Del Rio Court Sentences Mexican National Over 21 Years for Drug Trafficking

Pedro Alvarado-Montiel, a Mexican national known to associates as "Pelon," will serve 262 months in federal prison after a Del Rio judge sentenced him Friday for his role in a conspiracy to import methamphetamine through the South Texas border corridor.

The sentence, announced April 3 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, translates to 21 years and 10 months behind bars and was secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner in Del Rio federal court. The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative marshaling federal resources to disrupt transnational criminal organizations moving narcotics through corridors like the one running through Val Verde County.

The investigation began September 20, 2023, when a Bastrop County Sheriff's deputy conducted a traffic stop and agents recovered approximately two kilograms of heroin. Federal investigators then executed a search warrant at Alvarado-Montiel's home in Dale, Texas, where they found a large quantity of black tar heroin spread across a kitchen island. Laboratory analysis confirmed approximately 2.1 kilograms of heroin at the residence. Agents also seized firearms, magazines, ammunition and wire transfer records during the search, evidence prosecutors said pointed to an active distribution network rather than personal possession.

Alvarado-Montiel faced a five-count indictment and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine. The wire transfer records recovered alongside the weapons and narcotics indicate the trafficking operation extended well beyond the physical drug quantities found.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit led the investigation, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office. That combination of local and federal cooperation has become a hallmark of major prosecutions brought through the Del Rio division. In October 2024, a Del Rio judge sentenced an Eagle Pass man to 19.5 years for importing 14.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from Piedras Negras, Mexico, and in October 2025 a Kansas man was convicted in the same courthouse for meth importation through the Del Rio International Bridge.

The 262-month sentence for Alvarado-Montiel ranks among the heavier recent punishments handed down in Del Rio for drug trafficking and signals that the Western District is applying sustained pressure on the supply chains feeding into Val Verde County and beyond.

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