Just two days left to file notices of loss for Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Friday, March 14 marks the deadline to file an initial claim for damages from the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, a huge wildfire started by the United States Forest Service nearly three years ago.
Congress has extended the original November 2024 deadline twice, but has not given any indication it will be extended again. Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office officials are urging any last holdouts to apply for compensation before the deadline by filing what’s known as a “notice of loss.”
“If you know a friend, family member or neighbor who was impacted by the disaster and has not yet submitted a notice of loss, please encourage them to do so this week,” New Mexico Joint Recovery Office Director of Operations Jay Mitchell said in a statement. “The funds are available to help them rebuild, but they must take this first step before March 14.”
Congress awarded $5.45 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency with the goal of fully compensating people from the 534-square-mile wildfire that began as two botched prescribed burns on federal land. The wildfire in the Las Vegas and Mora area burned several hundreds of homes, and ushered in severe flooding that continues to cause damage.
The claims office offers compensation for homes and other property lost in the fire, as well as erosion and reforestation; smoke and ash cleaning; lost income and more. The office also provides flood insurance for structures for five years and conservation restoration plans for damage to land.
A federal judge late last year also ordered the office to pay people for so-called “noneconomic damages” from the fire, which could result in several hundred million dollars paid for the emotional harm of the blaze. The office could still appeal that ruling, however.
As of March 11, the office had paid more than 14,000 claims totaling nearly $2 billion, or about 36% of the total Congress awarded, according to the latest figures from the office. That leaves $3.45 billion, minus administrative costs, left for fire victims.
The amount awarded so far includes $1.53 billion awarded to individuals; $257 million for businesses; $104 million for governments and smaller amounts to tribal nations and nonprofits.
Those who wish to file an initial claim can do so online, by mail or email or in-person at one of three physical offices in and around the burn scar. Those offices will be open for extended hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday to process claims.
Officials stressed that the process can take less than 20 minutes and that fire victims don’t need to have all of their documentation in order before applying.
HOW TO SUBMIT A NOTICE OF LOSS:
- Download a copy here.
- Visit this website
- Send it to this email address
- Or mail it to this physical address:
- P.O. Box 1329, Santa Fe, NM 87504
- Or drop it off at any of these locations:
- 216 Mills Avenue, Las Vegas, NM 87701
- 1 Courthouse Drive, Mora, NM 87732
- 1711 Llano Street, Suite E, Santa Fe, NM 87505
Bernalillo County sheriff places another deputy on leave amid DWI corruption scandal - Matthew Reisen, Albuquerque Journal
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office has identified another deputy possibly tied to a long-running DWI corruption scheme.
Deputy Jeffry Bartram was placed on paid leave Friday after Sheriff John Allen "received information" from the FBI on the criminal investigation, according to deputy Deanna Aragon, a BCSO spokesperson.
Aragon said Allen recently started his own internal probe into BCSO's involvement in one of the largest public corruption cases to hit the state, in which law enforcement was being paid to let DWI cases get dismissed.
"The sheriff is being methodical and aggressive in his approach and is continuing to work with the FBI on this active and ongoing investigation," Aragon said in an email Wednesday.
Bartram is the third BCSO employee tied to the scheme, in which defense attorney Thomas Clear III and his paralegal Ricardo "Rick" Mendez, according to their plea agreements, paid officers and deputies to miss hearings and make other missteps so that Clear's clients went free.
Last month, BCSO Undersheriff Johann Jareno resigned after being interviewed by the FBI in the case and deputy Jeff Hammerel pleaded guilty, admitting he took bribes from Mendez and Clear.
Bartram has not been charged criminally in the corruption case.
Bartram joined BCSO in February 2010 and worked on BCSO's DWI unit from July 2014 to August 2020, Aragon said.
Court records show that Bartram had 20 DWI cases with Clear as the defense attorney between 2015 and 2020. Of those, at least 13 were dismissed, many due to Bartram not making interviews or hearings and at least one because he didn't turn over evidence.
In November 2019, Mothers Against Drunk Driving awarded the BCSO DWI unit — which included Jareno and Bartram — as "DWI unit of the year."
