Reports based on records reviewed by The Associated Press say the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) permitted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills to reach the streets of New Mexico between 2023 and 2025. The accounts, drawing on statements from current and former DEA agents, describe a period in which fentanyl trafficking activity proceeded while federal monitoring reportedly continued without taking immediate enforcement action to stop the flow. Multiple outlets—including PBS NewsHour, MedPage Today, and The Independent—frame the issue as occurring during a time when the United States is facing a severe fentanyl-related drug epidemic. The articles state that the allegation is supported by government records and internal perspectives from agents. While the outlets broadly agree on the scale of the pills involved, they present the core claim as an allegation derived from record review rather than a final finding. The reporting centers on what DEA did or did not do in specific circumstances in New Mexico over the two-year span.