New Mexico

Garcia Richard barely beats challenger for Dem LG nod

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New Mexico Democrats have officially chosen Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard as their new lieutenant governor nominee, ending weeks of internal party maneuvering after Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver abruptly left the race.

Garcia Richard announced Thursday morning that the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee had selected her to replace Toulouse Oliver on the ticket.

“It’s official — The Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee has chosen me as our party’s new nominee for Lieutenant Governor!” Garcia Richard wrote on X. “THANK YOU. I am honored, humbled, and fired up.”

The post included a campaign graphic reading, “Thank you, SCC! I’m ready to serve and build a brighter future for New Mexico. Let’s win this!”

The Democratic Party of New Mexico also released a statement declaring Garcia Richard the winner of the State Central Committee election to fill the lieutenant governor vacancy on the ticket alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland.

“Our State Central Committee of Democrats from across New Mexico spoke, and they chose Stephanie,” DPNM Chair Sara Attleson said in the release. “New Mexico Democrats could not be more excited to be campaigning for the Deb and Stephanie ticket across New Mexico.”

Attleson praised Garcia Richard’s experience in the State Land Office, the Legislature, and the classroom, saying she would bring a “highly capable and qualified voice to the Roundhouse” alongside Haaland.

But the vote was not exactly a sweeping show of unity.

According to the party’s own results, Garcia Richard received 255 votes, or 53%, while state Sen. Harold Pope Jr. received 218 votes, or 46%. Toni Pinedo received three votes, and Geoffrey Luehring received one.

Voting was conducted by electronic ballot after the July 25 State Central Committee meeting and closed at 5 p.m. on July 29. Roughly 500 SCC members were eligible to vote, and the party said 97% participated. Because Garcia Richard received a majority of first-place votes, she won automatically without the party needing to use its ranked-choice tally.

The result caps off a chaotic Democratic lieutenant governor scramble. Toulouse Oliver had won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor but later suspended her campaign, creating a vacancy that party insiders — not regular primary voters — were tasked with filling.

Garcia Richard had previously run for the office before exiting the race, only to reemerge once the slot reopened. Haaland then publicly endorsed her, giving Garcia Richard the establishment boost heading into the SCC vote.

In a follow-up post, Garcia Richard thanked the other candidates “for a spirited campaign” and singled out Pope for his “leadership and commitment to our state.”

“I look forward to working alongside him and leaders across New Mexico to build the future our communities deserve,” she wrote.

She added that she would be on the ballot with Haaland in November and said the pair would fight to “lower costs, expand access to healthcare, build safer communities, and deliver a world-class public education for every child.”

“Let’s unite and win this for New Mexico!” Garcia Richard wrote.

Democrats are now trying to present the Haaland-Garcia Richard ticket as settled and unified after a messy vacancy process that followed Toulouse Oliver’s exit.

But the numbers show Pope came within striking distance, despite Haaland already making clear who she wanted as her running mate. Garcia Richard’s win came by 37 votes out of 477 cast.

The process also highlights the unusual way the Democratic ticket was rebuilt after primary voters had already spoken. Instead of another statewide vote, the decision was placed in the hands of party insiders on the SCC.

Garcia Richard now joins Haaland on the Democratic ticket heading into the general election against Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull and Republican lieutenant governor nominee David Gallegos.

For Democrats, the announcement is an attempt to move past an embarrassing vacancy and rally behind Haaland’s preferred pick. For Republicans, it gives them a new argument: New Mexico Democrats’ general election ticket was finished not by voters, but by a few hundred party insiders.

Garcia Richard barely beats challenger for Dem LG nod Read More »

Vasquez’s ‘working in NM’ posts hit Alaska-sized problem

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U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez is facing new scrutiny after a report revealed his social media accounts posted New Mexico district content while he was actually traveling to Alaska on a privately sponsored backpacking trip tied to a conservation dark money group led by a Democratic mega-donor.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Vasquez’s official X account posted on Aug. 10, 2025, about a visit to Hobbs High School, making it appear to casual readers as though the Democrat congressman was in southeastern New Mexico.

“I visited Hobbs High School to help serve lunch and hear about how school meals are keeping kids healthy and focused,” the post read. “Free school meal programs are a lifeline that our kids can’t afford to lose.”

But according to post-travel disclosure forms filed with the House Committee on Ethics, Vasquez was not in Hobbs that day. He was flying to Alaska for a trip sponsored by the American Lands Project, a dark money grou[ that describes its mission as connecting policymakers with “our country’s irreplaceable public lands and waters.”

The reported value of the trip, including transportation, lodging, meals, and other expenses for Vasquez, was approximately $11,535, according to the New Mexican.

The American Lands Project’s board president is identified as Thomas Campion, a conservationist who has opposed President Donald Trump’s efforts to expand oil and gas leasing in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The trip was described in disclosure paperwork as a “fact-finding trip to experience and learn firsthand about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and meet with local residents that rely on these lands.”

Vasquez’s office defended the timed social media posts as standard practice.

