James Nunnallee
James Nunnallee has over 25 years of law enforcement experience, focused on keeping our nation and communities safe from the dangers posed by drug trafficking organizations. In August 2025, Mr. Nunnallee was chosen to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) San Diego Field Division, a significant drug trafficking corridor along the Southwest border. He looks forward to working with domestic and international law enforcement partners to defeat the drug trafficking organizations responsible for the poison in our communities.
Prior to his recent appointment, Mr. Nunnallee served as the DEA Deputy Chief of Operations. As the Deputy Chief of Operations, Mr. Nunnallee was responsible for aligning DEA’s enforcement operations and programmatic support to defeat drug trafficking organizations causing harm in our communities. In this role, Mr. Nunnallee also served as the principal advisor to the Chief of Operations on investigative and enforcement matters.
Mr. Nunnallee began his law enforcement career as a Prince William County, Virginia, Police Officer, serving for eight years in the community he was raised. In 2004, Mr. Nunnallee joined the DEA and was assigned to the Los Angeles Field Division where he built strong partnerships with local and federal agencies to investigate Mexican Cartel transportation and distribution cells. In 2009, he was selected for assignment to the Bogota Country Office Narco-Terrorism Group. Mr. Nunnallee worked closely with Colombian National Police to target the FARC and ELN, both designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. In 2015, Mr. Nunnallee was promoted to the position of Group Supervisor in the Tucson District Office and led multiple task-force groups, successfully leveraging his ability to build partnerships with state and local agencies. In 2019, Mr. Nunnallee was promoted to lead DEA’s Financial Investigations Section and later Executive Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Operations.
Mr. Nunnallee is a graduate from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and is a fluent Spanish speaker.