NM leaders demand answers from DEA on agency's tactics in fentanyl investigation - Nakayla McClelland, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico’s congressional delegation on Thursday called for an explanation following reports that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents knowingly allowed fentanyl to flood the state’s streets.
U.S. Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vasquez and Teresa Leger Fernández, all Democrats, called on DEA administrator Terry Cole, who was appointed in July 2025, to provide an immediate briefing on the agency's "latest efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking in New Mexico" following a wiretap investigation conducted in the state.
"Introducing high quantities of fentanyl into communities where drug abuse is prevalent is a highly dangerous and volatile approach," Vasquez said in statement. "I'm demanding answers from the DEA to understand exactly how this operation went down, who approved it and what results, if any, it yielded."
In a letter sent Thursday to Cole, the three lawmakers asked the DEA to answer a series of questions within 30 days, including how many arrests were made in New Mexico and how the agency justifies allowing drugs to enter the state.
The delegation also asked whether DEA agents remain in New Mexico and whether the agency has taken any action in response to a recent whistleblower complaint about the DEA allowing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to flow through the state without seizure, among other questions.
"The law enforcement technology and drug interdiction resources our delegation has supported for years are meant to stop fentanyl from reaching our families — not let it through,” Leger Fernández said. “New Mexicans deserve answers."
The request comes a day after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she had asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate whether federal agents violated state laws by allowing fentanyl to remain on the streets.
New Mexico officials at every level of government have since demanded answers from the DEA about its decision to "walk" fentanyl as part of a statewide drug investigation.
Stansbury, joined by New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez, held a virtual news conference Thursday to announce plans to ask members of Congress and the House Oversight Committee to investigate what she called a "gut punch." Martínez said he was not surprised.
"I was not shocked," he said. "This is a classic textbook case of a failed war on drugs. When you hear folks peddle 'all crime, all the time,' remember where some of these real sources of crime are coming from. And in this case, it might have been the federal government."
During the news conference, Stansbury said nearly every New Mexican has been affected by the opioid crisis, including her own family. She said she lost a family member to a fentanyl overdose in the spring of 2025.
“I myself have lost multiple family members and friends to the opioid crisis, and I can't even wrap my mind around the idea that federal law enforcement may have been responsible for some of the pills that hit the streets in New Mexico,” she said.
DEA asks watchdog to investigate claims that agents permitted fentanyl to hit the streets - By Jim Mustian, Associated Press
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday asked the U.S. Justice Department's internal watchdog to investigate a whistleblower's claims that DEA agents permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to hit the streets of New Mexico.
The request came days after an Associated Press investigation found agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — major shipments of the synthetic opioid in a bid to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025.
In a letter sent Thursday to the U.S. Justice Department's Inspector General, DEA administrator Terry Cole wrote that an internal probe was necessary because "the allegations have generated significant public attention and have raised questions regarding DEA's operational decisions, supervisory oversight, and response to concerns."
Cole wrote in a public statement that his request "should not be interpreted as reflecting any lack of confidence in the professionalism or integrity of DEA personnel or in the investigative decisions made during this matter."
"If improvements are identified, DEA will implement them," he added. "Strong institutions are sustained — not diminished — by objective oversight and a willingness to continuously assess and improve."
Current and former DEA agents told the AP the investigative strategy — known as letting the counterfeit painkillers "walk" — amounted to a gamble with public safety in a state ravaged by the fentanyl epidemic and may have violated Justice Department rules intended to safeguard communities from a drug the White House last year designated as a " weapon of mass destruction."
The AP investigation cited three current and former agents and government records, including an internal report of a 2023 delivery of 74,000 pills the DEA watched happen at a mobile home park in Albuquerque. One of those agents, David Howell, first raised serious concerns about this strategy in a 2023 whistleblower complaint. He continued to raise his objections internally and spoke at length with the AP about what he described as a strategy that "poisoned our community to make cases."
In an earlier statement to AP, a DEA spokesperson said "public descriptions suggesting that DEA knowingly permitted fentanyl to reach communities are false and fundamentally mischaracterize the facts."
The DEA's request for the watchdog investigation came just a day after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked the state's attorney general to examine whether the agency's actions violated New Mexico law, an extraordinary challenge to a federal law enforcement agency at a time when fentanyl remains one of the country's deadliest public health threats.
"There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were," Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway."
The Justice Department said in a statement that it welcomes a partnership with New Mexico leaders to keep the state safe.
"Protecting the public requires more than addressing individual transactions as they occur," the statement said. "It requires identifying the sources of supply, the individuals directing criminal activity and the organizations responsible for moving dangerous drugs into our communities."
Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico, meanwhile, sent Cole a letter asking for a briefing on the DEA's tactics in the state.
