Anthony, New Mexico, a border city just north of El Paso, is investigating a cybersecurity incident after officials reported missing records, inaccessible systems and wiped devices and sought outside help from state and federal authorities, according to city statements reported by local outlets.
The city said in a March 31 letter made public on April 11 that it discovered missing public records, locked or inaccessible systems and other operational failures after the transition to a new administration under Mayor Gabriel Holguin. Statements reported by KVIA and KTSM said the missing materials included “investigative files, operational documents, and grant-related materials.”
Holguin took office in late December, succeeding former Mayor Diana Murillo, and KOAT has described the 24-year-old as the youngest mayor in New Mexico history. City officials say the records and systems issues surfaced as the new administration reviewed files, devices and access left by the prior administration.
Taken together, the publicly described facts do not confirm an external hack, but they fit the pattern of a broader cybersecurity incident. Whether caused by an outsider or insider, the reported wiping of devices, inaccessible systems, missing records and externally forwarded city emails raise core questions about access controls, data integrity, records preservation and the handling of sensitive government information.
According to the city’s statement, as reported by KVIA, the matter appears to go beyond a routine administrative dispute. KVIA reported that the city said police department devices were “locked and wiped clean” and that access to critical information was not turned over to the incoming administration.
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KTSM separately reported that devices assigned to former officials were not returned and later disappeared from city systems, while some city email accounts had forwarded information externally before the transition. According to KTSM’s account of the city’s statement, the police department also had “no structured transition,” and the city identified concerns involving communications tied to former Police Chief Vanessa Ordonez, along with irregularities involving timecards and payroll practices.
According to KVIA, Anthony said it has been working with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office but had not received enough follow-up “to resolve these issues or recover missing records.” KVIA also reported that the attorney general’s office said it had responded to the mayor’s office and assigned an attorney to review the matter.
For residents, the clearest confirmed impact so far is on records access and city administration. The city said it has faced “an unprecedented volume of Inspection of Public Records Act requests since late 2025,” and that many seek records “known to be missing or impacted by the transition issues,” straining day-to-day operations. No public statement cited by KVIA or KTSM says ransomware, malware, data theft or a named threat actor has been confirmed.
Holguin said in the city’s statement, as reported by KVIA, “As Mayor, I have a duty to protect the integrity of this City and ensure that public records are preserved and accessible.” He added, “What we have encountered raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and the proper handling of City operations during the transition.”
This would not be the first public-sector case to fall outside the usual ransomware playbook. In Hawkins, Texas, a disputed April 2024 “security audit” by a nonemployee led the city to shut down computer access, delaying water bills and online payments before the Texas Rangers later closed the case without finding a criminal offense. In Columbus, Kansas, officials said in October 2024 that the city was dealing with a “significant data loss incident” that temporarily closed City Hall. Dallas faced a larger but similarly atypical event after a city report found that actions by an IT employee caused the loss of 20.9 terabytes of data, including 8.26 million files, in a 2021 police data-loss incident that disrupted criminal case work.
Anthony is in Doña Ana County, and its public website continues to show records links and routine city functions online, suggesting the publicly documented disruption is centered on internal systems and records control rather than a broad public-facing outage.
State and local authorities are now reviewing the city’s claims as Anthony works to recover records, restore access and determine whether any official information was improperly deleted, removed or shared.
