New Mexico's governor is demanding answers after an investigation revealed Drug Enforcement Administration agents allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to flood the state's streets over a two-year period, a decision she called "reckless and dangerous" in a state devastated by overdose deaths.
Background
The crisis traces back to 2023, when federal agents began using a controversial enforcement strategy: rather than seizing drug shipments immediately, DEA agents allowed them to continue moving through New Mexico while building cases against larger trafficking organizations. An Associated Press investigation found this practice continued through 2025, with agents surveilling massive fentanyl shipments without interception.
The timing could not be more devastating for a state still reeling from addiction. While overdose deaths nationwide fell 14% last year, New Mexico saw a 21% spike in fatalities — many attributed to the synthetic opioid that the White House has designated as a "weapon of mass destruction."
Current and former DEA agents speaking to AP described the strategy as a calculated gamble with public safety. They said agents repeatedly chose to let major fentanyl shipments pass through communities rather than seize them immediately, all in pursuit of building larger cases against high-ranking traffickers.
The human toll has been staggering. Michael Glownia, who lost his daughter to fentanyl in 2023 and now runs a nonprofit supporting families experiencing similar losses, spoke out about the contradiction he sees between DEA's inaction and its prominent "One Pill Can Kill" campaign warning that just a few milligrams of fentanyl can cause a fatal overdose.
The Investigation
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday called for New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez to examine whether the DEA's actions violated state law — an extraordinary challenge to federal law enforcement at a time when communities are still burying their dead.
"There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were," Lujan Grisham said in her 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 governor's demand turns a debate over drug enforcement tactics into a potential criminal inquiry focused on whether federal agents themselves crossed legal lines while pursuing larger trafficking organizations.
DEA whistleblower David Howell filed a complaint drawing attention to the unseized fentanyl shipments. On Wednesday, he met with congressional staffers as advocacy group Empower Oversight pushed for Senate Judiciary Committee and Justice Department Inspector General investigations.
Among the incidents cited: an internal report of a 2023 delivery of 74,000 pills that DEA surveilled — but did not seize — at a mobile home park in Albuquerque.
Key Takeaways
- DEA agents allegedly allowed fentanyl shipments to continue through New Mexico between 2023 and 2025 while building cases against larger traffickers
- An internal report documented 74,000 pills the agency surveilled but never seized at an Albuquerque mobile home park
- While nationwide overdose deaths fell 14% last year, New Mexico saw a 21% spike in fatalities
- Current and former DEA agents say the strategy may have violated U.S. Justice Department rules protecting public safety
- The White House has designated fentanyl as a "weapon of mass destruction"
What's Next
The state's attorney general will determine whether to pursue an investigation into the DEA's conduct. Meanwhile, congressional offices are reviewing Howell's whistleblower complaint, and Senator Bernie Moreno has promised hearings on how many American lives were lost due to the agency's alleged inaction.
The DEA maintains its decisions were "lawful, reasonable under the circumstances and consistent with Department guidance," though agency spokesperson Amanda Wozniak acknowledged the public descriptions of the practice were "fundamentally mischaracterize[d]."
No direct link has been established between specific overdose deaths in New Mexico and the unseized shipments. The governor's statement made clear she intends to explore every legal avenue to hold the federal government accountable for what she called "this disaster."