"New Mexicans are paying the price for a fentanyl epidemic that is tearing families apart and deserve answers," U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury said in a statement. "At a time when overdose deaths continue to devastate our state and communities, the DEA should be focused on stopping these drugs before they reach our streets — period."
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Associated Press reporter Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.
NM fire victims’ lawyer on ‘short list’ for Haaland’s endorsement for lieutenant governor - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Antonia Roybal-Mack, an attorney who has represented hundreds of northern New Mexico wildfire victims, is on the “short list” of candidates gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland is considering endorsing to join her on the Democratic ticket, Roybal-Mack told Source NM on Thursday.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who handily won the Democratic primary election for lieutenant governor earlier this month, announced last week that she was “suspending” her campaign for unspecified health reasons. She officially withdrew from the race Thursday, according to Secretary of State’s Office records.
The New Mexico Democratic Party has announced that it is seeking to replace Toulouse Oliver on the ticket through a vote of its State Central Committee, and Haaland said she is interviewing candidates for a potential endorsement, as well.
Roybal-Mack said she sat for an interview with Haaland’s team Thursday morning and will speak with Haaland directly if she makes it to the next round.
She said Haaland’s team told her she was on a list with four other candidates Haaland is considering for an endorsement, one that marks a “short list” drawn from a pool of more than a dozen candidates.
Hannah Menchoff, Haaland’s spokesperson, confirmed to Source NM the four others on the list are state Sens. Leo Jaramillo (D-Española) and Harold Pope (D-Albuquerque), who ran against Toulouse Oliver in the June 2 primary; as well as New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard and Sonya Smith, a former Department of Veterans Services cabinet secretary who also ran briefly in the Democratic primary for the secretary of state’s office.
All but Smith have publicly announced their hopes to replace Toulouse Oliver on the ticket. Smith did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment Thursday.
As an attorney who has never run for public office, Roybal-Mack said she was surprised when a Democratic party leader — whom she declined to name — approached her last week and asked if she’d be interested in running to join Haaland, but she believes she would be a good fit.
“I think I’m definitely the unknown candidate. I’m not the party insider,” she said. “But I think one of the things I told [Haaland’s team], and I say openly, is I fight for things I love, and I would fight for New Mexico.”
Roybal-Mack, through her firm Roybal, Mack & Cordova, has been one of the main attorneys representing victims of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire who are seeking compensation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA is overseeing a $5.45 billion fund that is paying out claims for damages from the 2022 wildfire, which the Forest Service ignited through botched prescribed burns.
Democratic Party of New Mexico spokesperson Daniel Garcia told Source NM on Thursday that the party and its State Central Committee are still far from a decision on who will replace Toulouse Oliver. He said that the party has provided several interested Democrats with application forms to be considered for the State Central Committee ballot, but that anyone else who is interested is still welcome to apply.
The party announced Thursday afternoon that the vote to replace Toulouse Oliver will take place July 25.
Haaland’s team told Roybal-Mack not to publicly discuss the questions they asked her during her meeting Thursday, she said, though she did disclose one:
“The hardest question they asked was, ‘red or green?” Roybal-Mack said. “I said ‘blue,” because I want to run on the Democratic ticket.”
Slate of Forward Party candidates file to run in general election, but ballot spots not certain yet - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico voters could have some additional choices this fall.
A slate of five candidates from the Forward Party, the state’s newest political party, filed paperwork Thursday to run in the state’s general election in November.
The Forward Party candidates include Bob Perls, a former Democratic state legislator who is seeking to run against incumbent U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a first-term Democrat. Republican Larry Marker of Roswell is also vying for the seat.
Other Forward Party candidates include former Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, who filed to run for Santa Fe County magistrate judge. Montoya previously has run as both a Democrat and a Republican.
However, the candidates who filed to run for office Thursday are not guaranteed a spot on the ballot. That’s because the Secretary of State’s Office has until June 30 to determine whether candidates meet the necessary criteria for certification.
Despite filing paperwork to run, Perls said he and Forward Party state auditor candidate Michael Vigil of Albuquerque likely would fall short of a daunting voter signature requirement for independent and minor party candidates running for statewide office.
He said a condensed time to gather signatures and technical issues with the online voter petition forms used by the Secretary of State’s Office made it difficult for the signature threshold to be reached.
But Perls said the new party remains undeterred, saying, “People are deeply disgusted with the two-party system and really want options.”
He also said the Forward Party plans to recruit at least 12 legislative candidates in 2028, after several potential House candidates backed out this year.
