Mexico's smuggling gangs have cut pieces of the modern wall, which US President Donald Trump has ordered to build in recent months using tools available on the market, where they have opened enough gaps for people to pass through and quantities of drugs to pass to the United States, he said. US officials familiar with the damage to the wall.
The wall was breached and crossed by the use of a well-known tool, commonly used at home as a rocking saw sold at retail stores for $ 100. When supplied with custom blades, the saw could cut off any part of the iron-cement wall within minutes, according to the guards, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly about techniques to penetrate the separation barrier between Mexico and the United States.
After cutting the base of the iron pole, the smugglers can move it from place to allow an adult to cross the resulting gap. Because the iron poles are too long, tied together at the upper end with iron plates, their length is easy to move to any side as long as they are cut off from their base and become hanging from the top, according to the Washington Post's consultant engineers.
The $ 10 billion separation barrier, funded by U.S. taxpayers, was a central issue in the 2016 Trump campaign.It also saw the project as a material slogan for his presidency, and promoted the development of its construction through letters, advertising and tweets. Trump has increasingly bragged to crowds in recent weeks about the superior features of the wall, calling it "impenetrable," and insisting that smugglers will not be able to cross it or even pass under it.
Smugglers have long used other techniques to cross the wall, such as building temporary ladders to climb to the top of the wall, especially in and around San Diego's famous smuggling areas, according to about a dozen US soldiers guarding the wall, as well as other administration officials. Previous. Mexican criminal gangs, which make billions of dollars in smuggling profits, have a huge incentive to develop their border operations to overcome new obstacles, officials say.
The US government has not disclosed the cases of iron felling and breaches of the wall, and it is unclear how many times the fence has been breached by cutting iron fences. The Border Protection and Customs Administration declined to provide any information on how often the new wall was breached, where the breaches occurred and how they were repaired. Border Protection spokesman Matt Liz declined to comment, and the administration itself did not comply with the Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on the breach and repair of the barrier. The US Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees contractors for the construction of the barrier, has recommended that any inquiries be sent to the Border Protection and Customs Administration.
An administration official who is not authorized to talk about the wall's breaches said it was a "few cases" and that the new wall "has greatly increased deterrence and security." Current and former officials of the Border Protection Department confirmed that there had been cases of breaches of the wall before, but the new wall Much stronger than the old wall designs.
The breakthroughs occurred in areas where construction has not yet been completed, or even the installation of electronic detectors, which, when activated, will detect vibrations from shaking the columns with vibrating saws, officials said, adding that one of the main benefits of the iron column wall system Their length is between 18 and 30 feet, and any damage is quickly repaired or replaced. "The criminal gangs will continue to innovate, and they will not leave San Diego because the walls are better," said former border patrol chief Ronald Vettello. This is life at the border, ”he said.“ This is not the best developed wall yet, but the best one we can pay for. ”
The US government has not revealed cases of iron felling and wall penetration, and it is unclear how many times the fence has been breached by cutting iron fences.
Trump described the wall's superior features as "impenetrable," and stressed that smugglers would not be able to cross it or even pass under it.