00:00For years, authorities locked down the border with massive surface security,
00:04completely missing the fully-equipped transit system operating right beneath their feet.
00:10Cartel boss El Chapo faced a logistical nightmare,
00:13moving tons of drugs past this impenetrable wall.
00:16So if his cartel couldn't go through the surface, they decided to dig under it.
00:22But these weren't just simple dirt holes.
00:24They were highly engineered structures, physically reinforced to prevent cave-ins.
00:29To keep crews operating deep underground, they installed proper drainage,
00:33ventilation pipes, and electrical lighting.
00:36Then came the ultimate engineering upgrade,
00:38a fully functional rail system designed to shoot massive drug loads across the border in minutes.
00:44In 2015, El Chapo repurposed this exact engineering expertise for himself.
00:50He bypassed a Mexican maximum security prison
00:53by dropping directly from his cell into a custom-built escape tunnel.
00:57But his underground empire couldn't outrun a federal trial.
01:01Sentenced to life in a U.S. penitentiary,
01:03the Tunnel King finally found himself with nowhere left to dig.
