Susana Martinez, the district attorney in Doña Ana County and now Republican candidate for governor, says in campaign ads that she has "taken on members of the most violent Mexican drug cartels." It's also on her website.

But, according to law enforcement officials including Martinez, nearly all the felony drug cases prosecuted in New Mexico state courts don't involve high-level members of drug organizations. Almost all cases involving large amounts of illegal drugs go to the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecution in federal court.

So while Martinez is praised as an excellent prosecutor by a federal multi-agency anti-drug organization, the cartel members she's taken on apparently are relatively small fish.

During the current governor's race the issue of law and order has emerged as a major theme in the campaigns' TV spots. Both Martinez and Democratic opponent Diane Denish have run commercials implying the other is soft on crime. And both have been criticized by the nonpartisan Factcheck.org for distorting the truth in their negative crime ads.

So who are the members of Mexican drug cartels who Martinez says she has taken on?

Martinez doesn't name names. The basic response by Martinez and her campaign when asked about specific drug-cartel cases her office has prosecuted is that her office wouldn't be getting federal High Intensity Drug Traffic Area funds if they weren't prosecuting members of drug cartels.

HIDTA funding is under the Office of National Drug Control Policy, better known as the White House "drug czar." Sixteen New Mexico counties — including Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties — are part of HIDTA. The organization's mission in this state is to reduce drug availability by creating intelligence-driven drug task forces aimed at disrupting or dismantling international and domestic drug-trafficking organizations. Martinez is on the state HIDTA board.

Martinez said this week that her office this year received about $475,000 in HIDTA funds, which she said uses for four full-time attorneys and three legal secretaries.

Ernesto Ortiz, director of the High Intensity Drug Traffic Area in New Mexico, has high regard for Martinez's office. "They're one of our better DA's offices," he said. "It's a target-rich environment," he said, referring to Doña Ana County, which is on the Mexican border. "They've got good statistics."

Martinez's office, like all the HIDTA agencies in the state, is part of "Operation Up the Ladder," led by the U.S. attorney, Ortiz said. Basically the program encourages cooperation and information-sharing among agencies to develop cases against drug dealers with the aim of gathering evidence that leads "up the ladder" to higher-ups in drug organizations, including the Mexican cartels.

Most illegal drugs coming through New Mexico are transitory shipments, not destined for consumption here in the state, Ortiz said.

Marijuana is the major drug being trafficked here, he said. More than 209,000 pounds were seized in the 16 HIDTA counties last year, he said.

While major drug cases — such as those involving more than 100 pounds of marijuana — typically go to the feds, the U.S. Attorney's Office, for a variety of reasons, also can refer cases to district attorneys, Ortiz said.

Martinez's office has prosecuted some cases involving defendants busted with more than 100 pounds of marijuana.

According to court records, in 2008, Julio Ceasar Trujillo was charged with criminal solicitation to commit distribution of marijuana over 100 pounds, conspiracy to distribute marijuana over 100 pounds and distributing marijuana over 100 pounds. In a plea deal, the prosecution dropped the conspiracy charge and Trujillo pleaded guilty to the other two counts. He was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison, with all but six months suspended. Late last year, Trujillo was charged with a parole violation for failing to comply with conditions of parole.

The most recent annual report available from the Administrative Office of Courts, for the 2008-2009 financial year, says there were 275 new felony drug cases filed in Doña Ana County, with 540 cases open and pending at the start of that fiscal year. It's unclear how many, if any, were "cartel" cases.

During this period, 268 felony drug cases in Doña Ana ended in guilty pleas. Another 70 were dismissed by Martinez's office.

There are a number of reasons why prosecutors dismiss cases. Most frequently it's because of the quality of evidence.

Only four felony drug cases went to trial during that period. Three of those resulted in convictions.

Martinez's statistics for the previous fiscal year are nearly identical, according to the AOC's figures — 264 guilty pleas, 68 cases dismissed, three out of four felony drug trials ending in convictions.

However, Martinez said these statistics are low. The numbers she submitted for the calendar year of 2009 to HIDTA, verified by Ortiz, are 541 individuals prosecuted for felony drug crimes and 366 individuals convicted. The balance of the cases are still pending.

The reason for the discrepancies in the statistics is unclear. The Administrative Office of the Courts stands by its figures for Doña Ana in its annual report.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.