Smugglers in Mexico have sawed through new sections of President Donald Trump’s $10 billion border wall by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps big enough for drug lords and others to squeeze on through, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
The smuggling gangs use a popular cordless reciprocating saw that retails at hardware stores for as little as $100, the Post reported.
When fitted with specialized blades, the saws can slice through one of the barrier’s steel-and-concrete bollards in a matter of minutes, the Post reported, citing unnamed sources.
The smuggling crews have been using other techniques, like building makeshift ladders to scale and overtop the barriers, especially in areas in and around San Diego, the Post reported.
It’s unclear how many times the wall’s been breached and cut, the Post reported.
But one unnamed senior administration official said there’s been “a few instances,” adding the new barrier fencing had “significantly increased security and deterrence” along sections of the border in Customs and Border Patrol’s San Diego and El Centro sectors in California.
Ronald Vitiello, the former Border Patrol chief who was acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement until his removal in April, characterized the breaches as “poking and prodding” by cartel smuggling crews.
“The cartels will continue to innovate, and they’re not just going to leave San Diego because the wall gets better,” Vitiello told the Post. “That’s life on the border.”
The Trump administration has so far completed 76 miles of new barriers, all of it in areas like San Diego where the structure has replaced older, shorter and, in some cases, dilapidated fencing.
Another 158 miles is under construction, according to CBP, and the agency said 276 miles are in a “preconstruction” phase.
The administration remains on track to complete 450 miles of barriers by the end of next year, CBP acting commissioner Mark Morgan said last week.