Green Card Holder Sentenced for Helping Cartel Build Rio Grande Smuggling Tunnel

Ricardo Guadalupe Dominguez held lawful permanent resident status in the United States when federal agents stopped him at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. On May 14, 2026, a federal court in El Paso sentenced him to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to bring in aliens. He is the second defendant sentenced in a case that began with the discovery of a hand-dug cartel tunnel running underneath the Rio Grande. Dominguez, 54, of Ciudad Juárez, pleaded guilty December 17, 2025. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, led by Justin R. Simmons, said Dominguez supplied the vehicles and tools the smuggling organization used to cut into and damage El Paso's existing storm drain system. Court documents identified him as a participant in the construction of the cross-border tunnel itself.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Border Patrol discovered it on January 10, 2025. According to ICE, agents had been investigating the operation since 2024 after intelligence pointed to a tunnel under construction by La Nueva Empresa, an international drug cartel. The tunnel connected Ciudad Juárez to El Paso. It ran beneath the Rio Grande, equipped with its own electricity and ventilation. They dug from the U.S. side into El Paso's storm drains, using a manhole as an exit. On the U.S. side, migrants exited the tunnel directly into a van through a secret floor hatch, allowing them to board without ever being seen on the street. The truck then drove off to avoid attracting any attention from local residents.

The first defendant in the case was Oscar Ivan Carrillo, 20, of El Paso. A federal grand jury named him in a four-count indictment on April 2, 2025. Agents arrested him on June 10, 2025. He pleaded guilty November 4, 2025 to one count of conspiracy to use a border tunnel. On January 28, 2026, a federal court in El Paso sentenced him to 33 months in prison plus three years of supervised release. ICE’s February 2026 statement noted that the investigation into Carrillo led to further arrests and the recovery of tunnel construction materials. While authorities have yet to identify these other defendants, two related sentences Attorney's office have appeared on the public docket. It remains unclear how many more cases are pending. HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho noted in February that the operation reflects a broader pattern of criminals "innovating and exploiting" the border for profit. While El Paso Sector labeled the tunnel "sophisticated," federal authorities have yet to address the current status of La Nueva Empresa following its January 2025 discovery. Photo credit: The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas