Overview

• The declaration frees $750,000 from Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management funds for overtime, equipment and joint law-enforcement operations in Rio Arriba County, Española and nearby pueblos.
• It grants the governor authority to mobilize National Guard troops if local resources become overwhelmed, though no Guard troops have been deployed yet.
• Rio Arriba County leads the state in overdose death rates, with fentanyl implicated in 65% of fatalities last year, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
• Police dispatches in Española have more than doubled over two years and calls to businesses have quadrupled, reflecting growing violent crime and drug trafficking.
• Leaders from Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh pueblos had warned of a mounting public-safety crisis and said they spent significant local funds to combat fentanyl and alcohol-related harms.