SAN DIEGO — A man is facing federal charges in San Diego for allegedly designing and building a sophisticated cross-border tunnel found in Otay Mesa for the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, U.S. officials said.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted Luis Manuel Hernández, 60, on charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to construct or finance a cross-border tunnel, conspiring to use a cross-border tunnel to import controlled substances and conspiring to import controlled substances.

Mexico’s Security Cabinet reported the Oct. 15 arrest of Hernández in the Mexican state of Jalisco. He is also known as “El Ingeniero,” which translates to “The Engineer” in Spanish. Mexican authorities seized weapons, drugs and a vehicle during the operation.

“Hernandez engineered his own downfall,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement Thursday.

The indictment alleges that Hernández was involved in building a 1,933-foot-long cross-border tunnel that was discovered inside a supposed discount store near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in late May.

Federal prosecutors said the tunnel was the work of the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2025 under the Trump administration. The indictment indicates that work on the tunnel began in 2023.

Federal authorities seized more than a ton of cocaine, estimated to be worth more than $45 million, when they located the passageway, which stretched from a home in Tijuana and was equipped with a rail system, ventilation and electricity. The tunnel was found inside a Buy 4 Less store on Roll Drive concealed under the floor of a storage room.

Prosecutors said Hernández is the seventh person charged in connection with the passageway amid the ongoing investigation.

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