On Nov. 3, 2025 the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) announced their newest repression campaign against the homeless and poor people of the War Zone: Operation Triple Beam (OTB). OTB was implemented until Feb. 28 2026, lasting about 4 months. This operation was made public after BCSO deputies shot a man along East Central, in the International District, or what is known as the War Zone. The man who deputies shot, Pablo, was hospitalized and faced federal charges. BCSO was conducting their operations with multiple federal agencies including the FBI, Federal Marshall Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Why was this collection of agencies, federal and local, harassing people in the War Zone? The Operation Triple Beam title is one that has been used in the past across the country in various areas with high crime. It involves partnerships between federal and local forces to crack down on people in these areas and lock them up for longer via federal charges.
The results from a former “crime fighting” operation titled Operation Route 66, involving BCSO, supposedly showed a “revolving door in New Mexico’s criminal Justice system” in which “the same people are being released, missing court, and cycling through this system with very few real consequences”… to quote Chief County Pig, Sheriff John Allen. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office claims that cases of repeat offenders and those with warrants out for their arrest are thrown out too easily by local courts, and that “dangerous people” are roaming free. The aim of Operation Triple Beam was to use this eclectic mix of agencies to give out federal charges against these cases in order for harsher sentencing. This, however, is bullshit. The truth is that OTB was almost entirely focused on criminalizing poor and homeless people, who are issued bogus citations for “obstruction of property” or “obstructing the sidewalk” which more often than not results in warrants out for their arrest. The focus of this operation in the War Zone, under the guise of going after repeat offenders, was insidious given the reality of how the police act in this area. Various police agencies stalk the streets of the War Zone night and day to dish out their form of “justice” (i.e. giving homeless people citations and arresting them for things like sitting on the sidewalk, having too many personal belongings, or just existing when a cop is having a bad day). BCSO also introduced a “bait car program” as a part of OTB, which, if it wasn’t clear before, sets homeless and poor people up for failure, literally luring people struggling to survive into stealing cars. Unfortunately, the many evil ways that police harass homeless and poor people are too many to detail here. And unfortunately the tactics of OTB were about as evil as it gets.
BY THE END OF OTB THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 920 ARRESTS IN THE SPAN OF ALMOST 4 MONTHS
After this, only a whopping 5 defendants are facing federal charges. David Barnett, U.S. Pig Marshal for the District of New Mexico said, “While this operation has concluded, our work continues.” In those 920 arrests the contradiction of catching and releasing people like fish was not once addressed, further perpetuating harm but now at a federal level. Along with local pigs, feds worked to harass and repress people at an all time high. To put this to scale, 920 arrests in the span of 4 months is at least 230 arrests a month, meaning at least 33 people were being arrested and harassed everyday – but out of all of those only 5 people were charged with federal offenses? That is less than a 0.5% success rate.
OTB may have failed to put up impressive numbers on the federal level, but it did succeed in increasing the overall level of repression in the War Zone, as was the case when BCSO deputies murdered a man named Marc Dutch during a traffic stop on December 16th, 2025. Though OTB has ended, the implementation of it proves that the ruling class has deemed the situation in the War Zone as undesirable. With so many homeless people cast away from employment on the one hand, and the private property and tourist attractions also in the area on the other, the situation in the War Zone is volatile. That contradiction between those discarded by the system and those that benefit it will be decided one way or another, and OTB has only poured more fuel on this already combustive situation. Whether there is a spark that lights the fire needed to create a mass movement against this repression, however, is up to us. People who are fed up with the brutality of this system. By forging mass resistance led by those under the gun of police brutality and by uniting with all who can be united, whether homeless or not, in the War Zone or in the South Valley, the masses can militantly confront this repression. Hit up Dare to Struggle if you’re down.
Sources:
Albuquerque Journal. Bernalillo County sheriff faults court system in poor operation results.
ABQ RAW. BCSO Sheriff Allen Exposes NM Criminal Justice System Loopholes. https://abqraw.com/post/bcso-sheriff-allen-exposes-nm-criminal-justice-system-loopholes/
ABQ RAW. Feds Make 920 Arrests Targeting Violent Crime Across New Mexico. https://abqraw.com/post/feds-make-920-arrests-targeting-violent-crime-across-new-mexico/
Dare to Struggle 