“It’s pretty common to post on social after we do events, which is why in any of those posts, we don’t say ‘today,’” Jake Morel, Vasquez’s press secretary and digital director, told the New Mexican.

Morel said Vasquez and other elected officials regularly spread out content to maximize attention.

“Our office and several other offices frequently bank content, which is pretty common because if, for example, I sent you five press releases at a time, you probably wouldn’t cover all five,” he said. “You maybe would cover one, and you’d probably just be annoyed I’m bombing your inbox.”

Republicans, however, said the posts gave New Mexicans the wrong impression.

“Gabe Vasquez spent that week pretending to New Mexicans that he was home working for them,” Josiah Ward, a spokesperson for Republican Greg Cunningham, said in a statement.

“Now we know he was actually in Alaska on an all-expenses paid vacation funded by a Democratic mega-donor whose life work is shutting down oil and gas,” Ward added. “We know who Gabe really works for, and it’s not the people of New Mexico.”

The timing matters because oil and gas is a massive economic force in New Mexico, particularly in Vasquez’s southern New Mexico district. Republicans note that the industry contributes billions to the state budget and supports thousands of jobs in the region.

Since the Alaska trip, Vasquez has voted at least twice against expanding energy development efforts in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to the New Mexican.

Vasquez also posted photos from the Alaska trip on Instagram last month, writing, “As a sportsman, I know the unique value of our public lands and protecting this country’s most beautiful places.”

He added, “Today’s lease sale of the Arctic Refuge is yet another sell-off to special interests that will forever alter the last frontier, Indigenous people and their traditions, wildlife, and recreation opportunities.”

Morel called the Alaska trip “a standard one taken by a lot of members of Congress from both sides of the aisle” and noted that New Mexico Democratic Reps. Melanie Stansbury and Teresa Leger Fernández had also taken the trip.

But the posts continued while Vasquez was in Alaska. According to the New Mexican, photos of Vasquez at Cavern Theatre in Carlsbad were posted on Aug. 11, while the itinerary placed him in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Additional posts on Aug. 13 and Aug. 15 showed him meeting with an immigrant rights group and visiting a Carlsbad restaurant, even though he was still on the Alaska trip.

Morel rejected the idea that the posts implied Vasquez was physically present in those places at the time.

“I don’t think that in this day and age, in our digital world, that anybody posting something needs to give the impression that they are right there at that thing currently,” he said.

The National Republican Congressional Committee also blasted Vasquez over the report.

“Defund the police Gabe Vasquez has been caught lying to New Mexicans once again, pretending to work while galavanting around Alaska on an all-expenses-paid trip with his fellow anti-oil-and-gas extremists,” NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson said. “Voters know Vasquez is in office to serve one person: himself.”

The controversy comes as Vasquez faces another competitive reelection battle in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. Republicans are working to flip the seat, and the Alaska trip gives them a new line of attack: Vasquez appearing to post district activity while traveling on a donor-connected trip tied to the same anti-drilling agenda he later supported with his votes.

For New Mexicans in an energy-producing district, the question is simple: was Vasquez working for them — or for the environmental donor class that paid for his Alaska adventure?

Vasquez’s ‘working in NM’ posts hit Alaska-sized problem Read More »

Terror-linked CAIR cheers Santa Fe archbishop’s support for ABQ mosque

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A controversial national Muslim advocacy group with a long history of alleged terror ties is praising Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester after the Catholic prelate issued a statement supporting a proposed mosque and community center in Albuquerque’s North Valley.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, released a statement Monday welcoming Wester’s comments and thanking him for speaking out in favor of the project, which has drawn opposition from some nearby residents.

CAIR described Wester’s statement as support for “Muslims’ freedom to build mosque” and framed the controversy as part of a broader fight against “rising Islamophobia.”

The archbishop’s statement, titled “Supporting Our Muslim Neighbors’ Right to Worship,” said he had heard concerns from residents regarding the proposed mosque and community center in the North Valley.

“As Archbishop of Santa Fe and a resident of Albuquerque, I feel compelled to speak clearly and pastorally: our Muslim neighbors have the same God-given and constitutionally protected right to worship freely as every other faith community, including our own,” Wester wrote. “Defending that right is not only a civic duty but a core element of Catholic teaching.”

Wester also cited the Second Vatican Council, writing that the Catholic Church has long affirmed religious liberty as essential to human dignity. He said Dignitatis Humanae teaches that every person “must be free from coercion” in matters of faith.

“This principle applies universally,” Wester wrote. “It is not limited to Catholics or Christians; it extends fully to Muslims, Jews, and all people who seek to worship according to their conscience.”

He went further, saying “anti-Muslim sentiment has no place in the heart of a Christian.”

“Any hostility toward Muslims — whether expressed through rhetoric, suspicion, or opposition to their places of worship — is incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who commands us to love our neighbor without exception,” Wester wrote.

CAIR quickly celebrated the statement.

