Latest news with #OperationZiaShield
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
National Guard likely to deploy by the end of the week in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico has made national headlines for deploying the New Mexico National Guard to help fight crime in Albuquerque. Now, they're potentially hours away from starting the experiment. Story continues below Don't Miss: Body of airman recovered at Elephant Butte Lake, Kirtland Air Force Base says Weather: When does monsoon season start in NM? What you can expect this summer? Crime: Man reflects on YouTube after family killed by younger brother in NE ABQ It's been more than a month since Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham authorized the guard's deployment, now, dozens of guardsmen will work alongside officers, likely by the end of the week. '77 guardsmen are prepared and ready to go out. We're in the final pieces of getting our agreement signed with the city and between the State of New Mexico. Any day, any minute now. I think certainly by the end of the week we should be in a good place,' said Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar. Officially called Operation Zia Shield, the unprecedented deployment has been weeks in the making. The guard is expected to help across several area commands, including east Central Ave. 'One of the challenges of doing this very quickly is all of the gear and equipment coming in on time. We're still waiting for some of that to come in. Not enough that would cause us to slow down,' said Maj. Gen. Aguilar. Up to this point, airmen and soldiers have done at least 30 days of tactical and de-escalation training to prepare. On the ground, they'll help with crime scene security, the Real Time Crime Center's drone operations, and evidence tagging at the Prisoner Transport Center. The goal is to free up officers to do their jobs, but the guard will not have law enforcement authority. 'They will not be doing arrests. They will not be taking traffic accidents, police service aids do that, but we will not task them with that,' Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina told KRQE earlier in May. While initial training is done, the guard said soldiers and airmen are prepared to get more on-the-job training once they're out in the field for a different kind of mission aimed at keeping Albuquerque safe. 'We love our community. That's what we do. It's the reason we wear the uniform,' Maj. Gen. Aguilar. Out of the 77 guardsmen taking part in this mission, nearly half of them call Albuquerque home. They will not be armed and will be wearing polo shirts on the streets. The mission is expected to last for at least six months. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina has said he thinks by October, the department should know if the mission has been effective. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico governor authorizes $2.25M for National Guard operation in Albuquerque
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – It's been over one month since New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham authorized the New Mexico National Guard to support the Albuquerque Police Department fight crime. Since the initial announcement, the governor has signed off on $2,250,000 in emergency funding to support Operation Zia Shield. The funding has been authorized in three executive orders issued by Gov. Lujan Grisham, each order designating $750,000 for the National Guard. APD reports 933 total arrests in 2025 so far Some National Guard personnel have already reported for duty, and others are expected to report for duty this Memorial Weekend, according to New Mexico National Guard Public Affairs Director Hank Minitrez. They will assist in areas including: Prisoner Transport Unit: Administrative intake of prisoners, to include property booking and paperwork, at the downtown Prisoner Transport Center. Field Ops: Traffic control, running paperwork, outer perimeter security for major crime scenes & critical incidents. (This is the only time the guardsmen will actually perform duties outside an office environment, according to Minitrez.) APD Real Time Crime Center: Drone launch and recovery, drone footage, license plate reader tracking, traffic camera tracking, shot spotter tracking. Fusing all-source crime data for dissemination to field units. (These guardsmen were the first to report for duty, about one week ago.) The deployment aims to improve public safety and support APD by allowing the department to reallocate resources to enforcement while still maintaining essential services. Overall, the goal is to reduce crime from downtown east through the International District. KRQE News 13 asked the governor's office if she plans to issue more executive orders authorizing emergency funding for this National Guard operation. Gov. Lujan Grisham's Communications Director, Michael Coleman, responded via email, 'Yes, as necessary but it's unclear how many more at this time.' To view the executive orders issued for Operation Zia Shield as of May 19, click the links below. Executive Order 2025-080 Executive Order 2025-116 Executive Order 2025-209 Per state law, the governor can allocate emergency funding in increments of up to $750,000. There is no limit on how many executive orders can be issued for one emergency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Families bid farewell to hundreds of National Guard troops deployed to Africa
RIO RANCHO — Within a few days, Anna Lysa Toledo will deploy on a monthslong mission in the Horn of Africa. Toledo, a soft-spoken 19-year-old who grew up in rural To'Hajiilee west of Albuquerque and graduated from Santa Fe Indian School last year, said Friday she is neither scared or nervous even though it's her first deployment. 'I'm actually really excited,' she said. 'Ever since I was little, I've known I wanted to join the military, just not sure which branch, so I've always known what I wanted to do.' Toledo is among more than 400 New Mexico National Guard soldiers who are deploying to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support what is known as 'Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.' Half were recognized during a going away ceremony Thursday in Las Cruces while the other half were recognized in a separate farewell event Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho. Citing operational security, officials disclosed few details about the mission in Africa, though the New Mexico National Guard will be tasked with providing additional security to existing forces on the ground. The task force 'conducts operations in the region to enhance partner nation capacity, promote regional security and stability, dissuade conflict, and protect U.S. and coalition interests,' according to the United States Africa Command. During Friday's so-called 'yellow ribbon celebration,' Lt. Col. Sergio Hands, commander of the 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment, asked hundreds of family members and friends of the departing soldiers to take a second to look around the room. 