At least three Albuquerque officers have taken guilty pleas in the case, which Clear said in a plea agreement went back three decades.
The FBI's investigation came to light in January 2024 when agents raided the homes of several officers, Mendez’s home and Clear’s law office.
Since then, one New Mexico State Police officer has been placed on leave and, following an internal probe by the Albuquerque Police Department, more than a dozen APD officers have been placed on leave, 10 of whom have since resigned, retired or been fired.
NM Senate confirms DeBlassie as state Health Secretary - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
The New Mexico Senate Wednesday unanimously confirmed Gina DeBlassie as the newest secretary of the state Department of Health.
DeBlassie has served in the role on an interim basis since November, when former Sec. Patrick Allen stepped down.
In 2022, the secretary became a health policy advisor to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. In a statement, the Governor’s Office credited DeBlassie’s leadership in that role as, “instrumental in the establishment of the Health Care Authority and the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund.”
Lujan Grisham went on to say that, “Secretary DeBlassie will ensure that public health components remain firmly embedded in our approach,” and that she “will transform how we deliver healthcare services to all New Mexicans."
Prior to working with the governor, DeBlassie worked as chief operating officer for InnovAge, which the Governor’s Office characterized as “a national all-inclusive care for the elderly provider program.” She also briefly served as interim secretary of the state’s Aging and Long-term Services Department.
Testimony opens in Solomon Peña's political shootings trial - Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of Solomon Peña on federal charges alleging he orchestrated a string of shootings at the homes of Democratic elected officials following the 2022 election.
Federal prosecutors told jurors that Peña believed that a “rigged” election had robbed him of victory in a state contest, prompting him to respond with violence.
Peña’s attorney told jurors that the case against his client relies on the testimony of two men who bear full responsibility for the shootings and struck deals with prosecutors in exchange for favorable sentences.
“Solomon Peña had nothing whatsoever to do with it,” defense attorney Nicholas Hart said in opening statements.
Peña was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2023, alleging he “organized a shooting spree that targeted the homes of four elected officials and their families.”
The mix of election fraud conspiracies in the wake of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, combined with violence directed at elected Democratic politicians, made the case the focus of national media attention.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Cordova told jurors Tuesday that Peña paid and pressured Demetrio Trujillo, 42, and his son, Jose Trujillo, 24, to carry out the shooting attacks on the homes of the four elected officials in December 2022 and January 2023.
Both of the Trujillos pleaded guilty earlier this year to multiple federal charges and face sentences of up to life in prison. Neither man has been scheduled for a sentencing hearing.
Cordova also told jurors that Peña himself fired gunshots at the home of state Sen. Linda Lopez on Jan. 3, 2023, when bullets penetrated the bedrooms of both Lopez and her 10-year-old daughter as they slept.
“This time, (Peña) wanted to be the one who pulled the trigger,” Cordova said of the Lopez shooting in opening statements.
Peña, who has remained in federal custody since his arrest more than two years ago, appeared in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque dressed in a black suit, a white shirt and lavender-striped tie.
Peña faces 13 federal charges, including multiple felony counts of using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, including one count that alleges he discharged a machine gun.
He also faces charges of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, felon in possession of a firearm, four counts of interference with federally protected activities and conspiracy. Peña faces possible life in prison if convicted on all charges.
The trial is expected to continue through March 21 before U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs.
Peña allegedly conspired with the Trujillos to target the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, former commissioner Debbie O’Malley, House Speaker Javier Martínez and Lopez.
Demetrio Trujillo, wearing shackles and handcuffs and wearing a red-and-white striped prison uniform, testified Tuesday that Peña hired him to fire gunshots at the homes of Barboa and Martínez, paying Trujillo $700 per shooting.
“He just said to go by and shoot it up and record it and show him the video,” Trujillo said of the shootings. Peña texted him the addresses and Trujillo said he didn’t know at the time who lived in the homes.
He was accompanied by two friends, one of whom recorded the shootings on his cellphone, Trujillo testified. Peña appeared disappointed by the videos, he said.
“He said, ‘Next time, can’t you make it more aggressive?’” Trujillo said. “I felt he wanted to get somebody hurt by making that request.”
