Federal prosecutors in California indicted a Mexican engineer accused of designing and constructing a sophisticated underground drug tunnel for the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
The US Department of Justice announced on Friday that a grand jury returned charges against Luis Manuel Hernandez Victoria, also known as “El Ingeniero.”
The tunnel included reinforced walls, rail systems, ventilation equipment and electrical infrastructure. The charges are connected to a tunnel discovered on May 29, beneath a retail store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego. Investigators estimated the underground passage was approximately 1,933 feet long, 55 feet deep and about 4.5 feet high.
Authorities said the passageway stretched from Tijuana, Mexico, to a location identified as the former “Buy 4 Less” store at 2498 Roll Drive, Suite E, San Diego. Federal prosecutors said the tunnel had advanced construction techniques.
Hernandez is the seventh person charged in connection with the tunnel investigation. Mexican authorities reportedly seized weapons and narcotics during the arrest. The investigation involves several federal and state agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, US Border Patrol, US Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice.
The indictment alleged that Hernandez designed and constructed this tunnel for the benefit of CJNG, a Mexican criminal organization designated by the US government as a foreign terrorist organization on February 20, 2025. At the time of the discovery, federal authorities seized more than one ton of cocaine, with an estimated street value exceeding $45 million, according to prosecutors. Hernandez was arrested in Jalisco, Mexico, on October 15, 2026, according to public reports cited by prosecutors.
US Attorney Adam Gordon said, “Hernandez engineered his own downfall.
