> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/
- Published: 2026-11-04T10:37:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:37:19.000Z
- Description: 3,351 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 33 months, compared with 60 months for all 94 federal districts. The yearly median was 10 months in 2016 and 64 months in 2025.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-mexico/) › Drug Trafficking: District of New Mexico

**In brief:** 3,351 people were sentenced for drug trafficking in the District of New Mexico in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 33 months, compared with 60 months for all 94 federal districts. The yearly median was 10 months in 2016 and 64 months in 2025.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 3,351 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Yearly Medians Rose While Counts Fell

The table shows 631 people sentenced in 2016 with a median prison term of 10 months. It shows 196 people in 2025 with a median of 64 months. The yearly medians in the table are 24 months in 2017, 30 months in 2018, and 37 months in 2019, and they are higher in later rows than in the first row.

1,936 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 1,415 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September. The records show that the figures changed, and they cannot show what caused the change.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 631              | 10 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2017        | 592              | 24 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 391              | 30 months     | 99%            |
| 2019        | 322              | 37 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2020        | 228              | 41 months     | 97%            |
| 2021        | 260              | 52.5 months   | 99%            |
| 2022        | 274              | 57 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2023        | 263              | 51 months     | 98%            |
| 2024        | 194              | 60 months     | more than 99%  |
| 2025        | 196              | 64 months     | 99%            |

## Drug Trafficking Compared With the Whole District

Drug Trafficking is the Commission's offense type for these cases. They were 11% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 3.5 months and 59% of sentences were within the guideline range.

For this type, 25% of sentences were within the range, and the national figure was 32%. Nationally, 185,188 people were sentenced for drug trafficking, 96% were sent to prison, and 98% pleaded guilty.

## Prison Terms, Mandatory Minimums, and Life Sentences

3,273 people (98%) received a prison term, and 56 (2%) received probation only. A quarter of those sent to prison received 70 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,708 of the 3,346 people with that information recorded (51%). The sheet gives no national mandatory minimum figure for comparison.

## Pleas and Trials

3,313 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 38 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 33 months after a guilty plea and 165 months after a trial.

Among guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas with no agreement. The records cannot show what led any person to plead or go to trial.

## Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range

Of the 3,351 people, 847 (25%) were within the guideline range. 1,510 (45%) were below it at the government's request, and 976 (29%) were below it without a government request. 18 (less than 1%) were above it.

## Guidelines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History

§2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)) was the primary guideline in 3,346 cases. §2D1.10 (Endangering Human Life While Illegally Manufacturing a Controlled Substance) had 2\. §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) had 1 each.

2,791 people (83%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months, and 2 received it for life. A fine was ordered for 76 (2%), and restitution for 242 (7%). 55% were in criminal history category I, and 8% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What the Records Leave Out

Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in the district. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts, which this post does not cover. The data includes only people convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are absent. Prison terms are those ordered, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (3,351). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-new-mexico/) (overview)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-new-mexico/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.