Trujillo said Peña tried to interest him in shooting up a third house, but Trujillo rejected the request. Instead, Peña turned to Trujillo’s son, Jose Trujillo, who participated in the shootings at the homes of O’Malley and Lopez, Demetrio Trujillo testified.
Jose Trujillo is expected to testify later in the trial.
Defense attorney Hart urged jurors to remain skeptical of the testimony of both Trujillos.
“It was Demetrio and Jose who were responsible for the shootings,” Hart told jurors. Both men still face sentencing and want favorable sentences in exchange for their testimony, he said.
Prosecutors countered that the Trujillos were largely uneducated and had no interest in politics. Only Peña had the motivation to take action against elected officials, Cordova told jurors.
Peña told two county commissioners that “the election was rigged and he was the real winner,” Cordova said.
Barboa testified Tuesday that Peña showed up at her door in November 2022 and claimed that fraud was responsible for his nearly 50-point loss in November 2022 to incumbent state Rep. Miguel P. Garcia, D-Albuquerque.
Peña compared his loss to that of President Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Barboa testified.
Peña told Barboa that he knew the election was rigged because he had campaigned door-to-door and had received assurances from thousands of voters that he would have their support.
Peña recorded his conversation with Barboa without her knowledge, she testified. Prosecutors played the recording for jurors Tuesday.
“It was rigged, it was rigged,” Peña told Barboa in the recording. Peña asked Barboa to provide him with election data that he said would prove that he had won the contest.
Steven Michael Quesada, a former Bernalillo County commissioner, said he had a similar conversation with Peña in November shortly before the commission certified the outcome of the November 2022 election.
Peña sent a text message to Quesada on Nov. 18, 2022, urging him to seek access to the Bernalillo County election data.
“You will instantly become a national hero,” Peña wrote in the text. “Me and my boys will provide armed security for you.”
Quesada said he didn’t take up Peña’s offer of armed protection in exchange for the election data.
“I’m good. I don’t need anybody to protect me,” Quesada testified.
Peña’s trial, originally scheduled in June 2024, has been dogged by delays, including the resignation of his previous attorney, Elizabeth Honce, resulting in the cancellation of his trial in September. Honce declined to say why she resigned from the case.
NM Land Commissioner Garcia Richard bans mineral mining in a portion of the Upper Pecos Watershed - By Source New Mexico
An executive order banning mineral mining on approximately 2,500 acres of state trust land in the Upper Pecos Watershed will remain in place through 2045 and takes effect immediately, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced on Wednesday.
“Some New Mexico landscapes are just too special to carve up with aggressive mineral development, and the Upper Pecos Watershed is one of those places,” Garcia Richard said in a statement. “Pueblos and traditional Hispanic communities have relied on the river and its watershed for everyday uses for centuries. It is as much a cultural landmark as it is a natural ecosystem. I view it as my duty to protect state lands that are part of such meaningful landscapes. The Upper Pecos Watershed continues be threatened by mining companies and federal policies that put it in the crosshairs. As I’ve made clear today with this executive order, those companies will not be welcome on these state lands under my watch.”
Last December, the U.S. Department of Interior proposed withdrawing close to 164,000 acres in the Upper Pecos Watershed from mineral mining. President Donald Trump upon taking office issued an executive order prioritizing mineral mining on federal lands and opening the door to rescinding existing bans.
The Bureau of Land Management recently postponed a meeting on a 20-year withdrawal of the Upper Pecos Watershed from mining, but will be taking comments through March 17.
That order includes the possibility of updating the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of critical minerals to include uranium. As Source recently reported, Cibola Forest supervisors recently told staff in a meeting that long-stalled uranium mining projects in the area are now a priority.
The Upper Pecos Watershed, the State Land Office news release notes, has experienced deleterious impacts from past mining activities, including a 1991 runoff from the Tererro and El Molino mine sites that killed more than 90,000 fish in the Pecos River.
Moreover, Australian mining company New World Resources has proposed exploratory drilling in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, including at the old Terrero mine and nearby deposits.
Local and state officials, farmers and environmental activists lauded Garcia Richard’s order.
