ALBUQUERQUE, NM - United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Alexander M.M. Uballez, along with federal prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), hosted a crucial meeting last week that brought together key figures in the fight against violent crime in the state. The meeting, held in Albuquerque, included New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and representatives from 13 federal agencies that serve the state including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI is just one of the many federal partners that operate in Cibola County, supporting tribal law enforcement agencies in Laguna, Acoma, Zuni, and the Navajo Nation.
The primary focus of the gathering was the ongoing efforts to reduce violent crime in Albuquerque and stop it from spreading to smaller communities along the I40 corridor, through the collaborative work of several federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). The meeting emphasized the importance of the partnership between federal and state law enforcement agencies to enhance public safety.
U.S. Attorney Uballez initiated the proceedings by highlighting the close relationship between federal, state, and local law enforcement in New Mexico. He underscored the surgical approach of federal law enforcement in targeting the root causes of violent crime for federal investigation and prosecution. Governor Lujan Grisham expressed her full support for federal criminal enforcement and the collaborative partnership, emphasizing that broad-targeted efforts in the past had yielded limited results in curbing violent crime. U.S. Attorney Uballez elaborated on the USAO's community violence intervention policy, which has statistically shown meaningful reductions in violent crime. This approach identifies the key drivers of violence and offers support to those seeking peace while employing federal criminal enforcement against those choosing violence.
Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office elaborated on the Violent Crime Task Force, a joint effort involving federal and state law enforcement agencies, where agents and cross-designated Task Force Officers (TFOs) work together to target individuals responsible for violent crime. Representatives from the ATF discussed crime gun intelligence efforts, including crime gun tracing and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which aids in solving crimes. The DEA presented Operation Overdrive, a data-driven initiative targeting violent criminals and drug traffickers connected to overdose deaths, while Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Russell Lashley highlighted Operation North Star, focusing on the arrest of violent offenders with outstanding warrants.
U.S. Attorney Uballez called cross-designation the “linchpin” of this collaborative relationship, with TFOs and Special Assistant United States Attorneys (SAUSAs) from local district attorney’s offices serving as vital connectors between agencies.
The federal agencies also addressed the alarming threat posed by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) involved in human smuggling operations along New Mexico’s southern border. Criminal Chief Aaron Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office detailed the combined efforts of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security in Joint Task Force Alpha, targeting command-and-control elements of TCOs, charging their leadership, and seizing their assets. The USAO also launched a concerted effort to charge migrants and smugglers who pose a demonstrable threat to public safety in New Mexico. Representatives from U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations highlighted the increase in migrant deaths, the involvement of minors in driving migrants, inhumane conditions in stash houses, and the extortion, violence, and rape faced by migrants at the hands of smugglers.
Several other federal agency representatives, including Chief U.S. Probation Officer Ronald Travers, Special Agent in Charge William Mack from the U.S. Secret Service, Resident Agent in Charge Brenda Gonzales from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Special Agent in Charge Albert Childress from the Internal Revenue Service, Assistant Inspector in Charge Greg Torbenson from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Special Agent in Charge Victoria Owens from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, expressed their commitment to partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime not only in Albuquerque but across the entire state.