“We welcome Archbishop Wester’s principled statement defending religious freedom and thank him for speaking out,” CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said. “The freedom to worship is a fundamental and inalienable right of every American and every human being. As anti-Muslim bigotry rises throughout our nation, people of conscience and faith must stand together to encourage mutual respect.”

CAIR also noted that it had previously welcomed the Bernalillo County Planning Commission’s decision to reject an appeal and allow the planned Islamic center and mosque to move forward after months of public opposition.

But CAIR’s involvement brings its own baggage.

The group routinely presents itself as a civil rights organization. But critics, law enforcement officials, and Republican attorneys general have pointed for years to CAIR’s alleged ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Earlier this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and CAIR’s Texas chapters, seeking to stop what his office called “terrorist groups” from operating in the state.

Paxton’s office said CAIR-Texas founding board member Ghassan Elashi was convicted in 2008 of funneling $12.4 million to Hamas through the Holy Land Foundation. Federal prosecutors also named CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in that case.

According to the Texas lawsuit, “CAIR’s origin story reveals its true nature.” The petition alleges the group was created after a secret 1993 Philadelphia meeting where Hamas operatives, under FBI surveillance, discussed ways to support Hamas while avoiding law enforcement detection.

The lawsuit further cites a 2009 federal court finding that there was “ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR” with Hamas.

InfluenceWatch, a project of the Capital Research Center, similarly notes that CAIR has long been suspected of supporting political Islamist movements, especially the Muslim Brotherhood. It says CAIR was founded by Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, both former officials of the Islamic Association for Palestine, which critics have described as pro-Hamas.

CAIR has repeatedly denied that it supports terrorism and has challenged state-level efforts to label it as a terrorist organization. The group maintains it is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

Still, for critics of the Albuquerque mosque project, CAIR’s public celebration of Wester’s statement is likely to deepen concern rather than calm it.

The local debate over the North Valley mosque has already become heated, with CAIR and other supporters casting opposition as bigotry while some residents have raised concerns about traffic, zoning, neighborhood character, and broader ideological issues — such as Sharia law — that oppresses many people of many backgrounds.

Wester urged Albuquerque residents to welcome the project with “goodwill,” writing, “A neighborhood that makes room for the prayers of many is stronger, more compassionate, and more reflective of the values we claim to uphold.”

But the archbishop’s statement now has the enthusiastic backing of CAIR — a group praised by the left as a civil rights organization, condemned by Texas officials as terror-linked, and long scrutinized for its alleged connections to Hamas-linked networks.

That raises a new question for New Mexico Catholics and North Valley residents alike: Why is an organization with CAIR’s record so eager to insert itself into Albuquerque’s mosque fight?

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NM Dems reject bill to stop congressional stock trading

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All three of New Mexico’s Democrat members of the U.S. House voted against a bill to restrict congressional stock trading, even as public frustration grows over lawmakers profiting while in office.

The House passed H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, on July 22 by a vote of 232-198. Every voting Republican supported the bill, along with 13 Democrats and one independent. But New Mexico Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury, and Gabe Vasquez all voted no.

The legislation would bar members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from purchasing individual securities issued by publicly traded companies while the member is in office. It would also require members to file public notice before selling covered investments and impose penalties for violations, including a fee of $2,000 or 10% of the value of the covered investment, whichever is greater, along with forfeiture of any realized profit from an improper sale.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

Republicans framed the vote as a long-overdue ethics reform aimed at stopping lawmakers from using their positions, briefings, and access to inside information to benefit financially.

Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., called the legislation “a major step forward for ethics reform on Capitol Hill.”

“It ensures no lawmaker can profit off of insider information,” Steil said. “I urge my Senate colleagues to quickly take it up and send it to President Trump’s desk.”

But most House Democrats opposed the final bill, claiming it did not go far enough and objecting to the inclusion of voter ID language. Critics on the left argued the bill would still allow lawmakers to keep existing holdings and sell them with notice.

That argument did not stop 13 House Democrats from crossing party lines and voting for the measure.

In New Mexico, the vote immediately became political ammunition.

Martin Zamora, the Republican challenger running in New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District, blasted Leger Fernández for voting no while her own financial disclosures face scrutiny.

According to Zamora’s campaign, Leger Fernández’s net worth grew from $1.38 million when she took office in 2021 to $2.19 million in her most recent filing from 2024 — an increase of nearly 60%. Her disclosure for calendar year 2025 was legally due May 15, 2026, but Zamora’s campaign said she requested and received a 90-day extension, pushing her filing deadline to August 13.

Zamora called her vote “a clear signal of whose interests Washington insiders protect first.”

“Thirteen House Democrats crossed the aisle to vote for basic transparency and accountability. Teresa Leger Fernandez wasn’t one of them,” Zamora said. “New Mexicans are struggling to pay for groceries and gas, and their congresswoman just voted down a bipartisan bill that would stop members of Congress from trading on information the rest of us don’t have.”

“Meanwhile, her own net worth has grown by nearly 60 percent since she got to Washington, and her latest financial disclosure is delayed past the deadline,” he added. “New Mexico families deserve answers, not extensions.”

