America's most dangerous mountain, where Mexican cartels now have TOTAL control: 'It's like a scene out of Sicario'

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.'

A view of Mount Cristo Rey as seen from the western side in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Here, the federal border wall ends where the mountain begins

With an elevation of 4,675 feet, Mount Cristo Rey is located where Texas, New Mexico and Mexico meet

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.

The terrain is reminiscent of a scene right of the Hollywood movie 'Sicario' (pictured)

A 26-foot limestone statue of Jesus Christ sits at the summit of the mountain

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. 

Illegal immigrants trek through the hills of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico

Migrants being smuggled into the US crouch down to keep Border Patrol from seeing them

Illegal immigrants climb back up the hills of Mount Cristo Rey after deciding their opportunity to sneak into the US would be foiled by Border Patrol 

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.

A young smuggler hides his face after he spots DailyMail.com camera taking his picture

On a tour of Mount Cristo Rey with law enforcement, DailyMail.com heard someone scurrying away as we approached. The person, likely a smuggler, left behind a backpack

Border Patrol agents venture into the trails of Mount Cristo Rey to try to corral a group of illegal immigrants

Throughout the year, Mount Cristo Rey is visited by locals who are mostly just hiking.

From time to time, smugglers who normally leave US citizens alone, will mug and beat US hikers - taking their phones and any valuables they may have with them, according to the Sunland Park Fire Department, which answers the consequent emergency calls.

The true horrors happen to migrants in the mountain, where women are regularly raped, beaten and stripped naked. 

A man who lives at the bottom of Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park told DailyMail.com he has witnessed unbelievable things from his house.

While he asked not to use his name, due to his proximity to the mountain, he says illegal immigrants will knock on his door from time time.

Sometimes they just want water or food, but sometimes they have no clothes. 

'The other morning, it was early, like 7 a.m. Someone rang the doorbell and there was a completely naked woman standing here. She was bleeding all over. I can only imagine what had 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 got her.'

Locals who live in the shadow of the religious shrine turned cartel hotbed, have a hard time understanding why are migrants are willing to pay such a high price to get into the US illegally.

'I don't know why they risk so much. Maybe if I were them, it would do it, too-- or maybe I wouldn't. I guess we'll never know since we're born here. It's hard to say what we would do in their shoes.'

A view of the border wall from the top of Mount Cristo Rey