The number of fentanyl-related deaths in El Paso decreased for the second year in a row, but the deadly synthetic opioid is still present in the Borderland community.
“Every death that doesn’t happen because of fentanyl is great news,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jeffery Castillo said. “We’re glad the numbers are going down, but that doesn’t mean the fight’s over.”
There were 46 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in El Paso County in 2025, a slight decrease from 48 the previous year, but this shows a promising downward trend. At the height of the fentanyl epidemic, there were 98 fatal overdoses in 2023, the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office 2025 annual report states…