Zamora called on Leger Fernández to release her 2025 financial disclosure immediately rather than waiting until the extended deadline.

“If there’s nothing to hide, there’s no reason to wait until August,” Zamora said. “New Mexicans have a right to know whether their representative in Washington is working for them or for her own portfolio.”

Vasquez, who represents southern New Mexico’s competitive 2nd Congressional District, tried to have it both ways in a July 22 post on X.

“I support banning members of Congress from trading stocks and profiting off their positions of power, and I support commonsense voter ID requirements to keep our elections secure,” Vasquez wrote.

But he then attacked the bill itself.

“Unfortunately, this MAGA-led bill, H.R. 7008, does neither,” he claimed.

Vasquez’s statement came as he heads into another election year in one of the state’s most closely watched congressional districts. Critics are likely to see his position as election-year cover: claiming to support a stock-trading ban in theory while voting against the bill that actually passed the House.

The final roll call was clear. Republicans voted yes. A small group of Democrats voted yes. New Mexico’s House Democrats voted no.

For voters who believe members of Congress should not be able to trade on information unavailable to ordinary Americans, the vote gives them a simple question to ask: why did New Mexico’s Democrat delegation oppose even this step toward accountability?

NM Dems reject bill to stop congressional stock trading Read More »

‘Poisoned’ Gatorade at center of bizarre NM stabbing

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A 22-year-old former military man is behind bars after investigators say he stabbed his naked roommate more than two dozen times while the man slept inside an RV in Anthony, New Mexico.

Alejandro Mustafat was arrested July 15 and booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center following the July 2 attack at Anthony RV Park. He is charged with aggravated battery that may cause death or great bodily harm and assault with intent to commit a violent felony.

According to police documents cited by KFOX14/CBS4, the victim told investigators he was asleep on the couch inside the RV he shared with Mustafat when he was suddenly awakened around 2 p.m. by Mustafat allegedly beating him. The victim said the attack then escalated, with Mustafat allegedly stabbing him repeatedly.

The two men reportedly knew each other from their time in the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss.

The victim told investigators he tried to protect himself by raising his hands and arms during the attack. He eventually ran out of the RV naked and sought help at the Anthony RV Park manager’s office, where he reportedly fainted, possibly because of blood loss.

Investigators later documented 26 stab wounds on the victim’s body, including injuries to his arms, chest, back, neck, head, ear, and nose.

After the stabbing, Mustafat allegedly drove himself to the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office substation in Anthony and called 911, claiming his roommate had stabbed him.

When first responders met with Mustafat, he reportedly told them, “Yes, I brutally stabbed him,” before claiming that his roommate had attacked him and stabbed him while he was asleep in bed.

First responders, however, reportedly did not find stab wounds on Mustafat’s body.

Mustafat was taken to University Medical Center in El Paso, the same hospital where the victim was transported for treatment.

Six days after the stabbing, on July 8, Mustafat spoke with investigators and gave his account of what happened.

According to police documents, Mustafat said he had been living with the victim for about a month after meeting him at a Circle K in Anthony. Mustafat reportedly told investigators he had asked the victim whether he could stay in the RV while he looked for a job and a place to live.

Mustafat claimed that on the day of the stabbing, he returned to the RV after dropping his girlfriend off in Ciudad Juárez and found the victim sitting naked on the couch watching television.

He reportedly said he sat next to the victim and asked him for a drink because he was thirsty. Mustafat told investigators the victim handed him a Gatorade that he believed may have been poisoned because it tasted strange and made him feel dizzy.

Mustafat said he then went to bed and was awakened by the victim beating him. He claimed he pulled out a pocketknife to defend himself.

According to the police documents, Mustafat said that when he saw blood during the fight, he believed it was his own and thought he was being stabbed.

Mustafat also claimed he later called his girlfriend and learned the victim had tried to sleep with her. The victim denied that claim when speaking with investigators.

After being released from the hospital, the victim told investigators he had no intention of having a relationship with Mustafat’s girlfriend and said he did not know why he was attacked.

On July 22, District Judge Perea ordered Mustafat to remain jailed, finding him to be a danger to the victim and the public.

Mustafat is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

‘Poisoned’ Gatorade at center of bizarre NM stabbing Read More »

CYFD blasted after dumping U.S. teen at Mexican border to meet abusive parent

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New Mexico’s troubled Children, Youth and Families Department is facing new outrage after a 15-year-old American citizen from Doña Ana County was reportedly removed from foster care, driven across state lines, and dropped off at an El Paso border crossing to reunite with his estranged mother in Mexico despite past abuse concerns.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that CYFD staff transported the teen on July 6 to the Paso del Norte crossing in El Paso, where he was allegedly told around 8:30 p.m. to walk across the bridge into Ciudad Juárez with his belongings and meet his mother.

The child refused to cross into Mexico and reportedly spent 10 days in a homeless shelter while Texas Child Protective Services assisted him. When Texas CPS contacted New Mexico CYFD, the agency reportedly refused to retrieve the child, saying his case had been closed and he was no longer under its jurisdiction.

The boy was later escorted to Juárez and reunited with his mother on Friday. He reportedly ran away almost immediately but has since been found.

The situation has sparked fierce criticism from child welfare advocates and the America First Policy Institute’s New Mexico chapter, which said the case reflects a broader failure inside New Mexico’s child welfare system.

“The first priority of the child welfare system is the safety and well-being of children,” AFPI New Mexico Executive Director Vincent Torres said in a statement. “New Mexico abandoned that responsibility when CYFD drove a 15-year-old American citizen to the border and sent him into Mexico to live with a parent the state itself had found responsible for abuse.”

Torres added, “He told them he didn’t want to go. They sent him anyway. Then they closed the case.”

According to the Journal, the teen was born in New Mexico in 2010 to parents who were Mexican nationals. For years, he lived with family friends described in court records as godparents, along with two siblings. Publicly available court petitions reportedly show the father had been out of contact for several years and that the mother had previously been named in a substantiated abuse claim involving the child. Sources familiar with the case also told the Journal the mother was recently arrested on a criminal charge and deported to Mexico earlier this year.

At a July 6 custody hearing, which was not public, sources told the Journal that CYFD moved to dismiss the abuse case, said it had no concerns about the mother, and planned to reunite the child with her despite the teen’s objections.

CYFD defended its actions in a statement, saying, “Nothing is more important to CYFD than ensuring vulnerable children are safe, protected from harm and have a chance to thrive, and the department kept that mission front and center as it sought to unite the 15-year-old boy with his birth mother in Mexico.”

The agency said it assessed the mother, including two home visits, and “determined her to be safe and appropriate for placement of the child.” CYFD did not specify when or where those visits occurred.

The agency also said it had “several conversations with this child about unification with his mother prior to the hearing” and determined he had not suffered abuse or neglect.

“Throughout this case, the department took strenuous steps to keep the child safe and to keep a family together,” CYFD said. “The department had no legal grounds to take custody and place him in foster care.”

But Dawn Walters, head of New Mexico’s Office of the Child Advocate, raised concerns about what happened after the teen was left at the border.

“Being sent to a parent in an unfamiliar country would be a really difficult transition, a really traumatic transition for a child who already has a lot of trauma,” Walters told the Journal.

Walters said she was concerned about the child’s health conditions and prescription medication needs and had not been in contact with him since he entered Mexico.

“Per CYFD, this case is closed to them,” Walters said. “He wasn’t living with his mother, so it’s not a return. It is a concern to me that he was sent to a parent who hadn’t been providing care for him, and it’s not clear to me what steps were taken to ensure that the mother was aware of his medical needs, of his prescriptions and how to obtain those things once he was in a different country with a different medical system.”

Maralyn Beck, executive director of New Mexico Child First Network, also told the Journal the teen’s wishes appeared to have been ignored. She compared the case to deporting a child.

Under New Mexico law, Beck noted, youth 14 and older are recognized as having agency in such cases.

“This youth has made his wishes clear,” Beck said. “Unless you have spoken to the youth himself, we are ignoring his explicit concerns, his explicit wishes, and I do not believe he is safe.”

The controversy comes just months after the New Mexico Department of Justice released a blistering 220-page report accusing CYFD of systemic failures. That report stated, “Instead of safeguarding vulnerable children, the Department has prioritized family reunification at virtually any cost — returning children to dangerous caregivers with histories of substantiated abuse or chronic neglect, and who refuse treatment or services to address those underlying issues.”

DOJ Chief of Staff Lauren Rodriguez said the latest incident reinforces those findings.

“Our independent investigation into CYFD found that the agency’s failures were not isolated incidents, but the result of deep, systemic problems that have put New Mexico’s most vulnerable children at risk for years,” Rodriguez said.

“The circumstances surrounding this latest incident only reinforce what our report concluded: the systemic issues identified in our investigation continue to exist,” she added. “New Mexico’s children deserve a child welfare system that acts with urgency, competence, and accountability.”

AFPI said the reported border dropoff is not an isolated failure, but part of a larger crisis under state leadership.

“This did not happen in a vacuum,” Torres said. “For years, this state’s administration has presided over a child welfare agency in crisis, one the Attorney General’s own investigation found has repeatedly placed children in harm’s way.”

“This case is not an isolated incident,” he added. “It is the predictable result of a system that has gone unaccountable for far too long.”

For a department already under fire over child deaths, abuse investigations, staffing problems, and years of scandal, the latest report raises another disturbing question: how did a 15-year-old American citizen end up stranded at a Texas border crossing after New Mexico’s child welfare agency closed his case?

As Torres put it, “New Mexicans deserve answers, and this child deserves justice.”

