New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced Friday that his office is launching a criminal investigation into allegations that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) knowingly allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach New Mexico communities.
The inquiry follows recent reports, including one from The Associated Press, detailing claims that DEA agents monitored, but did not seize, large fentanyl shipments between 2023 and 2025 while working to build broader criminal cases.
"The families who have lost children, siblings, and parents to fentanyl deserve the truth about what the federal government knew and what it failed to do," Torrez stated. "If the DEA stood by while poison flooded our communities, that is not a bureaucratic failure. It is a betrayal of the people it was sworn to protect."
The investigation aims to explore potential legal remedies, including criminal prosecution, civil litigation, and structural reforms to prevent similar conduct by DEA agents in the future. Torrez vowed to pursue every legal avenue to hold responsible parties accountable.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had previously called for an investigation, expressing dismay over the allegations. "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," Grisham said. "The result: hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids. Hundreds of New Mexican kids growing up without stable parents. All while the federal government stood by."
Grisham specifically referenced allegations that DEA agents observed the delivery of 74,000 fentanyl pills to an Albuquerque mobile home park without intervening.
Current and former DEA agents, including whistleblower David Howell, told the Associated Press that the agency's tactics gambled with public safety and may have contravened Department of Justice guidelines.
Initially, the DEA denied Howell's allegations to the AP. However, the agency later requested that the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent review. "Should that review identify areas of improvement, the DEA will of course implement changes to better their practices," the Justice Department said in a statement. "We welcome a partnership with Governor Lujan Grisham, as well as New Mexico state and local leaders, to fight the scourge of fentanyl and keep her constituents safe."
The reports of alleged DEA inaction emerged during the ongoing opioid epidemic, a period when the DEA has also led public awareness campaigns like "One Pill Can Kill," warning of the dangers of fentanyl.