“The Upper Pecos Watershed is the lifeblood of our communities, sustaining our acequias, our farms, our wildlife, and our way of life, Ralph Vigil, local acequia parciante and farmer said in a statement. “We have already seen the devastating consequences of irresponsible mining in this region, and our watershed is still healing from past contamination. This moratorium is crucial in protecting our water, our lands, and our cultural heritage for generations to come.”
This 'Dune' isn't fiction. It's the longest conveyer belt in the US and moving sand in Texas - By Julio Cortez and Nadia Lathan Associated Press/Report For America
It's longer than the width of Rhode Island, snakes across the oil fields of the southwest U.S. and crawls at 10 mph – too slow for a truck and too long for a train.
It's a new sight: the longest conveyer belt in America.
Atlas Energy Solutions, a Texas-based oil field company, has installed a 42-mile long conveyer belt to transport millions of tons of sand for hydraulic fracturing. The belt the company named "The Dune Express" runs from tiny Kermit, Texas, and across state borders into Lea County, New Mexico. Tall and lanky with lids that resemble solar modules, the steel structure could almost be mistaken for a roller coaster.
In remote West Texas, there are few people to marvel at the unusual machine in Kermit, a city with a population of less than 6,000, where the sand is typically hauled by tractor-trailers. During fracking, liquid is pumped into the ground at a high pressure to create holes, or fractures, that release oil. The sand helps keep the holes open as water, oil and gas flow through it.
But moving the sand by truck is usually a long and potentially dangerous process, according to CEO John Turner. He said massive trucks moving sand and other industrial goods are a common site in the oil-rich Permian Basin and pose a danger to other drivers.
"Pretty early on, the delivery of sand via truck was not only inefficient, it was dangerous," he said.
The conveyor belt, with a freight capacity of 13 tons, was designed to bypass and trudge alongside traffic.
Innovation isn't new to the oil and gas industry, nor is the idea to use a conveyor belt to move materials around. Another conveyer belt believed to be the world's longest conveyor — at 61 miles long — carries phosphorous from a mine in Western Sahara on the northwest coast of Africa, according to NASA Earth Observatory.
When moving sand by truck became a nuisance, an unprecedented and risky investment opportunity arose: constructing a $400 million machine to streamline the production of hydraulic fracturing. The company went public in March 2023, in part, to help pay for the conveyor belt and completed its first delivery in January, Turner said.
The sand sits in a tray-shaped pan with a lid that can be taken off at any point, but most of the it gets offloaded into silos near the Texas and New Mexico border. Along its miles-long journey, the sand is sold and sent to fracking companies who move it by truck for the remainder of the trip.
Keeping the rollers on the belt aligned and making sure it runs smoothly are the biggest maintenance obstacles, according to Turner. The rollers are equipped with chips that signal when its about to fail and need to be replaced. This helps prevent wear and tear and keep the machine running consistently, Turner said.
The belt cuts through a large oil patch where environmentalists have long raised concerns about the industry disturbing local habitats, including those of the sagebrush lizard, which was listed as an endangered species last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"In addition to that, we know that the sand will expedite further drilling nearby," said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas. "We could see more drilling than we otherwise would, which means more air pollution, more spills than we otherwise would."
The Dune Express currently runs for about 12 to 14 hours a day at roughly half capacity but the company expects to it to be rolling along at all hours later this year.
In New Mexico, Lea County Commissioner Brad Weber said he hopes the belt alleviates traffic on a parallel highway where car crashes are frequent.
"I believe it's going to make a very positive impact here," he said.
Oil Conservation Commission moves forward with PFAS rulemaking - Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
The New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission moved forward with a rulemaking Tuesday to prevent the use of PFAS chemicals in downhole oil and gas operations such as hydraulic fracturing.
After lengthy discussions, the state regulators approved a proposed rule with various changes based on commission deliberations, however that rule will not become official until the commissioners have a chance to further review it and issue an official order at a future meeting.
Commissioners went through the rule and looked at various definitions individually.
There were three proposals for what the PFAS rule should look like. These rules were drafted by WildEarth Guardians, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and the Oil Conservation Division.
The final rule will likely look different than any of those three proposals.
“I don’t think any one set of proposals encompasses where I would land,” Commissioner Greg Bloom said at the start of the meeting.