CYFD blasted after dumping U.S. teen at Mexican border to meet abusive parent Read More »

ABQ priest’s church sign targets woman who called out woke messages

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An Albuquerque Catholic parish already known for provocative political displays is facing new scrutiny after its church letterboard appeared to single out a local woman by name after she repeatedly criticized the parish’s left-wing messaging.

The latest controversy centers on Saint Therese Parish, also known as the Shrine of the Little Flower, on Fourth Street in Albuquerque. A photo of the parish sign shows the message: “RACISM GRAVE SIN AGAINST GODS LOVE KATRINA G.”

The apparent reference was to Katrina Griego, who has posted multiple photos of the parish’s letterboard signs on Facebook while criticizing what she described as a “woke” priest using a Catholic church for political messaging.

In one May 30 Facebook post, Griego wrote, “So sad to see this sign at a Catholic Church. This ‘woke’ priest continues to post anti ICE messages. He wants us to boycott these restaurants because they support ICE.”

Her post included a photo of a Saint Therese sign reading, “EARLY VOTING NOW ICE STILL MEETS FRONTIER – GOLDEN PRIDE,” appearing to reference the popular Albuquerque restaurants Frontier and Golden Pride. Frontier welcomes law enforcement officers, including ICE, to its restaurant, as we previously reported.

Another post from March showed the parish sign reading, “BLESSED LENT & RAMADAN.” Griego wrote, “Saw this sign today at St Therese CATHOLIC Church in Albuquerque. This ‘so called’ priest is out of control and needs to be removed.”

In January, Griego posted photos of signs reading, “NO ONE IS ILLEGAL IN GODS REALM” and “WE ARE RENEE GOOD / SOMOS RENEE GOOD,” writing that she did not believe such messages were appropriate for a Catholic church.

The political messaging has continued. Another photo provided to Piñon Post shows a Saint Therese sign reading, “NO KINGS IN USA ONLY JESUS,” an apparent reference to the anti-Trump “No Kings” left-wing protest slogan.

The situation escalated when Griego said she went to the church to photograph the sign that named her. In a Facebook Live video, Griego claimed she had a confrontation at Saint Therese and said, “I got maced.”

Griego said Rev. Vincent Paul Chávez came out shortly after she arrived and recognized her.

“He’s like, ‘Oh you’re Katrina, you’re the one that’s always taking pictures of my signs and taking video,’” Griego said in the video. She claimed Chávez said she had been “living rent-free” in his head and accused her of being “racist” and “probably a Trumpster too.”

Griego also alleged that a man she identified as Timothy Fresquez, whom she described as a groundskeeper, approached her afterward.

“He started saying that I was a f—— b—- and that I was evil,” Griego said.

She also said police told her they were going to file charges against Fresquez. Piñon Post has not independently verified whether charges were filed.

At one point in the live video, Griego said she was staying live because she feared the priest.

“I’m staying live because the priest of this church, he physically attacks people,” she said.

The controversy also drew attention from local activist Marcie May, who posted on X, “Love thy neighbor? Not if you don’t bow your knee to Islam!” May wrote that Saint Therese Parish “singles out Katrina [G]riego” after Griego had called on the parish to “align with the Catholic Doctrine.”

Chávez has been at the center of political controversy before.

In 2020, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Archbishop John C. Wester told Chávez to remove a display in front of the church that depicted a child in a cage under a foil blanket, paired with a message about children separated from parents at the border.

The Journal reported that parents at the nearby Saint Therese Catholic School were upset about the display and had threatened to disenroll their children. Wester reportedly asked Chávez to remove the cage and “refrain from any contentious, controversial and provocative signs.”

Chávez told the Journal he was “dumbfounded” by the request and defended the display as symbolic art meant to start a conversation. He also described the country’s border-separation policy as a “grave collective social sin for every American.”

The Journal noted at the time that Chávez had used the parish marquee for messages including “Black Lives Matter,” praise for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the CDC, and “No human is illegal in God’s realm.”

Now, years later, the church’s public sign is again at the center of controversy — this time not just for political messaging, but for appearing to call out a private citizen by name.

For many, the question is no longer merely whether a Catholic parish should be used to promote left-wing political causes.

It is whether a priest should use an official church letterboard to publicly shame a woman who criticized him.

ABQ priest’s church sign targets woman who called out woke messages Read More »

Dem lt. governor fight gets ugly as socialists, Jane Fonda jump in

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The New Mexico Democratic Party’s scramble to replace Maggie Toulouse Oliver as its lieutenant governor nominee is turning into an ugly intraparty brawl, with state Sen. Harold Pope backed by Democratic Socialists while Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is getting help from Deb Haaland, Jane Fonda, and fellow Democrats attacking Pope’s record.

The fight is now centered on roughly 500 members of the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State Central Committee, who are set to vote July 25 through July 29 on who will join Haaland on the November ticket.

The vacancy came after Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico’s Democrat secretary of state, dropped out of the race due to health reasons after overwhelmingly winning the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Pope, an Albuquerque Democrat, lost that primary to Toulouse Oliver by roughly 60 percentage points.

