Santa Fe, New Mexico.across response to drug trafficking and violent crime across a large area of northern New Mexico, including two Native American pueblo settlements, the governor of New Mexico proclaimed a state of emergency on Wednesday.
As local governments and tribal officials in Rio Arriba County demand reinforcements against violent crime as well as other crime and hardships related to illicit substances, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared an emergency, making $750,000 accessible.
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The large county has long been plagued by opioid usage and high rates of drug-overdose deaths, with homeless encampments popping up in more populous regions in recent years. It extends from the city of Espaola, which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Santa Fe, to the Colorado state line.
In a statement, Democrat Lujan Grisham said, “The spike in criminal activity has led to a rise in homelessness, family instability, and deadly drug overdoses, putting an unprecedented burden on local governments and police departments that have asked for immediate state assistance.”
Lujan Grisham proclaimed a state of emergency in Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, in April, citing a sharp rise in crime that called for the assistance of the New Mexico National Guard. In reaction to a string of killings that claimed the lives of children throughout the state, she had previously suspended the privilege to carry firearms in Albuquerque’s public parks and playgrounds in 2023.
Although the new emergency declaration permits authorities to summon the National Guard, there were no immediate calls for soldier deployments in Rio Arriba County. According to Lujan Grisham spokesman Jodi McGinnis Porter, emergency cash will assist local law enforcement agencies in spending money on equipment, overtime, and coordinated police actions.
The state was encouraged to handle a rising public safety concern caused by the widespread use and misuse of alcohol and fentanyl in the community by the tribal governor of Santa Clara Pueblo, which is located on the outskirts of Espa ola.
In July, Santa Clara Governor James Naranjo wrote to Lujan Grisham, “The Pueblo has spent thousands of dollars trying to address this crisis… and to protect Pueblo children who are directly and negatively affected by a parent’s or guardian’s addiction.” However, the causes and consequences of fentanyl/alcohol misuse, rising crime, and rising homelessness are not exclusive to our town; they also affect the larger community.
Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield is one of the recent deaths in the area that medical investigators have connected to fentanyl and alcohol use.
In an attempt to curb violent crime, President Donald Trump dispatched federal personnel, including Homeland Security officers, to Albuquerque in 2020.
In a separate announcement on Wednesday, the Albuquerque Police Department charged three teenagers, including two juveniles, with murder in connection with the July 2 shooting death of a homeless man in Albuquerque who was being pursued from a bus stop in the early hours of the morning. Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the police department, stated that a 15-year-old child is suspected of being the gunman in the death of Frank Howard, 45.
