XPost: tx.politics, alt.politics.democrats, talk.politics.guns
XPost: sac.politics

A Catholic Church-owned mountain that towers nearly a mile high near El
Paso, Texas - its giant statue of Jesus Christ for decades drawing
faithful to the summit - has been turned by Mexican cartels into a human smuggling stronghold where migrants are robbed, beaten and raped while
chasing entry into the US.

Mount Cristo Rey sits largely on American soil - located just inside the
border at Sunland Park, New Mexico, where that state, Texas and Mexico all
meet along a now-perilous boundary.

The mountain is now totally controlled by Mexican cartels who use it to
sneak illegal immigrants into the country - sparking warnings to any
visitors.

Officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety gave the
DailyMail.com a first-hand look at the peril within Mount Cristo Rey,
passing out night vision goggles for a covert helicopter tour after dark -
the busiest time for migrant smuggling.

They explained that any green dots we would see through the special gear
were smugglers whose body heat was visible with the goggles.

Sure enough, as we looked down at the mountain's Mexican side and put the goggles up to our eyes, the terrain was absolutely crawling in green dots
- reminiscent of a scene right of the Hollywood movie 'Sicario.'

With an elevation of 4,675 feet, the highest reaches of the mountain are a no-man's land, with no law enforcement presence - allowing the gang
members to rob, beat and sexually assault unchecked.

On the US side, people who live at the base describe the horrors of naked migrant women showing up at their doorsteps covered in blood and begging
for help.

In Texas' sixth largest city, Mount Cristo Rey (Spanish for Christ the
King) is a religious shrine many of El Paso's Catholic faithful will climb
at some point in their lives.

Church-led pilgrimages take place around Easter, often on Good Friday, as
the faithful climb the 2.5 miles and 2.5 miles down to remember Christ's journey to Calvary where he was crucified.

The crude trails have Stations of the Cross along the way.

Hiking Cristo Rey during this time is considered safe, as the Catholic
diocese provides security for the hundreds who turn out.

But as the Mount Cristo Rey Restoration Committee's official website
warns, the rest of the year, 'YOU DO CLIMB AT YOUR OWN RISK!'

'Vandalism, assaults and robberies are still an ongoing problem and
visitors are encouraged to visit on days when organized events are being
held and security is on site. Please visit the events page to get dates of upcoming events,' the monument's website warns.

Although Border Patrol has long guarded Cristo Rey for illegal border
jumpers, activity has spiked since 2021, as the border crisis has brought historic numbers of migrants to the area.

The cartels control the mountain - not US authorities - even though at the summit, the smugglers are in the US illegally.

It has become so out of control that US Border Patrol has ceded the peak
to the cartels, agency sources explain.

Teenage scouts who work for the cartels are perched up high most of the
day, watching for an opportunity to sneak illegal immigrants down the
rugged hills and into the US.

Instead of sending agents racing up and down every time they see a
smuggler - which is almost constant - the agency has decided in most
cases, that it's a better use of resources to let the migrants come to
them.

That's where Border Patrol believes the migrants, not the agents, have
tired themselves out - and where resources can be pooled to stop any
runaways.

Additionally, dispatching even a handful of agents up the mountain at
night would put agents themselves in danger - with the possibility of one- on-one confrontations with cartel members who may or may not be armed.

Smugglers often guide illegal immigrants through Cristo Rey because it
appears to be a shorter distance on paper, but it's filled with danger.

'They'll move them through the draws and the canyons in Cristo Rey
Mountain system, but even that short trek to get down to McNutt (Road in Sunland Park, New Mexico,) Border Patrol spokesman Landon Hutchens told DailyMail.com.

'It may be linear distance not that long, but when you go over that rough terrain with no shade whatsoever and the ground temperature is 125 degrees
on the rocks, it's very easy for migrants to expire in a short distance.'

Once the migrants make it closer to the bottom, agents on foot or on
horseback are ready to move in to arrest the illegal border crossers.

Migrants who make it past Border Patrol agents are guided to getaway cars
by the smugglers on the mountain.

'Those polleros (smugglers,) they use cell phone to guide the migrants.
They tell them, "Just run,"' Hutchens said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-border-crisis/article- 13573147/america-dangerous-mountain-cristo-rey-texas.html

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