A whistleblower complaint from a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent has sparked an investigation into whether federal agents deliberately allowed lethal fentanyl to reach New Mexico's streets in hopes of securing larger drug-trafficking busts.
Whistleblower Alleges Deliberate Inaction
DEA special agent David Howell told the Associated Press that agents “poisoned our community to make cases” and “100% got people killed.” According to Howell, the DEA had detailed intelligence about drug deliveries, including precise pill counts, but chose not to intervene. In June 2023, agents surveilled a transaction of 74,000 fentanyl pills at a mobile home park in Albuquerque without seizing them. Days earlier, another shipment had also gone through without seizure.
DEA Denies Allegations, Calls for Investigation
The DEA has challenged the AP’s reporting, stating in a statement to the Guardian that “public descriptions suggesting that DEA knowingly permitted fentanyl to reach communities are false and fundamentally mischaracterize the facts.” The agency said the cases involved “complex, court-authorized Title III investigations” targeting larger drug trafficking organizations. However, the DEA has asked the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General to investigate Howell’s complaint.
New Mexico Attorney General Launches Investigation
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced a formal investigation on Friday. In a letter to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Torrez wrote: “If those allegations are accurate, the consequences for New Mexicans were not abstract. They were fatal.” He noted that New Mexico already ranks among the states hardest hit by fentanyl overdose deaths, and families deserve a full accounting of what the federal government knew and failed to do.
Impact on New Mexico’s Opioid Crisis
While drug fatalities have fallen 24% nationally from roughly 105,000 in 2023 to 79,384 in 2024, New Mexico has not seen the same trend. Overdose deaths in the state increased 23% over the past year, marking the second consecutive year it led the nation in overdose mortality. During the first half of 2025, three north-east counties—Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Taos—saw drug-related emergency room visits increase by as much as 204%, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
Political Fallout and Calls for Accountability
Governor Lujan Grisham called the DEA’s actions “reckless and dangerous” and urged prosecution of anyone responsible, “regardless of whether they are a federal agent or not.” She told the Albuquerque Journal the result was “hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids.” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said on X that it is “disgusting to think that federal authorities may have allowed hundreds of thousands of these deadly pills to move into our community.” Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen told the Albuquerque Journal the DEA was allowed “to feed poison to our community for a bigger case,” adding, “I agree with getting the big fish, but not when people are dying.”
Federal Guidance and Oversight
In 2017, the Department of Justice issued “fentanyl protocols” directing agents to “seize or otherwise prevent the distribution” of fentanyl “as soon as practicable.” But two years ago, the department revised that guidance to give agents more discretion, allowing them to balance public safety risks against investigative benefits. Empower Oversight, the whistleblower organization representing Howell, says the DEA routinely “walked” fentanyl shipments from at least 2023 to March 2025 and has called for congressional oversight.
