A mountain owned by the Catholic Church that rises nearly a mile high near El Paso, Texas, whose giant statue of Jesus Christ has for decades drawn worshippers to the summit, has been turned by Mexican cartels into a human trafficking stronghold, where migrants are robbed, beaten and raped as they try to enter the United States.
Mount Cristo Rey sits largely on U.S. soil, located just inside the border in Sunland Park, New Mexico, where that state, Texas and Mexico meet along a now-dangerous border.
The mountain is now fully controlled by Mexican cartels who use it to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country, prompting warnings for any visitors.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials gave DailyMail.com a first-hand look at the danger inside Monte Cristo Rey, handing out night-vision goggles for an undercover helicopter tour after dark, the busiest time for migrant smuggling.
We were told that any green dots we saw through the special equipment were smugglers whose body heat was visible through the glasses.
Sure enough, when we looked towards the Mexican side of the mountain and put on our glasses, the terrain was absolutely riddled with green dots, reminiscent of a scene from the Hollywood film ‘Sicario’.
View of Mount Cristo Rey from the west side in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Here, the federal border wall ends where the mountain begins.
At 4,675 feet elevation, Mount Cristo Rey is located where Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico meet.
At 4,675 feet in elevation, the highest points on the mountain are a no-man’s land with no police presence, allowing gang members to rob, beat and sexually assault unchecked.
On the American side, people living on the base describe the horrors of seeing naked immigrant women appearing at their doors covered in blood and begging for help.
In the sixth largest city in Texas, Mount Cristo Rey (in Spanish means Mount Christ the King) Christ the King) is a religious shrine that many faithful Catholics of El Paso will climb at some point in their lives.
Church-led pilgrimages take place around Easter, often on Good Friday, as the faithful hike the 2.5-mile climb and 2.5-mile descent to remember Christ’s journey to Calvary, where he was crucified.
The rough paths have Stations of the Cross along the way.
The terrain is reminiscent of a scene from the Hollywood film ‘Sicario’ (pictured).
A 26-foot limestone statue of Jesus Christ sits atop the mountain.
Hiking at Cristo Rey during this time is considered safe, as the Catholic diocese provides security for the hundreds of people who participate.
But as the Monte Cristo Rey Restoration Committee put it, The official website warnsthe rest of the year, ‘YOU CLIMB AT YOUR OWN RISK!’
“Vandalism, break-ins and theft remain an ongoing problem and visitors are encouraged to attend on days when organised events are taking place and security is in place. Please visit the events page for dates of upcoming events,” the memorial’s website warns.
Although Border Patrol has long protected Cristo Rey from illegal border crossers, activity has skyrocketed since 2021 as the border crisis has brought historic numbers of migrants to the area.
The cartels control the mountain, not the US authorities, although smugglers are in the US illegally at the summit.
The situation has gotten so out of control that the U.S. Border Patrol has ceded control to the cartels, agency sources say.
Teenage scouts working for the cartels stay high up most of the day, waiting for an opportunity to smuggle illegal immigrants over the steep hills into the United States.
Rather than sending agents running back and forth every time they see a smuggler (which is almost constant), the agency has decided in most cases that it is a better use of resources to let migrants come to them.
Illegal immigrants walk through the hills of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico
Migrants who are smuggled into the United States crouch down to avoid being seen by Border Patrol
Illegal immigrants are once again taking to the hills of Monte Cristo Rey after deciding that their chance of entering the United States would be thwarted by Border Patrol.
That’s where Border Patrol believes migrants, not agents, have grown tired, and where resources can be pooled to stop fugitives.
Furthermore, sending even a handful of agents into the mountains at night would put the 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 on paper it seems like a shorter distance, but it is fraught with danger.
“They will be moving them through the valleys and canyons of the Cristo Rey mountain system, but even that short drive to get to McNutt (highway in Sunland Park, New Mexico) is impossible,” Border Patrol spokesman Landon Hutchens told DailyMail.com.
‘The linear distance may not be very long, but when you’re going through such rugged terrain with no shade and the ground temperature is 125 degrees on the rocks, it’s very easy for migrants to die in a short distance.’
Once migrants get closer to the end, agents on foot or horseback are ready to act and arrest those crossing the border illegally.
Migrants who manage to get past Border Patrol agents are guided into getaway vehicles by smugglers in the mountains.
“These smugglers use cell phones to guide the migrants. They tell them: ‘Run,'” Hutchens said.
Young smuggler hides his face after seeing DailyMail.com camera taking his photo
During a visit to Monte Cristo Rey with law enforcement, DailyMail.com heard someone hurrying away as we approached. The person, probably a smuggler, left a backpack behind.
Border Patrol agents venture into the trails of Monte Cristo Rey to try to round up a group of illegal immigrants
Throughout the year, Mount Cristo Rey is visited by locals who mostly just go hiking.
From time to time, smugglers who normally leave U.S. citizens alone assault and beat American hikers, taking their phones and any valuables they may have on them, according to the Sunland Park Fire Department, which responds to ensuing emergency calls.
The real horrors befall migrants in the mountains, where women are regularly raped, beaten and stripped.
A man who lives at the foot of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park told DailyMail.com he has witnessed incredible things from his home.
Although he asked not to use his name because of his proximity to the mountain, he says illegal immigrants knock on his door from time to time.
Sometimes they just want water or food, but sometimes they don’t have clothes.
“The other morning, it was early, like 7 a.m., someone rang the doorbell and there was a completely naked woman standing there. She was bleeding everywhere. I can only imagine what happened to her up there,” he said, pointing to Mount Cristo Rey.
“I woke up my wife and we got her some clothes. We called 911. Border Patrol came and picked her up.”
Locals living in the shadow of the religious shrine turned drug trafficking hub find it difficult to understand why immigrants are willing to pay such a high price to enter the United States illegally.
“I don’t know why they’re taking such risks. Maybe if I were them I would do it too, or maybe not. I guess we’ll never know because we were born here. It’s hard to say what we would do in their place.”
A view of the border wall from the top of Mount Cristo Rey