From Jeffrey Epstein to Don Huffines: The story behind Zorro Ranch
An LLC linked to Republican businessman and comptroller candidate Don Huffines purchased Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, a property that is once again under investigation.
Zorro Ranch
This elusive New Mexico property is located near Stanley, New Mexico, about 40 miles southeast of Santa Fe, and spans roughly 7,500 acres. The property includes a large main residence, several guest houses, equestrian facilities, and extensive undeveloped land.
Zorro Ranch was widely considered one of convicted-pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's primary residences, alongside his properties in New York City, Palm Beach, Little Saint James, and Paris. Former associates, court records, and media investigations show that Epstein spent a significant amount of time at his New Mexico property.
Zorro Ranch has long been the subject of allegations that Epstein used the property to sexually abuse and traffic girls. Annie Farmer, a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network, testified that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused her at Zorro Ranch when she was a teenager. Lawmakers and investigators now believe that the ranch may have been home to a wide array of crimes, including human trafficking.
Who is Don Huffines
Don Huffines is a Texas business owner and former state senator who has long been a controversial figure, even among his fellow Texas Republicans. Originally elected in 2014 to represent District 16, Huffines ended up serving just one term. He lost re-election in 2018 to Democrat Nathan Johnson after proving himself to be too-radical for conservative suburban voters in Dallas.
Huffines mounted a desperate attempt at a political comeback in 2022, when he primaried Governor Greg Abbott. Despite the millions of dollars Huffines spent on this race, he earned a measly 12% of the vote. Now, Huffines is running yet another ego-driven vanity campaign, this time for state comptroller, which just became a much more complicated endeavor after this latest revelation.
The Huffines Connection
According to a report that was first published by the Santa Fe New Mexican, a Limited Liability Company setup by Don Huffines and his family purchased Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County, back in 2023. The Huffines campaign first tried to ignore the story, before eventually releasing the following statement about the controversy:
“Four years after Mr. Epstein’s death, the Huffines family purchased property in New Mexico listed at public auction whose proceeds benefited his victims. Prior to the auction listing, they had never visited the property,” said Allen Blakemore, Huffines’ campaign spokesperson.
While the statement tries to paint the purchase in a positive light, neither Huffines nor anybody involved with his campaign answered direct questions from reporters about the reason for this purchase. It’s not every day that business owners and real estate developers purchase property linked to one of the most notorious pedophiles in U.S. history.
The Truth-finding Commission
New Mexico authorities have recently announced two investigations into the Zorro Ranch property. One of these investigations is being headed by state lawmakers as part of a truth-finding commission, while the other is being led by the NM Department of Justice.
New Mexico state lawmakers recently voted 64-0 to create their four-member bipartisan commission, whose role it will be to investigate the property for any evidence of potential crimes that took place on the premises. This truth-finding commission is calling on any survivors to come forward if they have information that will be helpful to the investigation.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez previously announced that his office would reopen an investigation into the property, which was originally dropped in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors who were building their own case.
Despite the many lingering questions and concerns about this property acquisition and subsequent investigations, one this is quite clear: this controversy can be added to the ever-growing list of Republican politicians and financiers who are linked to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network.