Claims extracted
27
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 27 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
CBS News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
As New Mexico officials sounded alarms this month about a growing fentanyl crisis, a veteran Drug Enforcement Administration agent has alleged the agency has contributed to the problem by allowing the deadly pills to reach the streets.
asserted
pills → sound → streets
"For three years, I've told my DEA managers that we're allowing dangerous amounts of fentanyl to hit the street, and we're doing nothing to stop it, and they didn't listen to me," DEA Special Agent David Howell told CBS News in his first television interview.
asserted
Howell → tell → interview
Howell, who is still an active agent, claims the agency tasked with enforcing federal drug laws has allowed millions of fentanyl pills to "walk" — a tactic in which investigators allow drug traffickers to distribute their product and then follow the trail to build bigger cases.
uncertain
traffickers → claim → cases
But because fentanyl is so lethal, Howell said the tactic has done more harm than good.
asserted
tactic → say → harm
"We at the DEA have let drugs hit the street, yes.
asserted
drugs → let → street
The difference was we were told not to with fentanyl," he said.
asserted
he → tell → fentanyl
In 2023, Howell was part of a team tracking a suspect in Albuquerque from the air.
asserted
Howell → track → air
Images obtained by CBS News from congressional investigators on the House Oversight Committee showed a person driving a white SUV picking up a child.
asserted
person → obtain → child
"We knew we weren't going to let the drugs … hit the streets or go to the house when we knew the kid was in the car," Howell said.
asserted
Howell → know → car
Agents in a black truck stopped the SUV, secured the child and detained the suspect.
asserted
Agents → stop → suspect
"We took his drugs.
asserted
We → take → drugs
We took his gun.
asserted
We → take → gun
It was in a little compartment underneath the seat that the child was sitting on," Howell said.
asserted
Howell → sit → that
Howell said agents found between 6,000 and 7,000 fentanyl pills in the vehicle.
asserted
agents → say → vehicle
But he says they faced backlash for taking the fentanyl pills off the streets.
asserted
they → say → streets
"We thought the U.S. Attorney's Office [for the District of New Mexico] would be pleased," Howell said.
asserted
Howell → think → Mexico
"Instead, they brought us into their office and chastised us.
asserted
they → bring → us
They were perfectly willing to allow that fentanyl to go to the house with the kid."
asserted
fentanyl → allow → kid
Howell's whistleblower complaint was first reported last June by the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal.
asserted
complaint → report → Press
New Mexico state Attorney General Raúl Torrez has sued the federal government over the practice of letting fentanyl walk.
asserted
fentanyl → sue → practice
"There's no escaping the conclusion that New Mexico moving in the wrong direction seems to be directly connected to this practice of walking fentanyl in this community," Torrez said.
asserted
Torrez → be → community
Officials in the wider Albuquerque area have declared a state of emergency because of the rising number of fentanyl overdose calls they are receiving.
asserted
they → declare → calls
The DEA and the DOJ declined CBS News' request for an interview, but the DOJ provided a statement saying: "When this whistleblower came forward, DEA Administrator Cole immediately requested an independent investigation by DOJ IG.
asserted
Cole → decline → IG
That investigation remains ongoing, and we cannot comment on the status of ongoing investigations."
asserted
we → remain → investigations
The DEA has also said, "If improvements are identified, DEA will implement them."
asserted
DEA → say → them
"Our city is being destroyed by this drug," Howell said.
asserted
Howell → destroy → drug
"That's why we're sitting here, and that's what I'm here to tell the people."
asserted
I → sit → people
The Aporia