'What you will see is the depth of love and support we all share for our soldiers,' he said as some of them held their children in their arms or held hands with a loved one. 'They are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, family members and friends that are loved and will be missed at home through these next couple of months,' Hands added. 'These soldiers have made a selfless commitment to be a part of an organization that is greater than themselves, and they take pride in serving a higher purpose.' 'Operation Zia Shield' The overseas deployment — the largest since guardsmen were deployed on a peacekeeping mission to Sinai, Egypt, in 2012 — comes as the National Guard embarks on a high-profile operation at home: Assisting the Albuquerque Police Department with more routine tasks to free up certified law enforcement officers to fight crime. Hank Minitrez, a spokesperson for the New Mexico National Guard, said the deployment to Africa doesn't affect the operation in Albuquerque. 051625 jw ntl guard deploy Over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. Citing operational security, officials disclosed few details about the mission in Africa, though the New Mexico National Guard will be tasked with providing additional security to existing forces on the ground. 'We've got 71 soldiers there who volunteered for that mission' in Albuquerque, he said. 'Keep in mind, in total the entire New Mexico National Guard has just under 3,000 soldiers and airmen, so it's never a question of do we have enough manpower. We'll always be ready and available for the governor or any locality that needs us.' Dubbed 'Operation Zia Shield,' the Albuquerque assignment was authorized by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in response to a request for assistance from Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina to support the department's public safety efforts along the Central Avenue corridor, which includes the crime-ridden International District, and beyond. 'To effectively combat crime in Bernalillo County, the Albuquerque Police Department ... needs every sworn officer to be on our streets making arrests, deterring would-be offenders, and protecting the public,' Medina wrote in a May 31 memo to the governor. 'The fentanyl epidemic, coupled with an increase in violent juvenile crime, presents a problem that can only be resolved through a consistent and visible presence of APD's officers to Albuquerque's citizens.' The governor allocated an initial $750,000 to the operation. Last week, she issued another executive order allocating an additional $750,000 to the effort, for a total of $1.5 million. 'The safety of New Mexicans is my top priority,' Lujan Grisham said in a statement when she first authorized the National Guard to aid the police department. 'By deploying our National Guard to support APD with essential duties, we're ensuring that trained police officers can focus on what they do best — keeping our communities safe. This partnership represents our commitment to addressing the fentanyl crisis and juvenile crime with every resource at our disposal,' she said. 051625 jw ntl guard deploy Allison Peralta gives her dad, Sgt. Juan Peralta, a smooch as over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Seventy-one National Guard members have been assigned to the operation. While some have already started in their duties, the vast majority are expected to begin Memorial Day weekend. The guardsmen and women will fill a supporting role, tackling such tasks as providing security at crime scenes and SWAT operations and assisting with booking people into jail and tagging evidence. They will not have the authority to make arrests, nor will they carry guns or stun guns. 'Everybody comes back' Much like their colleagues in Albuquerque, the National Guard soldiers deploying to Africa will be playing a support role, Minitrez said. 'This is nothing new for the National Guard,' he said. 'Actually, National Guard units from across the country have been rotating in and out of Djibouti for many, many years now. This is our second or third time doing that, and every time we go, there's a different type of mission. Sometimes we focus more on transportation issues, driving big trucks. This time, we've been asked to provide additional security to the forces there.' 051625 jw ntl guard deploy Sgt. Damein Perkins, right, and Specialist Francisco Valdez bow their heads during the opening prayer as over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony on Friday, at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. In an interview after the yellow-ribbon celebration, Hands, who will serve as task force commander, said the task force will be '1,100 soldiers strong' with military members from four states: Louisiana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico. Hands, who has been on six other deployments during his military career, said every deployment has its own level of danger and complexity. 'We know that there are adversaries in our area we will be assigned to,' he said. 'Our job there is to protect the infrastructure and the other [soldiers] who are there.' State Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, a retired lieutenant colonel who served a combat tour in Afghanistan, was among the dignitaries who spoke at Friday's event. He advised the roughly 200 soldiers to pray daily and also contact their families every day. 'It was what worked for me when I was over in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006,' he said after the event. 'I wanted to make I communicated with my mom and dad every day, that they knew I was OK. I prayed every day because we were out on the road a lot and quite frankly, praying every day just comforted me and helped me get through what I had to get through.' Block said a deployment will change a person. 'It has changed me because of the things I saw over there for months and months and months,' he said. 'You see extreme poverty. You see extreme suffering. It takes a toll on you. You see people injured or killed, and you come back different.' Asked which mission was tougher, the one in Africa or the one in Albuquerque, Block said National Guard soldiers are nimble. 051625 jw ntl guard deploy Steel Mascarenas, 3, claps along to the Army Song while watching the band play with his departing uncle, Specialist Patrick Mascarenas, as over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony on Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. 'It's going to be different rules of engagement, obviously, doing combat operations over in Kenya, Somalia and the Horn of Africa compared to the International District,' he said. 'But that shows you the flexibility and what the Guard can do. They can do all these different missions, from Ruidoso to the International District, from COVID-19 to Iraq to the Horn of Africa. These men and women are incredible. They step up. They do it all when called, and they do incredible work. As you heard me say today, I'm just so damn proud of them.' David Young, 24, of Albuquerque, said the overseas deployment to Africa will be his first, too. Young said he's 'a little nervous' but not scared. 'Everybody deploys all the time, and everybody comes back,' he said. 'I believe in my leadership. I believe in my younger guys. And I believe in myself.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Governor authorizes more funding for National Guard mission to Albuquerque
