Eagle Pass Man Gets 30 Years for Drug Trafficking on Kickapoo Tribal Land

An Instagram account posting photos of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, Farmapram and scales first drew federal investigators to Rolando Oyervides Jr. in 2019. That digital trail ended Monday in a Del Rio federal courtroom, where a judge sentenced the 40-year-old Eagle Pass resident known as "Roly" to 360 months in prison for armed drug trafficking on Kickapoo Tribal land.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced the outcome, with the prosecution handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Rivera. The case was part of Operation Take Back America, a federal initiative targeting transnational criminal organizations along the southern border.

Oyervides was convicted on three counts: possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty to the first two counts on June 24, 2021, and a bench trial on October 29, 2021 returned a guilty verdict on the third.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations led the inquiry. After identifying the Instagram account, agents obtained a search warrant and executed it at Oyervides' Eagle Pass residence on January 29, 2020, recovering drugs, firearms and ammunition. Surveillance had already confirmed he was running a distribution operation out of multiple residences, sometimes while children were present, relying on female couriers to move narcotics multiple times a week.

Where the trafficking occurred mattered as much as what was trafficked. Because Kickapoo Tribal land is federally recognized Indian trust land, narcotics crimes committed there fall under federal rather than Maverick County jurisdiction, routing the case directly to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. The Del Rio Division courthouse served as the venue. Federal firearms statutes stacked mandatory minimum enhancements onto the drug counts, and Oyervides' prior record pushed the sentencing range higher still: a 2004 cocaine distribution conviction had cost him 40 months in prison, with an additional 11 months added in 2009 after his supervised release was revoked.

WHAT THIS MEANS LOCALLY

Neighbors who observe unusual foot traffic at odd hours, frequent short-stay visitors, discarded small plastic bags, foil wrappers or syringes near a residence, or chemical odors coming from a property can submit anonymous tips to the Drug Enforcement Administration or contact the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office directly; callers can request that their identity not be disclosed.

Families dealing with a loved one's methamphetamine or heroin use can call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 at no cost, any hour of the day. Val Verde Regional Medical Center can also connect residents with local treatment and counseling referrals.