Republican Party of New Mexico
08/18/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/18/2026 14:43
WHERE WAS RAÚL TORREZ? Kane Demands Answers as DOJ Watchdog Investigates DEA’s Fentanyl “Walking” Scandal
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 18, 2026 WHERE WAS RAÚL TORREZ? Kane Demands Answers as DOJ Watchdog Investigates DEA's Fentanyl "Walking" Scandal ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - As the U.S. Department of Justice's Inspector General opens a nationwide review into DEA agents deliberately allowing massive fentanyl shipments to reach New Mexico streets, Sam Kane is calling on Attorney General Raúl Torrez to explain what he knew, when he knew it, and why New Mexico's top law enforcement officer let this take this long to demand answers. According to reporting by the Associated Press and the Albuquerque Journal, DEA agents in New Mexico repeatedly monitored-but did not seize-massive fentanyl deliveries between 2023 and 2025 in order to build bigger trafficking cases. One whistleblower estimates more than 2 million fentanyl pills were allowed to "walk" onto New Mexico streets during that window. Internal records reviewed by AP detail a single delivery of 74,000 pills in an Albuquerque mobile home park that agents watched and let through. Court records show agents intercepted a call revealing a shipment of 350,000 pills, and let it go. A separate whistleblower alleges DEA tracked a courier running fentanyl from Phoenix to Albuquerque for over a year, watching deliveries of 50,000 to 100,000 pills at a time. The result: New Mexico led the nation in drug overdose deaths per capita for the most recent year on record. More than double the national average, according to the CDC. "Two million pills. The body count in New Mexico is directly tied to that number," said Kane. "Raúl Torrez has been Attorney General this entire time. His office works alongside federal law enforcement in this state every single day. Now, months after this story broke, he's suddenly discovering his outrage? New Mexicans deserve to know what he knew and why he waited until it became a headline to act." The AP and Albuquerque Journal reports were first published June 21. It was not until this month that Torrez's office moved to formally demand records from the U.S. Attorney's Office, records that office has so far refused to produce. Torrez has framed this as federal stonewalling. Kane says that timeline raises a more basic question about the Attorney General's own vigilance. "You don't get to be the last one to the podium on a story about your own state's overdose crisis and call it accountability," Kane said. "If Torrez wants to talk about transparency, he can start by explaining his own office's contact with federal partners while this was happening." Kane is calling for: Full public disclosure of any communication between the Attorney General's office and the U.S. Attorney's Office regarding DEA fentanyl investigations from 2023 to present. An independent, state-level accounting of what New Mexico DOJ knew and when, separate from the federal Inspector General's review. A public commitment from Torrez to cooperate fully-and push the federal government to cooperate fully-with the Inspector General's inquiry. "New Mexicans buried loved ones while pills that were tracked, identified, and confirmed were let through, and the state's top prosecutor is only now finding his voice," Kane said. "He's doing damage control at a time when New Mexicans need leadership. New Mexico deserves an Attorney General who acts when it matters, not after press investigations force his hand." About Sam Kane: Sam Kane is running for New Mexico Attorney General on a platform of independence from special interests and accountability in state government. Learn more at samfornewmexico.org. ### |
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