May 15—SANTA FE — With the launch date of a New Mexico National Guard deployment to Albuquerque approaching, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has freed up more funding for the close-to-home operation. The governor issued an executive order last week that authorizes up to $750,000 in additional funds for Operation Zia Shield, which was announced last month as a way to allow Albuquerque police officers to focus more on fighting crime. The order follows an initial order issued April 9 that authorized a similar funding amount, bringing the total amount available to $1.5 million. Both orders stipulate the funds should be spent for the purposes of protecting public health and "avoiding or minimizing economic and physical harm." Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman confirmed Thursday the latest order was directed at providing more funding, while indicating more orders could also be forthcoming. "The governor will provide additional executive orders, as necessary, to ensure adequate funding to support the mission," Coleman told the Journal. New Mexico National Guard Adjutant General Miguel Aguilar said last week 71 guard members will be deployed as part of the mission, which was authorized by the governor in response to a request from Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina. The National Guard members deployed on the mission will not carry guns, wear fatigues or be authorized to make arrests, state and local officials have said. But they will carry pepper spray for self-protection and Narcan, which can be used to reverse an overdose of fentanyl or other opioids. The bulk of Operation Zia Shield is scheduled to begin on Memorial Day weekend, though some work is already underway. The mission has no current deadline, but Aguilar indicated it's likely to last for at least six months. The Albuquerque police chief has said the deployed guard members will be assigned time-consuming tasks — like directing traffic and securing crime scenes — so officers can focus on other duties. But they've also undergone training in self-defense and crisis intervention techniques. The deployment is expected to be focused on Albuquerque's International District along East Central that has seen high rates of open-air drug use and homelessness in recent years, though National Guard members could also be sent to other locations in the city. Meanwhile, the governor's authority to issue orders authorizing appropriations of up to $750,000 per order comes from a state law that has been largely untouched over the last 60-plus years. That funding limit has led to large amounts of such orders being issued in recent years, like the 139 orders Lujan Grisham issued for wildfire response efforts during the 2022 budget year.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Officer's family speaks out, National Guard in Albuquerque, Less precipitation, Tariff lawsuit, Los Alamos labs math partnership
$70K in funding for global Festival Flamenco event cut by federal government Man convicted of sexually abusing 11 year old in Bernalillo County VIDEO: Man throws small dog at Albuquerque officer during arrest Student accused of bringing gun to Albuquerque school will not be held New Mexico United to host ALS night, jersey sales to benefit charity WATCH: Law enforcement questions NMSP officer accused of DWI Black smoke: No decision after Cardinals hold morning votes on new pope [1] Family of APD officer killed in hit and run months ago still searching for answers – The family of an Albuquerque police officer killed in a hit and run is continuing to plead for anyone with information about her death to come forward. Officer Bianca Quintana was leaving a family member's house after an argument. She was walking near Coors and Chapulin just after midnight when police say she was hit and killed by a driver. Nine months later, Quintana's family is still looking for answers. They are pleading for anyone who knows anything to come forward. [2] Police outline National Guard's role in east Central operation – New Mexico's National Guard will soon be working with Albuquerque police. Guard members are training for what's being called 'Operation Zia Shield.' APD says the guard will do work similar to what Police Service Aid's do, like helping secure crime scenes and direct traffic. They will also use drones and help tag evidence. Full deployment is expected by the end of the month. APD Chief Harold Medina says the department is hoping the operation will lead to a drop in crime by October. [3] Less rain/snow, warmer temperatures and breezier weather – Slightly-less daytime thunderstorms will form today, but locally some heavy rainfall is possible with some lightning strikes, small hail, and erratic wind gusts. Temperatures will be once again higher today, reaching the upper 40s to the 60s for most northern areas, closer to normal for this time of the year, while it will range from the 60s to the low 80s elsewhere, slightly below normal. [4] NM Attorney General and ten other states file preliminary injunction to halt tariffs – New Mexico's Attorney General and ten other state AG's are taking new action to block the Trump Administration's tariffs. A lawsuit filed by the 11 states in April argues that congress alone has the authority to implement tariffs and that emergency powers used by the President to implement tariffs were used incorrectly. Wednesday, they filed preliminary injunction seeking a court order to pause the tariffs immediately while litigation continues. [5] Los Alamos National Lab and NM schools work to make math fun for students – A unique partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory and northern New Mexico elementary schools is turning the subject of math into something fun. Through the Math Teacher Leader Network partnership, Blanco Elementary School said they have seen a remarkable shift in how math is taught and how students feel about the subject. The lab's Math Science Academy team works directly with the schools, their teachers, and leaders to help teachers better teach math. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