The rulemaking came as a result of a petition by the advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, which is concerned that the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in oil and gas operations could impact communities in the Permian and San Juan basins.
One of the areas debated during deliberations was whether companies should be required to disclose what chemicals are being used in oil and gas operations. Proponents of such a requirement say it is needed to ensure PFAS chemicals aren’t injected into the ground, but opponents say such requirements would violate the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
Bloom said NMOGA noted in its arguments that a type of PFAS chemical known as PTFE was used until 2020 and another PFAS chemical was used until 2015.
“The only reason we know about the use of these chemicals is because they were disclosed,” he said. “Had they been held as trade secrets, we would not have known anything about them.”
Bloom noted that there are thousands of types of PFAS chemicals and many of them have not undergone safety testing. He said if the rule is not implemented, those chemicals could be kept as trade secrets.
Commissioner William Ampomah was not convinced that such requirements wouldn’t violate the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.
“Let’s say if we force companies to more or less disclose entirely all the chemicals that they are going to use in the downhill operations, are we not in violation of the trade secret?” he asked.
Bloom argued that the Oil Conservation Commission would not be violating the law because “we would be saying that companies simply have to disclose the chemicals they’re using, and they can’t use anything that’s not disclosed.”
Commission Chairman Gerasimos Razatos said he also had concerns that the Oil Conservation Commission could be overstepping its authority, though he shared Bloom’s concerns that the PFAS chemicals used in oil and gas operations could impact public safety and the environment.
A representative from the New Mexico Department of Justice told commissioners that both sides laid out legal arguments and that there was not a black and white answer.
“We’re up here protecting health. We’re up here protecting the environment. And right now, the industry can pick any chemical, call it trade secret, and we have no idea it’s in use,” Bloom said. “I mean, there could be an entire new class of chemicals invented tomorrow that would be put into use and we wouldn’t know about it for lord knows how long until somebody decided to voluntarily disclose it to us.”
Ultimately, Razatos sided with Ampomah and said the chemical disclosure of all chemicals used in the oil and gas industry in New Mexico goes beyond the purview of the Oil Conservation Commission.
New Mexico measles expands into a second county - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico health officials reported a measles case in Eddy County Tuesday, the first infection detected beyond neighboring Lea County since the outbreak began in mid-February.
Lea County added two more cases, raising the reported infections there to 32. Neither county has reported any hospitalizations for measles.
“Any measles diagnosis is a concern, and we are watching every case closely,” NMDOH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham said in a statement. “We are heartened by the number of New Mexicans getting vaccinated in response to this outbreak.”
Since Feb. 1, nearly 9,000 New Mexicans have received a measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, compared to 5,342 statewide last year, according to NMDOH.
The growth in measles cases prompted U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), along with 11 other U.S. senators, on Tuesday to send a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding he launch a national vaccination campaign. As widely reported, during a recent interview on Fox News, Kennedy acknowledged that vaccines prevent infection, but also made various unfounded statements about the disease.
“As you have acknowledged, the measles vaccine is an important tool to protect children and contribute to community immunity against this life-threatening infection,” the letter from the senators said. “However, increasing vaccine misinformation and hesitancy has lowered vaccination rates, leading to outbreaks like we are seeing today.”
The letter also notes the first U.S. measles deaths in a decade.
Last week, NMDOH reported an unvaccinated Lea County adult tested positive for measles and died, but the cause of death remains under investigation, health officials said. The fatality followed the Feb. 26 death of a 6-year-old Texas child.
The letter goes on to assert that in order to combat the spread of measles effectively, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “must be operating at its top capacity. In addition to a measles vaccine campaign, the CDC must have the ability to collect and report measles case data on a timely basis, a robust public health workforce to assist in the response, and continue to make recommendations regarding vaccine use through its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.” The senators ask for a response on how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ “plan to help stop the spread of measles” by March 18.
The ongoing outbreak began in Gaines County, Texas, just across the state line from Lea County. Cases in Texas continue to rise, with health officials there reporting 223 cases, mostly in unvaccinated children.
