported retail store called “Buy 4 Less” on Roll Drive near San Diego’s Otay Mesa Port of Entry. It stretched approximately 1,933 feet from Tijuana to the store.
The passageway was about 55 feet underground and 4.5 feet high, with reinforced walls, a rail system, ventilation and electricity. Federal authorities seized more than a ton of cocaine valued at over $45 million when they found it.
Hernandez was arrested in the Mexican state of Jalisco on October 15, according to public reports cited by prosecutors. Mexican authorities seized weapons and narcotics during the arrest.
In addition to the material support charge, Hernandez faces charges of conspiracy to construct or finance a cross-border tunnel, conspiracy to use a cross-border tunnel to import controlled substances, and conspiracy to import controlled substances.
The drug conspiracy charges carry potential life sentences, while the material support and tunnel construction charges each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
