New Mexico governor demands federal reparations after accusing DEA of fueling state's fentanyl crisis
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is demanding the federal government pay reparations after accusing the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of allowing millions of fentanyl pills to flood her state during an undercover operation without notifying state or local officials.
Calling the alleged operation "the most derelict, despicable act in my long career," Lujan Grisham said the fallout has forced New Mexico to pour more than $1.5 billion into law enforcement, behavioral health, addiction treatment and other public safety initiatives while battling overdose deaths and widespread addiction.
"The DEA stood silently by and watched thousands of fentanyl pills get distributed with no arrests, no evidence, no notice that we know of anywhere else," Lujan Grisham said during a Monday news conference. "Someone must pay for the damage to this state, the public safety risks that will be shared by everyone here for a decade."
Lujan Grisham said she wants the federal government to reimburse New Mexico for the money it has spent combating the fentanyl epidemic, including law enforcement operations, behavioral health services, addiction treatment, overdose prevention and other public safety initiatives.
She also called on Congress to prohibit similar DEA operations in the future, require the federal government to fully fund the costs imposed on states by such operations and hold the officials involved personally accountable.
"I've had to do this since 2019 three times," Lujan Grisham said. "We're here again, and this one, in fact, I think is the most devastating."
The Democratic governor compared the controversy to previous federal failures she said harmed New Mexico, including the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. Forest Service's prescribed burns that sparked the state's largest wildfire. She noted the wildfire ultimately resulted in a multibillion-dollar federal liability settlement, arguing the DEA operation should lead to similar accountability.
Lujan Grisham said her administration repeatedly asked both the Biden and Trump administrations for more federal resources to combat New Mexico's escalating fentanyl crisis, including additional DEA agents and coordinated enforcement efforts, but those requests went unanswered.
"Everybody behind me and the Office of the Governor have been asking both administrations… to do more about public safety in the state of New Mexico," she said, adding that her administration held multiple meetings, sent multiple letters and requested additional resources and agents, yet "it's been remarkably silent."
Lujan Grisham also urged lawmakers to require federal agencies to notify state and local officials before conducting similar operations, restore roughly $25 million in federal behavioral health and public safety funding she said has been cut and enact legislation preventing similar DEA tactics from being used in the future.
Her remarks came days after New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced a criminal investigation into allegations that the DEA knowingly allowed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach New Mexico communities while agents pursued larger criminal investigations.
The Associated Press previously reported that DEA agents repeatedly monitored, but did not seize, large fentanyl shipments between 2023 and 2025 while attempting to build broader criminal cases.
Torrez said the investigation will examine potential legal remedies, including criminal prosecution, civil litigation and structural reforms intended to prevent similar conduct by DEA agents in the future.
"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 said in a statement.
"If the DEA stood by while poison flooded our communities, that is not a bureaucratic failure," he continued. "It is a betrayal of the people it was sworn to protect."
Torrez said his office "will pursue every legal avenue available to hold the responsible parties accountable and make certain this never happens again."
On Monday, Lujan Grisham echoed Torrez's call for accountability, saying those who approved or oversaw the operation should face consequences.
"I want the people who knew this distribution was occurring without notifying anyone and allowing it to occur over and over again held accountable," Lujan Grisham said. "My bet is many of those people are still in that DEA office."
"I am so angry. This is an outrage," she added. "They should be accountable for the length of time it's going to take us to combat the scourge of addiction and fentanyl overdose deaths."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the DEA for comment on the matter.
Fox News Digital's Mike Sinkewicz contributed to this report.