Smugglers use "camouflage" ladders to cross border wall

Smugglers in Juárez have engineered camouflage hook-and-ladders made of rebar that blend in so well with the border wall that it can be hard to detect, according to U.S. Border Patrol. The ladders are the same rust brown color as the mesh panels or steel beams of the fence.

El Paso’s urban stretch of border is littered with the rusted rebar ladders at the base on both sides — ladders lying in wait on the Mexican side, ladders pulled down by border agents or abandoned by smugglers on the U.S. side. One of the rebar ladders was poking out of a dumpster in a lot near the Chihuahuita neighborhood on Thursday.

“Somebody is making money off those ladders,” said Agent Joe Romero, pointing to a mangled version tossed in the dirt on the U.S. side. “The agents pulled it off the wall and cut it up so it can’t be used again.”