The Forward Party was certified as a minor party in New Mexico last month after party leaders submitted more than 5,500 voter signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Party leaders have said they hope to capitalize on disillusionment with the political status quo, especially among younger voters, by offering an alternative that’s focused on data-driven policies and fair government.
Meanwhile, more than 20 independents also filed to run Thursday, including one candidate for U.S. Senate and three candidates for governor.
The list of independent gubernatorial candidates includes former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who recently filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s voter signature requirements.
While a state district court judge in Santa Fe declined to issue an immediate order relaxing the ballot access requirements, Miyagishima’s lawyer has said he plans to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court.
There are currently no independents who hold statewide office or legislative seats in New Mexico, even though independents — or those who decline to state a party affiliation — now make up more than 26% of the state’s 1.4 million registered voters.
Vote recounts ordered in four tightly contested New Mexico primary races - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico officials have closed the books on this year’s primary election cycle — with the exception of a few hotly contested races.
The State Canvassing Board certified the results of the June 2 election on Tuesday, while ordering recounts in four races that featured narrow enough vote margins to trigger an automatic recount under state law.
Those races include a three-way Republican primary contest for the state House District 66 seat currently held by Rep. Jimmy Mason, R-Artesia, who is one of six incumbent lawmakers not seeking reelection. The two top vote-getters in the race — Leanne Gandy and Dan Lewis — were separated by just eight votes after the initial round of vote-counting.
The three other recounts are: A race for Taos magistrate judge, a McKinley County Commission contest and a Cibola County probate judge race. All three of those contests featured Democratic candidates.
The vote recounting will begin next week, and the State Canvassing Board will meet to certify the results in the four races once the process is complete, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office said Wednesday.
Under New Mexico law, automatic vote recounts are triggered when the margin between the two top vote-getters in a race is particularly close. The specific margin varies by the office sought.
In all, 346,460 voters around New Mexico cast ballots in this year’s primary election — an increase of nearly 112,000 voters from the 2024 primary election, according to official results.
However, the overall turnout percentage of 24.6% was only slightly higher than the turnout rate from two years ago. That's because the overall pool of eligible voters was significantly larger this year due to the implementation of a semi-open primary system that allowed independent voters to cast ballots without having to select a party affiliation.
More than 38,000 independent voters ended up voting in the primary election — or about 10% of the total number of registered independent voters statewide.
Under New Mexico’s election code, initial vote tallies are reviewed by county clerks and then certified by county canvassing boards. Those results are then further scrutinized by the Secretary of State’s Office before being approved by the state canvassing board.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who recently announced her decision to suspend her campaign for lieutenant governor, lauded the integrity of this year’s primary election.
“Together, we not only had a great election, but we also successfully transitioned to a semi-open primary and piloted modernization efforts to same-day voter registration and the write-in tabulation process,” Toulouse Oliver said in a statement.
The three-member State Canvassing Board includes the secretary of state, the governor and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
Santa Fe National Forest closure order for McCauley Springs area expected as fire surpasses 300 acres – Santa Fe New Mexican
The McCauley Springs Fire continues to burn in the Jemez Mountains. The blaze has burned more than 300 acres.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the U.S. Forest Service is "in the process of preparing" a closure order for the area of the fire near Battleship Rock.
The blaze has prompted evacuations and campsite and trail closures near Battleship Rock and the Jemez Falls Campground.
N.M. Road 4 remained closed Thursday from mile marker 27, near Sulphur Creek Road, to mile marker 40, near the Jemez Falls Campground.
The Sierra de los Pinos community and the Jemez Falls Campground remain under evacuation orders. Residents have been encouraged to go to evacuation centers at Jemez Mountain Baptist Church and the Jemez Valley Senior Center near La Cueva.
Stage 2 fire restrictions will go into effect for the Santa Fe National Forest on Friday.
Stage 2 fire restrictions, which the Forest Service plans to implement Friday, prohibit building or using a fire, including a campfire or stove fire; smoking; using fireworks or explosives; operating certain combustion engines; and using a motor vehicle off-road, except when parking in an area free of vegetation within 10 feet of the road.
400 Cerro residents, 1 month without water – Taos News
In Taos County, the unincorporated community of Cerro has been without water for almost a month.
The Taos News reports the water outage is due to the failure of the town’s primary well.
The community north of Questa, is home to about 80 households and about 400 residents. They’ve been relying on emergency water deliveries in the meantime.
District 42 Rep. Kristina Ortez told the Taos News that a secondary well connected to Cerro’s primary water system could be a solution.
Cerro’s main well was drilled in 1941 and has had failures in the past. A secondary well was drilled in 2008 as a backup.
To be used, the 2008 well must be tested for contaminants and become an approved drinking water source under the New Mexico Environment Department.
Testing is now underway and could take up to 25 days to complete.