Now, despite being crushed by Toulouse Oliver, Pope is trying to convince party insiders to give him another shot. Garcia Richard, meanwhile, has the public backing of Haaland, who endorsed the land commissioner to be her running mate.

The race has become so heated that Democrats are now openly attacking each other.

State Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, released a video Monday standing outside Chaparral Elementary School in Pope’s district and blasted Pope for allegedly failing to direct any of his annual capital outlay money to the school.

“Hey everybody, State Senator Mo Maestas from District 26,” Maestas said in the video. “I’m actually standing just north of my district in District 23, represented by Senator Harold Pope.”

Maestas said he and Pope each receive $4.1 million in discretionary spending.

“APS and all our public schools ask for various projects,” Maestas said. “I make sure that we fully fund the public schools in my district. Unfortunately, with $4.1 million in discretionary spending, Harold Pope gave this elementary school nothing.”

“He didn’t give Chaparral Elementary School a dime,” Maestas continued. “All they asked for was $87,000. It would have made up approximately 4% of his discretionary spending. So I don’t understand.”

Maestas then contrasted Pope with Garcia Richard.

“Harold Pope is running for Lieutenant Governor,” Maestas said. “There’s another candidate who has raised $3 billion for public education in this state. Harold Pope, on the other hand, did not give his elementary school a dime.”

In comments to Source NM, Maestas was even more direct, saying he filmed the video because he was frustrated with Pope presenting himself as a “progressive deity” while allegedly failing to fund schools in his own district.

“I mean, that’s just bread-and-butter government,” Maestas said. “It’s just indicative of the contradiction that surrounds his candidacy. When you compare their accomplishments, there’s no comparison.”

Then Maestas took aim at the far-left flank of his own party.

“So instead of Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard barnstorming the state this past month, there’s this power grab by the ultra-left, which does not serve the party or the state,” he said.

Pope pushed back, telling Source NM that Maestas’ attack shows his campaign may be gaining ground with State Central Committee members.

“When a senator within my caucus is on the attack like this, I think it shows that we’re probably doing well, when the mudslinging and things like this happen,” Pope said.

Pope said he had other priorities for his capital outlay money, including a road-widening project and law enforcement.

But the socialist wing of the party is clearly lining up behind him.

The Albuquerque chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America held a small news conference outside the state Democratic Party headquarters to endorse Pope. Both the Albuquerque and Santa Fe DSA chapters are now backing him.

Albuquerque DSA co-chair Nikhil Ananda said Pope is the candidate who reflects the party’s grassroots left.

“The senator is not just the choice that reflects the values of New Mexicans. I think he’s also the electable choice,” Ananda said. “But regardless of our preferences, I just want to make sure that the State Central Committee provides an election process and a decision-making process that reflects the conscience of delegates and their perspective on what’s best for New Mexicans.”

Garcia Richard’s camp got its own celebrity boost when liberal actress and environmental activist Jane Fonda jumped into the race on her behalf.

“It’s about damn time we have two bad-ass women leading New Mexico and protecting the state’s natural beauty for all New Mexicans,” Fonda wrote in an email to Garcia Richard supporters.

Garcia Richard did not respond to Source NM’s request for comment Tuesday.

The spectacle puts the Democratic Party’s internal divisions on full display. On one side, Pope is trying to ride support from the socialist left after losing badly in the primary. On the other, Garcia Richard is leaning on Haaland, environmentalists, and establishment Democrats who argue she has a stronger record.

For New Mexico Republicans, the infighting is a gift.

The Democrats’ lieutenant governor race now features a rejected primary candidate backed by socialists, a land commissioner endorsed by Jane Fonda, and one Democrat senator publicly accusing another of failing basic “bread-and-butter government.”

The SCC vote has not even begun yet.

But the mudslinging already has.

Dem lt. governor fight gets ugly as socialists, Jane Fonda jump in Read More »

Bear stranded atop NM utility pole meets grisly end

3 Comments / New Mexico, News / By

A bear that climbed to the top of a utility pole in New Mexico reportedly met a grim end after video of the stranded animal began circulating online.

The video, which spread across social media, shows a large bear perched high above the ground on a utility pole while a caller contacted emergency dispatchers for help.

The person on the phone could be heard telling the 911 operator they were “calling about the bear.”

“I’m on Highway 56,” the caller said.

The dispatcher appeared to already know about the situation.

“Are you calling about a bear?” the operator asked. “It’s on the tower pole?”

“Yeah, it’s alive,” the caller responded.

But according to the call, wildlife officials had already been contacted, and there were limited options for safely removing the animal.

“Just leave it be, I’ve already called Game and Fish, and they said there’s nothing that they can do,” the operator said. “They could go and shoot it and tranquilize it to get it down, but if they do that then it’s gonna fall and hurt itself.”

The video shows the bear stuck in a dangerous position at the top of the pole. Later, members of a local New Mexico Facebook group reportedly said the animal died from electrocution, though that account has not been officially confirmed.

