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3 sources·Started 29d ago·Updated 28d ago
DEA Allowed Fentanyl Shipments, Whistleblower Says; New Mexico Seeks Probe
DEADavid HowellMichelle Lujan GrishamNew MexicoFentanylAlbuquerqueRaúl TorrezAP
Sources
3outlets
TGAN
Coverage
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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is accused of deliberately allowing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach New Mexico streets in a gamble to build larger drug trafficking cases. Whistleblower David Howell, a former DEA special agent, claims the agency monitored but did not seize multiple shipments of lethal fentanyl between 2023 and 2025, leading to fatal overdoses. Source: AP News Source: The Guardian
Allegations
- DEA agents surveilled a transaction of 74,000 fentanyl pills in June 2023 without intervention. Source: The Guardian
- Howell stated, "We poisoned our community to make cases," alleging the strategy violated Justice Department rules. Source: The Guardian
- The DEA initially denied the claims, calling them false, but later requested an investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general. Source: AP News
Reactions
- New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham called the revelations "a stunning failure" and said the state could seek billions in civil damages. She plans to take the issue to the White House and Congress. Source: AP News
- Attorney General Raúl Torrez opened a criminal investigation to determine if federal officials broke state law. Source: The Guardian
- Former President Donald Trump blamed the scandal on the Biden administration. Source: AP News
What's Next
- The DEA's internal watchdog is investigating the complaint. Source: Ground News
- New Mexico officials are pursuing legal avenues and demanding assurances the strategy will not be repeated elsewhere. Source: AP News
Story timeline · 1 earlier headline
- New Mexico governor threatens billions in damages over DEA fentanyl strategy28d ago · 2 sources
- DEA Allowed Fentanyl Shipments, Whistleblower Says; New Mexico Seeks Probecurrent
Sources
4 quotesThe Guardian↗
““We poisoned our community to make cases,” DEA special agent David Howell told the outlet. “Through our own willful blindness, we get to say, ‘We don’t really know what happened to the drugs.’ But we 100% got people killed.””
AP News↗
““This is a stunning failure by the federal government,” the governor told reporters at a news conference... “It’s disgusting and despicable.””
The Guardian↗
““If those allegations are accurate, the consequences for New Mexicans were not abstract. They were fatal,” Torrez wrote in his letter to governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.”
AP News↗
“The DEA initially denied Howell’s allegations in a statement to AP. But the agency later called upon the Justice Department’s independent watchdog to conduct its own investigation.”