President Donald Trump’s administration announced the completion of what federal authorities are calling the largest racketeering prosecution in the history of New Mexico’s federal district, marking the culmination of a decade-long effort to dismantle one of the state’s most violent prison gangs.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, led by U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison, revealed Monday that federal prosecutors have concluded their sweeping prosecution of the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico following the latest round of sentencing hearings, bringing to a close a years-long operation targeting the gang’s leadership, members, and associates.
According to federal officials, the investigation and prosecution ultimately resulted in state and federal charges against 178 individuals tied to the gang.
SNM, which originated in the New Mexico prison system following the infamous 1980 prison riot, has long been regarded as one of the state’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Federal authorities described the gang as a violent racketeering enterprise operating both inside correctional facilities and throughout communities across New Mexico.
Prosecutors said SNM maintained its power through murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and witness intimidation, operating under a “blood in, blood out” philosophy that required prospective members to commit acts of violence to gain entry.
Using the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering statute, prosecutors pursued what officials said was one of the most complex criminal enterprise cases ever brought in the state.
The sheer scale of the operation was staggering.
Federal investigators indicted 156 individuals on federal charges involving 325 overt criminal acts spanning from 1980 through 2024. Authorities successfully charged and convicted gang members connected to 13 murders, including killings both inside and outside correctional facilities.
Among the most alarming revelations from the case was a disrupted 2015 plot to assassinate the then-secretary of the New Mexico Corrections Department and high-ranking members of the New Mexico State Police. Federal officials said the murder conspiracy was retaliation for the conviction of SNM associate Michael Paul Astorga in the killing of Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim McGrane.
The investigation itself relied on extensive undercover operations and intelligence gathering. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, agents conducted more than 110 undercover drug and firearm purchases, utilized dozens of confidential informants, and obtained court-authorized wiretaps to infiltrate the gang’s operations.
That effort exposed a sprawling criminal network trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine both inside prisons and throughout New Mexico communities.
A major enforcement action in September 2022 led to the seizure of $1.8 million in cash, 1.1 million fentanyl pills, and 160 pounds of methamphetamine, along with firearms and other contraband.
Twelve SNM members were sentenced to life in prison as part of the prosecution.
“This case required years of patience, discipline, and persistence from prosecutors, agents, and staff who stayed with it to the end,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. “It was difficult work, but it was necessary work, and this office saw it through.”
Justin A. Garris likewise emphasized the magnitude of the case.
“It is impossible to overstate the enormity of this investigation,” Garris said. “For more than a decade, our team and partners stayed committed to dismantling violent crime and delivering justice for the victims and communities most impacted by this gang’s violence.”
The prosecution was led by the FBI Albuquerque Field Office’s Violent Gang Task Force, working alongside numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
The conclusion of the case represents a major law enforcement victory for the Trump administration’s Justice Department and federal partners, who say the operation has dealt a crippling blow to one of New Mexico’s most entrenched and violent criminal organizations.
While officials cautioned that gang activity remains an ongoing challenge, they argued the successful dismantling of SNM’s racketeering enterprise marks a historic step toward improving public safety in New Mexico.
So they finally got rid of the Democratic Party?
Sounds such, you made me laugh!