New Mexico AG sues feds for records related to drug agents’ fentanyl tactics in the state

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice seeking records related to allegations that Drug Enforcement Administration agents knowingly let fentanyl flow into the state.

Federal whistleblowers in June detailed how agents would employ the controversial tactic known as “fentanyl walking” to monitor drug shipments — without seizing them — in hopes of catching higher-up traffickers in criminal operations. Torrez subsequently opened a “thorough and aggressive investigation” into the allegations and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she wanted the state to pursue civil damages from the federal government.

Torrez in July announced he was seeking federal records such as DEA policies, communications between agents and prosecutors and whistleblower complaints. In August, he said the agency had wrongfully denied his request.

On Thursday, he said in a statement that the federal government failed to provide the records or respond when he responded to their denial and produced additional information.

“Fentanyl is devastating families across New Mexico, and we deserve to know the truth about the DEA’s practice of allowing that poison to flow into our communities,” Torrez said. “Rather than come clean with the public, the U.S. Department of Justice is once again stonewalling our efforts to get to the bottom of this unconscionable practice, to determine who is responsible for endangering our families and to hold those responsible to account.”

New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham calls for restitution amid allegations that feds let fentanyl into NM

The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While overdose deaths have decreased nationally, they’ve increased in New Mexico. State leaders have spent nearly $844 million in recent years to rebuild the state’s behavioral health system, often prioritizing programs that address addiction and overdoses.

Torrez’s lawsuit argues that the government’s denial of his records request unlawfully interferes with his ability to investigate potential violations of state law. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, asks a judge to order the federal government to turn over the records or reconsider its denial.