FARMINGTON, N.M.—The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations in New Mexico said it plans to increase its presence in the Four Corners region to counter to growing influences of drug cartels in the area.
The Farmington Daily Times reports ( ) the federal agency proposes that two agents move to San Juan County full-time and that more agents be dispatched occasionally to the area to assist with serious criminal investigations.
The move comes after New Mexico law enforcement agencies around the state have asked federal officials to assist cash-strapped departments in battling gangs, drug trafficking and weapons violations. But as federal authorities have moved into places like Roswell and Las Cruces, violent drug cartels have increased their presence in the remote area of northwest New Mexico that borders Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
Federal authorities said that by getting involved and charging criminals in federal court, it can increase the amount of prison time.
“New Mexico is very difficult with their laws. It’s hard to get some quality time” in prison, said Kevin Abar, the assistant special agent in charge for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations in New Mexico. “This is where the federal government can step in, in the issue.”
In recent months, homeland security agents assisted local law enforcement agencies in more than 20 criminal investigations that will be prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, said Dennis Ulrich, a deputy special agent in charge of the agency’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Some of the worst of the worst (criminals), they’ve plucked them out of here for narcotics, guns and gang membership,” said Neil Haws, the director of Region II Narcotics Task Force. “It’s very significant.”
Homeland Security investigations will focus on arresting criminals for bulk-cash smuggling, weapons, child exploitation, narcotics, identity theft, cultural property smuggling, counterfeit drugs and merchandise and identity theft, Abar said.
Federal charges for those types of crimes have harsher punishments than state charges. And the crimes are commonly used to fund terrorism and drug cartels, he said.
Abar also said the agency will arrest high-ranking members of the criminal networks.
“We want to target people who are trusted,” he said.
The federal government can also seize criminals’ money and possessions when they are convicted.
Since 2009, Homeland Security has added around 60 new agents to New Mexico and helped formed a number of joint task forces and multiagency groups aimed at tackling rural gangs, political corruption, drug and gun trafficking, child pornography, and human smuggling.
The beefed-up presence has resulted in a string of recent high-profile arrests, federal officials said. In March, for example, the mayor of the border town of Columbus and its police chief were among those arrested in a drug and weapons raid following a federal investigation into firearms smuggling from the U.S to Mexico. The mayor and police chief later pleaded guilty to federal charges.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that for years New Mexico was often overlooked as federal officials spent energies on other hotspots around the country. But in recent years, federal officials began to realize that the state’s 180-mile border with Mexico and its many wide-open American Indian reservations left it vulnerable to growing gun, drug and human trafficking among other crimes, he said.
In addition to seeking agents to work in San Juan County, local law enforcement and government officials are lobbying for a federal magistrate judge to work in San Juan County, so criminals could be tried for federal crimes locally, said Farmington Police Chief Kyle Westall.
“We believe we have the cases here for their work load, so we’re optimistic,” he said.
By having permanent Homeland Security agents in San Juan County, it may be more feasible to locate a federal judge here, Farmington Mayor Tommy Roberts said.
