America


‘Cover-Up’ Hides Horrors of Jeffrey Epstein’s Desert Ranch


Remote property has stayed out of public eye despite allegations of murder, sex traficking, and abuse.


A BY MATTHEW LYSIAK


uthorities investigat- ing Jeffrey Epstein are focusing on a remote New Mexico ranch once owned


by the disgraced financier, launching a renewed criminal investigation that could further inflame a growing politi- cal firestorm. On March 9, the New Mexico Department of Justice executed a coor- dinated search of the 7,500-acre Zorro Ranch — deploying state police and K-9 units in what officials described as an evidence-driven operation. The investigation marks the most significant law enforcement action at the property since Epstein died in a federal jail cell in Manhattan in 2019, and has also reopened ques- tions about the scope of his activities that extended far beyond his private Caribbean island.


18 NEWSMAX | MAY 2026 For some who have followed the


case closely, like Albuquerque radio host and former congressional can- didate Eddy Aragon, the move is long overdue. “This is a cover-up deeper, far more


macabre and strange than people think, involving some of the world’s most powerful individuals,” Aragon told Newsmax. Despite intense publicity sur-


rounding the Epstein saga, it remains a mystery how Zorro Ranch has stayed out of the public eye despite numerous allegations. Decades ago, victims began coming


forward — girls and adult women — with at least 10 alleging that Epstein groomed or abused them at the ranch beginning in the mid-1990s. About half were teenagers at the


time, according to a review of records. One of Epstein’s earliest accus-


ers, Maria Farmer, has long said New Mexico has been a hub for sex traffick- ing and abuse. In September 1996, Farmer report-


ed her experiences, including sexual abuse at the ranch, to the FBI. She alleges that her report was


ignored for more than two decades. In December 2025, Department of


Justice documents were released that appeared to substantiate her claims. Still, decades later, no one has fully accounted for what happened at the property — a failure that continues to confound victims, local officials, and investigators alike. Questions about Epstein’s pres-


ence in New Mexico — and how authorities handled it — go back even further. When the ranch was pur- chased in the 1990s, the Albuquerque Tribune described its new owner as a “mysterious stranger” who planned to build one of the largest homes in the state. Years later, after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida, New Mexico


RANCH/PARKER HILL/ALAMY / PROTEST/ROBERTO E. ROSALES/GETTY IMAGES


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