New Mexico
New Mexico man dies of the plague, in the US state's first fatal case of the disease since 2020
A man living in Lincoln County, New Mexico, has died of the plague, the state’s health department announced last Friday, making it the first fatal case of the disease in the US state since 2020.
The plague, which is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis and is estimated by some scientists to have wiped out more than 30 per cent of Europe’s population in the 14th century, occurs naturally in rural parts of the western United States, where it is carried by wild rodents including rock squirrels, wood rats, chipmunks, mice and rabbits.
It can be spread to humans by direct contact with infected animals, but is generally spread to humans through the bites of infected fleas.
Household pets that come into contact with local wildlife have also been known to spread it to humans, including a case in the west-coast state of Oregon last month in which a man who contracted the bubonic plague is believed to have caught it from his pet cat.
The New Mexico Department of Health did not release any specifics of the fatal case, such as the man’s name, age or ethnicity.
However, the department said staff were reaching out to residents of the area in which the man lived, and would conduct an environmental assessment of the area to determine if there was any ongoing risk.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to the family of the Lincoln County man who succumbed to the plague,” state public health veterinarian Erin Phipps said.
“This tragic incident serves as a clear reminder of the threat posed by this ancient disease and [emphasises] the need for heightened community awareness and proactive measures to prevent its spread.”
Plague still a danger in much of the world
The World Health Organization says people infected with plague usually develop acute symptoms after an incubation period of one to seven days, such as a sudden fever, chills, aching muscles, a headache and nausea.
Early diagnosis and treatment is vital, as common antibiotics are highly effective against plague bacteria, but cases that are left untreated have a high mortality rate.
Between 30 and 60 per cent of people infected with the bubonic plague, the most common form, will die, the WHO says, while the pneumonic plague — the lung-based form of the plague that can be spread from human to human — is always fatal if left untreated.
The plague is found on all continents except Australia, with epidemics occurring in Africa, Asia and South America over the past century.
While it is not present in Australia, it is a nationally notifiable disease and medical personnel are trained to be on the lookout for it, especially in returning international travellers.
The first known case of the disease in Australia was recorded in 1900 — a delivery man who worked at Sydney’s Central Wharf, which serviced ships that could have carried infected rats, according to the National Museum.
A quarantine program, along with the demolition of parts of the inner city and a rat extermination program, were instituted shortly afterwards.
By 1910, Australia had recorded 1,371 cases and 535 deaths from the plague, with most cases recorded in Sydney but some appearing as far away as north Queensland, Perth and Fremantle.
The last known case of plague in Australia is believed to have occurred in the 1920s.
SANTA FE, N.M. – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate whether any Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law when pills reached New Mexico streets.
In a statement, Lujan Grisham said, “make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities.”
The governor also shared a timeline from 2022 to 2025 that she said shows when she asked federal officials for help with New Mexico’s fentanyl crisis and violent crime.
Lujan Grisham said the first request came on June 21, 2022, when she wrote to then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray and asked for 50 additional federal agents.
She said she wrote to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sept. 15, 2022, asking for more agents, resources and support for New Mexico law enforcement.
Lujan Grisham said she wrote Garland a second time on Aug. 8, 2023, with the same request.
What came next?
About a month later, Lujan Grisham said she sent Garland a third letter and said New Mexico needed more federal law enforcement to curb violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
She said her most recent request came on Sept. 4, 2025, when she wrote to former Attorney General Pam Bondi and again asked for additional agents and resources.
The governor’s statement says those requests span several years as she pressed the federal government for more help in New Mexico.
Full statement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:
“I am appalled by reporting this week by the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal that revealed federal authorities made a deliberate decision to let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills flood into New Mexico communities, despite knowing that fentanyl is so lethal the White House has designated it a weapon of mass destruction.
Let me say that again: the Drug Enforcement Administration watched as 74,000 fentanyl pills were delivered to a mobile home park in Albuquerque, and they did nothing. And that’s just one transaction. Shockingly, the federal government stood by while monitoring shipments, tallying exact pill counts, and watching as these deadly drugs hit the streets.
There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were. Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway. The result: hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids. Hundreds of New Mexican kids growing up without stable parents. All while the federal government stood by.
If the justification for letting these pills flood our communities was that it would somehow make New Mexico safer down the road through bigger eventual busts, the results say otherwise. New Mexico now leads the nation in the increase in overdose deaths for the second straight year, despite deaths dropping nationwide.
Today, I wrote to Attorney General Raúl Torrez and asked him to investigate whether any federal agents broke state law when they allowed lethal drugs to remain on our streets, and to prosecute anyone responsible — regardless of whether they are a federal agent or not.
I have spent years working across two administrations — writing letters, traveling to Washington, meeting directly with President Joe Biden and his cabinet, pushing for accountability, asking for more federal agents to be deployed to New Mexico to help fight this crisis.
- On June 21, 2022, I wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, imploring the FBI to assign no less than 50 additional agents to New Mexico to stem escalating drug trafficking and violent crime.
- On September 15, 2022, I wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice provide additional federal agents, resources and support to New Mexico law enforcement. We asked the department to match the level of investigative, analytical, and technical resources the FBI had deployed in its Buffalo, NY surge.
- On August 8, 2023, I wrote again to Attorney General Garland, renewing my request that the DOJ expeditiously assign more federal agents to New Mexico.
- On September 7, 2023, I wrote to Attorney General Garland for a third time, reiterating my request once more federal law enforcement support to curb violent crime, drug and human trafficking.
- On September 4, 2025, I wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, once again requesting additional agents and resources.
I have declared the surge of drugs like fentanyl to be a public health emergency. I have deployed the National Guard to both Albuquerque and Española. While my administration was doing everything we could to stem the tide of fentanyl coming into our state, the federal government deliberately allowed it to flood in.
New Mexican lives are not the federal government’s cost of doing business.
I plan to hold the federal government accountable for this disaster and will explore every possible avenue of action against the federal government to right these wrongs.”
The Canyon Venado Fire has grown to 852 acres east of Clines Corners and crews say wind farms in the area are threatened.
CLINES CORNERS, N.M. – The Canyon Venado Fire has grown to 852 acres east of Clines Corners and crews say wind farms in the area are threatened.
The fire is burning just east of Clines Corners, south of Interstate 40.
It forced the closure of eastbound Interstate 40 at Clines Corners on Tuesday night. I-40 reopened Tuesday night. I-40 is back open but smoke still affects visibility.
“We’re on the side of I-40 so drivers have to be pretty cautious. As far as our establishment itself we’re pretty isolated by the freeway itself as a nice fire break,” said Lincoln Tarantino, Clines Corner general manager.
The fire has burned around 852 acres, up from just 20 at this time Monday.
Crews say the fire is not contained and wind farms in the area are threatened.
New Mexico
Feds allowed millions of fentanyl pills to ‘walk’ on New Mexico streets: DEA Whistleblower
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