Measles, one of the most contagious diseases in the world, spreads through contact with germs in the air from an infected person’s sneezes and coughs. People can spread infection days before symptoms appear. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that spreads over the body, but severe complications include pneumonia, brain swelling and even death. Approximately one in five measles cases becomes serious enough to require hospitalization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials say two doses of the measles vaccine offers the safest, most effective prevention.
“Really the only thing that can keep you safe from getting infected with measles, if you’re unvaccinated, is to get the vaccine,” said Dr. Melissa Mason, a pediatrician and chair of the immunization committee for the New Mexico Pediatric Society.
Children below the age of 6 months and immunocompromised people cannot get the vaccine.
Mason said the most common vaccination side effects — for both children and adults — include redness, soreness, swelling or a bump at the vaccine site. Children may experience a rash within the first weeks after receiving the vaccine.
“Sometimes kids may have a fever for the first 24 to 48 hours after receiving a vaccine,” she told Source NM. “But, by and large, the very most common side effects of getting that vaccine are either none or mild localized symptoms.
VACCINATION CLINIC INFORMATION
NMDOH requests that any questions about symptoms or vaccines be directed to the helpline at 1-833-796-8773, which is staffed by nurses to provide information in Spanish and English. Further information can be found online.
There are vaccine clinics scheduled at more than a dozen locations in coming days and weeks.
State fairgrounds discussion off BernCo agenda - By Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
A high profile item originally set for Tuesday’s Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners meeting has been removed from the agenda.
Commissioners were due to discuss the formation of a tax increment development district (TIDD) as part of possible updates to the state fairgrounds, but the item was pulled after supporters in the New Mexico Legislature changed direction regarding the funding source for the district.
The bill creating the special district would have authorized up to $1 billion in bonds for public infrastructure within its boundaries, secured by state gross receipts.
The county now awaits a master plan from the State of New Mexico for the 236-acre fairgrounds before proceeding, according to a news release. Once the master plan is completed, county commissioners retain the option to present and approve a TIDD using county funds to support redevelopment efforts at the fairgrounds.
“We want to ensure that any redevelopment at the state fairgrounds reflects the needs and desires of our community,” County Commission Vice Chair Adriann Barboa said. “It’s important that the state’s master plan is completed based on community input for true transparency and an aligned vision for the area before moving forward with a TIDD.”
The state General Services Department is expected to soon issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the creation of the master development plan.
Residents of the areas near the fairgrounds expressed their concerns last month about the future of the state fair at a special public meeting, many saying they don’t want the event moved.
ADVANCE NOTICE
Commissioners will consider some changes to their own meeting rules. A proposal from Chair Eric Olivas would see agendas for regular meetings published five days ahead of time.
Agendas for Tuesday meetings are required by law to be published by the previous Saturday. County officials generally post agendas the previous Friday. Olivas told City Desk ABQ that’s still not good enough.
“That’s not enough time for citizens to read it, much less weigh in,” Olivas said. “That’s barely enough time for commissioners to read it.”
A related proposal from Olivas would require two public hearings before final adoption of a resolution in most cases. Olivas said it bothers him that the commission can hear and pass legislation at the same meeting.
He said his proposal includes a provision that would permit suspension of the rules for a piece of legislation if four commissioners agree. That would allow the commission to move on urgent items, Olivas said.
“It’s a transparency/good government item for me,” Olivas said.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
WHEN: 5 p.m. March 11
WHERE: Ken Sanchez Commission Chambers in BernalilloCounty@Alvarado Square, 415 Silver Ave SW VIRTUAL: GOV-TV, on the county’s website or on Bernalillo County’s YouTube channel
Haaland reports millions in campaign donations in first month - By Andy Lyman, New Mexico Political Report
Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has raised more than $2 million in campaign contributions for her run for governor, according to her campaign.
In a Tuesday press release, Haaland’s campaign said she raised the money from more than 30,000 donors from across the state who donated on average $43 per contribution.
The announcement comes about a week after Haaland finished her statewide campaign announcement tour. According to her campaign she met with thousands of supporters.
