New Mexico governor says state could seek billions after DEA let fentanyl hit streets [View all]
Source: ABC News/AP
June 29, 2026, 3:32 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico's governor said Monday that state officials could pursue billions of dollars in civil damages after revelations that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents repeatedly allowed shipments of fentanyl to flow into drug-plagued communities as investigators sought to build bigger cases.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vowed to take her outrage “right to the White House and Congress” to seek assurances the DEA is no longer using the risky law enforcement strategy in New Mexico — and that it is not being replicated elsewhere. Overdoses have surged in New Mexico, even as fentanyl deaths declined in other states.
“This is a stunning failure by the federal government,” the governor told reporters at a news conference in the state medical examiner's office in Albuquerque, joining a host of state and local law enforcers and officials demanding answers. “It’s disgusting and despicable.” The White House and DEA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lujan Grisham's remarks came a week after The Associated Press reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — shipments of fentanyl as part of an effort to build bigger criminal cases between 2023 and 2025.
Read more: https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/new-mexico-governor-state-seek-billions-after-dea-134321148
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