Vasquez Rebukes Administration’s Effort to Cut Funds for Combating Drug Trafficking

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last month, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) spoke out against the administration’s proposal to cut funding to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program – which combats drug trafficking in critical high-trafficking regions of the United States – by 35%. 

The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program provides funding and resources to facilitate vital coordination between local, state, federal, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to combat fentanyl and drug trafficking. Cuts to this funding would reduce these essential coordination efforts, hindering law enforcement’s ability to combat drug trafficking at all levels of government. HIDTA supports drug task forces in 17 counties across New Mexico, and the state received over $9.5 million in HIDTA funding in 2024, providing critical resources to help law enforcement keep dangerous drugs off the street.

In a letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee signed by Rep. Vasquez and eight other Members of Congress, elected officials noted, “The Administration’s request to cut HIDTA funding by $102 million dollars has also received 67 letters of opposition and counting from police departments, sheriffs’ associations, police chiefs’ associations, associations of narcotics enforcers, and non-profits.”

“In my district, everyone knows a loved one, friend, or community member who has been impacted by the byproduct of drug trafficking,” said Vasquez. “Making sure our law enforcement officers have the tools they need to do their jobs is absolutely essential in the fight to keep our communities safe, and it’s unthinkable that an administration which claims to be focused on stopping crime and securing our borders would cut this essential funding.”

Earlier this year, Rep. Vasquez helped introduce the bipartisan Fight Fentanyl Act, which would reauthorize the HIDTA program at over $333 million a year through 2030, strengthening the program for years to come so law enforcement has the tools they need to protect communities from fentanyl.

Rep. Vasquez also collaborated with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico, including the Sunland Park and Las Cruces Police Departments, to find solutions to reduce drug trafficking and drug crimes in the state, and he remains committed to implementing comprehensive reforms to stop the flow of fentanyl and drugs into the United States, including his No More Narcos Act and Stop COYOTES Act. 

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