National Guard to be deployed to Española, second NM city to see military presence - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s National Guard Adjutant General announced Monday that guardsmen will soon be deployed to Española, a town of roughly 10,000 people in Northern New Mexico whose leaders recently asked for state help dealing with a crime, drug and housing crisis.
Española will be the second New Mexico city to receive National Guard troops. Albuquerque, the state’s biggest city, has seen a monthslong troop deployment in support of the Albuquerque Police Department.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham authorized the deployments to both cities in emergency orders that cite rising crime and short-staffed law enforcement agencies. The governor’s Aug. 13 emergency order for the Española area authorized National Guard deployments, along with funding for emergency housing or healthcare help. Her office stressed at the time that there were no imminent plans to deploy National Guard troops to Española.
According to the executive order, police calls in the Española area have doubled in the last two years, and police dispatches to businesses have quadrupled in that same period. She also cited Rio Arriba County’s high overdose death rate, “with residents struggling with addiction to fentanyl and other illicit substances.” Lujan Grisham’s order also authorized $750,000 in emergency spending. Last week, the state health department reported Rio Arriba County is one of three in Northern New Mexico with surging overdose deaths and overdose emergency room visits.
While the decision has now been made to send them, the number of troops, as well as their assignment, is still being determined, Miguel Aguilar told Source New Mexico on Monday after presenting in Albuquerque to the interim Courts, Corrections and Criminal Justice committee of the Legislature.
“We don’t even know what the number is going to be,” Aguilar told Source. “It’s just a matter of what the scope is.”
Aguilar and Española Police Chief Mizel Garcia presented to the committee to answer questions about the role the guard could play in Española and elsewhere, and to address swirling controversy about President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities, including Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
Aguilar said his troops’ presence in Albuquerque since April has freed up Albuquerque police to make more arrests. The National Guard has taken some administrative tasks off police officers’ hands, including compiling case files for prosecutors, directing traffic and monitoring surveillance cameras.
Garcia said the guard will be useful in his town, assisting an under-staffed police department in some form. But he acknowledged that their deployment could face public opposition.
“My biggest concern right now is fear,” he said. “Because of the cultural background that we have in Espanola, there’s always been a fear of the National Guard coming in.”
He said he and his staff had multiple community meetings in recent weeks, in which they sought to reassure the community that police and the guard are working together “as a team.”
Garcia said the troops’ arrival could occur as soon as early October.
Several lawmakers said they were concerned about the prospect of an expanded military presence in New Mexico communities, especially given Trump’s use of the guard.
Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) said defining a mission for the guard’s deployment in Española is vital, as is more clarity about who is in charge and who is accountable.
“I’m currently not understanding the strategy, even looking to Albuquerque as a way in which I can try to understand what’s going to happen in Española,” she said.
The committee invited Naureen Shah, an expert and attorney for the national American Civil Liberties Union, to lay out her concerns about civil rights for civilians who are increasingly interacting with domestic military forces.
She said that, while she does not pretend to understand all the local forces that might be used to justify the guard’s presence in New Mexico, deploying the guard here gives Trump cover.
“This administration wants to be able to deploy the military at the president’s whim as a tool against his political opponents,” she said. “And the more that happens at a state level, the more it normalizes it for the Trump administration.”
More candidates join 2nd Congressional District race - Cathy Cook, Albuquerque Journal
Voters won’t be able to cast ballots in the 2nd Congressional District race until next year, but the field of candidates has begun to expand.
Incumbent Democrat Gabe Vasquez officially launched his reelection campaign over the weekend, and a retired Albuquerque police detective, Greg Cunningham, is the second Republican planning to enter the race, joining radio station owner Eddy Aragon.
Historically, the 2nd Congressional District is the most competitive of the state’s three districts. It encompasses much of southern New Mexico, but also reaches north into Albuquerque’s South Valley. Aragon and Cunningham both live in Albuquerque, while Vasquez calls Las Cruces home.
The district was redrawn in 2021 to include less of conservative-leaning eastern New Mexico and add part of Albuquerque, over Republican Party objections. The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the congressional map after a lower court found it constitutional, saying it fell short of “egregious” gerrymandering.
The seat was solidly Republican from the 1980s into the 2000s, but has swung from red to blue to red to blue in recent years — a trend broken when Vasquez won a second term in 2024.
Vasquez kicked off his reelection campaign Saturday with stops up and down Interstate 25, traveling from Albuquerque to Mesilla.
“From protecting public lands, funding critical infrastructure projects, funding local police departments and fighting to lower health care costs, I’m proud of the wins I’ve delivered, and I’m just getting started,” Vasquez said in a statement.
Cunningham confirmed he plans to run, but has not officially announced or filed yet. The Marine Corps veteran previously ran for state House District 29 in 2022 and 2024, losing twice to Democratic incumbent Joy Garratt.
“It breaks my heart to see the state I love continue to struggle with deep poverty, out of control crime, and a broken education system,” Cunningham said in a statement.
Aragon announced his campaign, with a focus on American exceptionalism, in May.
Vasquez has raised $878,630 for his reelection campaign, spent $291,696 and has more than $626,000 cash on hand, according to a June campaign finance report.