The incident highlights the strange but real dangers bears can encounter when they wander into human infrastructure. Bears climbing utility poles are not unheard of, especially in rural or semi-rural areas where power lines, poles, and wildlife habitat overlap.

In some cases, utility crews have been able to save bears from similar situations by temporarily shutting off power and coaxing them down. In December 2025, a bear in Cochise County, Arizona, was nearly electrocuted after climbing a power pole. A lineman, identified as Werner J. Neubaurer, helped rescue the animal while his wife filmed the encounter.

“I de-energized the equipment and worked with a fiberglass stick to get her to climb down,” Neubaurer said, according to USA Today.

Video from that Arizona incident reportedly showed Neubaurer using the fiberglass pole to prod the bear until it finally climbed down and ran away safely.

The New Mexico situation appears to have ended differently.

The dispatcher’s explanation suggested that tranquilizing the bear was considered too risky because the animal could fall from the height and seriously injure itself. Without a safe way to bring the animal down immediately, officials apparently advised leaving it alone while Game and Fish assessed the situation.

It remains unclear exactly where along Highway 56 the incident happened, how long the bear had been on the pole, or whether utility workers were called to the scene. It is also unclear whether New Mexico wildlife officials have confirmed the reported electrocution.

Still, the video has drawn attention because of the helplessness of the situation: a wild animal alive but stranded high above the ground, with rescue options limited by the very real danger of the fall, the power equipment, and the animal’s own size and behavior.

While bear encounters often generate dramatic headlines, the New Mexico video appears to show a different kind of hazard — not an attack, but a tragic collision between wildlife and modern infrastructure.

For residents in bear country, officials often urge people to avoid approaching wild animals, keep a safe distance, and contact proper authorities when animals are found in dangerous or unusual locations.

In this case, one concerned caller did exactly that.

But according to reports from the local Facebook group, the stranded bear’s ordeal may have ended in electrocution before it could be safely removed.

Bear stranded atop NM utility pole meets grisly end Read More »

NM woman pleads guilty in $4M Medicaid fraud scheme

11 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

A Farmington woman has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors say she helped carry out a years-long Medicaid fraud scheme involving fake and ineligible non-emergency medical transportation trips across New Mexico.

Dorothea Irving, 47, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors say Irving worked with a non-emergency medical transportation company to submit millions of dollars in false claims to New Mexico Medicaid for trips that either did not happen or were not eligible for reimbursement.

The alleged scheme took place between 2020 and 2026, while Irving worked as a driver for a company that provided non-emergency medical transportation, commonly known as NEMT.

New Mexico Medicaid covers transportation for eligible Medicaid recipients who need help getting to non-emergency medical services, such as routine doctor appointments, when they do not have access to a personal vehicle or public transportation.

But according to court documents, Irving and others used the program as part of a multi-year fraud scheme.

Instead of simply transporting Medicaid beneficiaries to legitimate medical appointments, Irving, the company, its owner, employees, and other drivers submitted false trip records claiming that Irving or her children were Medicaid beneficiaries who needed transportation. Prosecutors say the false records included trips that never happened, claims that Irving acted as an attendant for her children on their own trips, and paperwork in which drivers falsely claimed to have transported one another to appointments.

Federal prosecutors said those records were used to disguise the fact that drivers were actually driving themselves.

In many cases, the fraudulent trip records involved Irving, other drivers, or minor children supposedly traveling long distances across New Mexico to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

The DOJ said the NEMT company then used the false trip records to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to New Mexico Medicaid. In some cases, the company allegedly claimed each passenger in a vehicle had taken a separate trip, multiplying the amount billed to taxpayers.

For trips involving Irving and her children as the supposed Medicaid recipients without transportation, the company submitted approximately $3,957,788 in fraudulent claims and received approximately $4,142,942 from Medicaid, according to the Justice Department.

Irving herself received approximately $980,901 from the company over four years of the scheme.

The guilty plea marks another major Medicaid fraud case in New Mexico, where taxpayer-funded programs have repeatedly drawn scrutiny over waste, fraud, and weak oversight. The case also highlights how programs intended to serve vulnerable patients can be exploited when providers and insiders manipulate billing records.

Irving faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Her sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after review of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the New Mexico Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; FBI Albuquerque Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris; HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows; IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown of the Phoenix Field Office; and New Mexico Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau Director Jessica Randall.

Trial Attorney Lauren Randell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lewis for the District of New Mexico are prosecuting the case.

The DOJ noted that the case falls under its broader effort to crack down on fraud against federal benefit programs. In April, the department announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, which it described as “laser-focused” on investigating and prosecuting fraud against the American people.

That work supports President Donald Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a government-wide effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance targeting fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.

Since 2007, the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants accused of collectively billing federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion.

For New Mexico taxpayers, the Farmington case is another reminder that Medicaid fraud is not a victimless crime. Every dollar siphoned through false claims is money taken from a program meant to help people who actually need care.

NM woman pleads guilty in $4M Medicaid fraud scheme Read More »

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