Mexico announces closure of 'U.S. smuggling tunnel' ahead of Trump's inauguration

Mexico has recently said it has decided to block a burrow for smuggling into the United States, which was discovered at its border.

According to the BBC, General Jose Remus, commander of the Ciudad Juarez region, told media on the 19th local time that the attorney general's office was investigating whether local officials conspired to build the recently discovered tunnel, and that the found tunnel would be closed.

Built to transport smugglers and contraband into the United States, the tunnel is a 300-meter-long man-made tunnel connecting Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, USA, with lighting and ventilation.

The tunnel was discovered by U.S. Border Patrol officers on the 10th, but it is believed to have taken about a year to build, raising speculations that it was created with the acquiescence or collusion of local Mexican officials.

Mexico is stepping up its crackdown on border areas ahead of the launch of the second Donald Trump administration, which has pledged mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

In recent years, it has carried out the largest-ever crackdown on immigrants, transporting foreign immigrants to southern Mexico, far from the United States.

The issue of illegal immigration from Mexico has long been a stumbling block in U.S.-Mexico relations, and it also served as a decisive issue in last November's U.S. presidential election, which ended with former President Trump's victory, the BBC noted.