Aragon has raised $3,214, spent $126 and has just over $3,000 cash on hand, according to his June campaign finance report.
Imposter nurse nearly kills Albuquerque patient with fatal morphine dose - Josh Lee, nm.news
An Albuquerque woman has been indicted on multiple felony counts after allegedly impersonating a licensed nurse and providing care at two hospice facilities, where she worked directly with vulnerable patients. In one instance, she nearly killed a patient with a fatal dose of morphine.
According to the New Mexico Department of Justice (NM DOJ) and court filings, Evelyn Hernandez allegedly stole the identity of a registered nurse and used the fraudulent credentials to gain employment at two Albuquerque hospices, Hospice de La Luz and Luna Del Valle Hospice. Both of the hospices are privately operated by for-profit companies providing end-of-life care. Their role in hiring Hernandez is unclear, but the indictment does not accuse the companies of any criminal wrongdoing.
Hernandez’s actions could have had deadly consequences if she hadn’t been caught. Prosecutors specifically highlighted an incident in which she mis-transcribed a physician’s morphine order in a way that could have resulted in a fatal overdose.
Authorities are charging Hernandez with multiple offenses, including fraudulent nursing practice, identity theft, forgery and abuse of a resident. Each of these counts carries the potential for prison time.
The NM DOJ hasn’t released the total number of patients that were treated by Hernandez during her employment, and the indictment doesn’t state whether any patients were injured. Investigators continue to review Hernandez’s employment history to determine if other facilities might have been affected.
New Mexico law requires health facilities to ensure that all practicing nurses are properly licensed by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. In this case, the verification system appears to have failed. Both hospices involved had previously undergone surveys by the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH), which includes a review of hiring processes. Despite those oversight mechanisms, Hernandez was still able to obtain employment.
The DOJ’s charges make clear that Hernandez alone is facing criminal liability, but they also show how corporate employers and regulatory agencies can become unwitting enablers when verification systems fail.
“Our company followed all state and federal protocols to verify this individual’s credentials, but unfortunately, the identification documents provided were fraudulent,” says Larry D. Nabb, CEO of Jet Health, the company that operates Hospice de La Luz. “The moment we uncovered the deception, we immediately removed her from duty and reported the matter to state regulators and law enforcement. She worked only a few days, always under supervision as she was still in her introductory period, and at no time was patient safety at risk.”
The case is now proceeding through the state criminal court system. Hernandez faces multiple felony counts, and if convicted, she could face years in prison.
Luna Del Valle Hospice did not respond to a request for comment.
A 2023 federal investigation code-named “Operation Nightingale” uncovered fraudulent activities involving a number of Florida nursing schools that issued thousands of fake nursing diplomas and transcripts between 2016 and 2021.
Governor touts New Mexico’s lower methane numbers, but state still falling short on 2030 climate goal - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s stricter methane rules for oil and gas companies mean the state’s emissions are half of releases from neighboring Texas, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced in a news conference Monday, alongside environmental advocates.
“We know that methane is what creates global warming, faster than any of our other carbon issues on the planet. So if you’re gonna make an impact, this is where you must make it,” Lujan Grisham said.
Satellite data showed 1.2% of natural gas escaping into the atmosphere relative to the total amount produced and sold in New Mexico — a measure called methane intensity— compared to 3.1% in Texas.
The results are “striking,” Environmental Defense Fund Energy Transition Associate Vice President Jon Goldstein said during the news conference.
“It’s the clearest evidence yet that regulations are working,” he noted. “The state’s efforts to put sensible requirements in place to limit methane emissions from oil and gas development are having a marked impact on pollution on the state.”
Methane is a colorless, odorless gas and a significant driver of climate change as it is 28 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. New Mexico passed rules in 2021 and 2022 to require producers to track and capture 98% of the gases. The EPA issued additional rules under the Biden Administration, which President Donald Trump has vowed to roll back, prompting pushback from states, including New Mexico.
Lujan Grisham said she hopes the state can be a leader on the issue, as the federal government moves to implement more regulations cuts for industry.
“I don’t have a good ready statement except that I believe New Mexico won’t be one of those places that can be strong-armed to do the wrong thing for the people that we serve,” she said.
But the findings — which include data collected by nine satellites and validated by the Environmental Defense Fund — still show that New Mexico is projected to have higher greenhouse gas emissions than its 2030 goals set forth in an executive order issued by Lujan Grisham in 2019.
Efforts to enshrine those goals into law in recent sessions have failed, and the Lujan Grisham administration is running out of time to pass them, given the 2026 30-day session will be the last of her second term.
The Environmental Defense Fund noted that New Mexico’s methane emission rate is still “appreciably high,” and that additional efforts would need to be in place to reduce emissions. Oil and gas production in the Permian Basin has more than doubled since 2020.
Lujan Grisham acknowledged that “we are seeing a drastic reduction in our greenhouse gases methane, but it’s not where we have to be by 2030.”
New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said the state would work with EDF to close the 9% gap and meet the 2030 emissions reduction goal.
“This partnership, this ability to work together, to develop the science, to work with regulators, to then implement what we’re learning will show that there is not a lack of leadership around climate in the United States – it’s actually happening within the states,” he said.