“As I traveled the state, it’s clear that New Mexicans are ready to elect someone who has their back and will tackle our challenges head-on,” Haaland said in a statement. “In every position I’ve held, I’ve worked to change the system and I’ll bring that experience to the governor’s office. I’m honored to have widespread and grassroots support of New Mexicans who share my vision for our state.”
Even though the 2026 gubernatorial election is more than a year away and statewide candidates won’t officially become candidates until they file paperwork next spring, early candidates such as Haaland are still required to report spending and contributions each quarter.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham reported more than $12 million dollars in contributions during her second run for the state office in 2022.
Haaland, who represented New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District before former President Joe Biden appointed her to his cabinet, has garnered endorsements from the state’s entire congressional delegation, with the exception of U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich. Aside from a long list of local politicians, Haaland also received endorsements from high profile Democratic members of Congress including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell from California.
U.S. deports three Venezuelans held at Otero County Processing Center - By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Content warning: This story discusses suicidal ideation.
The United States last month deported three Venezuelan men who had been held in immigration detention in New Mexico back to their home country after they successfully convinced a federal judge to block their transfer to the notorious military prison at Guantánamo Bay.
Each of the three men fled Venezuela, sought asylum from the U.S. and passed an initial Credible Fear Interview with federal asylum officers by establishing a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home countries. However, they were held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention because of a political dispute between the two countries.
The case began in September 2024 when the men first challenged the legality of their detention at the Otero County Processing center in Chaparral, N.M. with help from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
President Donald Trump on Jan. 29 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Defense to expand the Migrant Operations Center in the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay “to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.”
Following Trump’s orders, the U.S. diverted hundreds of troops to Guantánamo to start setting up a tent city for detained migrants, according to the New York Times.
On Feb. 9, the trio’s attorneys recounted how their clients, upon seeing the news coverage of the first Guantánamo flights, personally recognized several detainees who had also been held at Otero.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Kenneth Gonzales on Feb. 9 blocked the transfer of all three men to Guantánamo, and less than 24 hours later, the U.S. deported them to Venezuela, according to the detained migrants’ attorneys.
The case’s conclusion comes as the New Mexico Legislature debates a proposal to prohibit state agencies and local governments from entering into agreements used to detain people for violations of civil immigration law in Otero and two facilities like it.
All three petitioners on Feb. 14 voluntarily dismissed their case against Otero County Processing Center Warden Dora Castro “in light of their deportation to Venezuela.”
Nonetheless, their attorneys wrote that the damage from their unlawfully prolonged detention remains. Each of them were held for more than a year in total, and “endured dismal conditions in detention that will leave lasting scars on them and their families.”
Detention center officials placed one of the men into solitary confinement in retaliation from a hunger strike in protest of ICE’s plans to deport them to Mexico.
Detention’s emotional and psychological toll led the men to suffer depression, anxiety, loss of appetite and suicidal ideation, the attorneys wrote. One harmed himself and was admitted into a psychiatric facility in January, they wrote.
Their fears and anxiety were made worse in early February when they began to confront the threat that they could be sent to Guantánamo, the attorneys wrote.
“I fear being taken to Guantánamo because the news is painting it as a black hole… I also see that human rights are constantly violated at Guantánamo, so I fear what could happen to me if I get taken there,” said petitioner Abrahan Barrios Morales, in an affidavit attached to the petition.
The company running the migrant detention center at Guantánamo has faced critical audits and a civil rights complaint over conditions at three other facilities it runs in the U.S., according to The Guardian newspaper.
Their flight marked the first deportation flight from the U.S. to Venezuela in over a year, according to the Associated Press. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement El Paso Field Office in March 2024 paused deportation flights to Venezuela, apparently stemming from an oil sanctions dispute.
Attorneys for the trio who were held in Otero wrote in the dismissal notice that with thousands of Venezuelans held in the U.S. awaiting removal, it’s hard to imagine that they would have been put at the front of the line for deportation “if they had not filed this habeas action, and courageously challenged the executive branch’s reprehensible and legally unsupportable decision” to start shipping detained migrants to Guantánamo and holding them there incommunicado.
Another pending case aims to block the removal of 10 other men who are nationals of Venezuela, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, are held in neighboring Arizona and Texas and fear that they’re at risk of being taken to Guantánamo.