Democrat Henry Cuellar is accused of accepting bribes from a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani oil company

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was charged along with his wife, Imelda Cuellar, with accepting bribes from a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani oil and gas company, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday in Houston.

According to the indictment, the Democrat was part of a $600,000 criminal plan to illicitly influence the formulation of public policies that would favor companies abroad. Cuellar and his wife Imelda are accused of participating in two bribery schemes, illicit foreign influence and money laundering.

What does the accusation say?

According to the official announcement from the Department of Justice, from December 2014 to at least November 2021, Representative Cuellar and Imelda allegedly accepted $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company controlled entirely by the Government of Azerbaijan and an unidentified Mexico City-based bank.

“The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts,” announced the Prosecutor’s Office.

In exchange for bribes paid by the oil company, Cuellar apparently agreed to use his privileged position in Congress to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan.

Likewise, in exchange for bribes paid by the Mexican bank, the experienced Democratic representative allegedly “agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank.”

In total, the Prosecutor’s Office accuses Cuellar and his wife of two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official and for a public official to act as an agent of a foreign principal, two counts of bribery of a federal official, two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, two counts of violating the prohibition on public officials acting as agents of a foreign principal, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering concealment and five counts of money laundering.

If found guilty of all charges, the representative and his wife could face a maximum of 80 years in prison.

The couple, who vehemently denied all accusations, were released this Friday after each paying $100,000 bail after making a brief appearance before a federal magistrate in Houston.

Who is Henry Cuellar?

Cuellar, a Democrat who was first elected in 2004, is one of the most ideologically moderate blue party representatives in the Lower House, although his vote usually supports his party’s lines.

In the midterms of 2022, Cuellar was re-elected with 56.7% of the votes in a competitive race against Republican Cassy García, who, along with Mayra Flores and Mónica de la Cruz, was part of the triad of Republican women who ran in the districts of southern Texas.

With this accusation, Democrats could see how one of their historically strongest seats in Texas could become even more competitive than in 2022, thanks to the growth of the Republican Party among Hispanics and the scandals around Cuellar.

The accusation against the Democratic representative also comes at a time when another legislator of Hispanic origin, Senator Bob Menéndez, is also accused, along with his wife, of accepting bribes from Egyptian companies.

However, the representative has already asserted that both he and his wife are innocent and that he will run to defend his seat in Congress.

“The accusation that she (his wife) is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive,” Cuellar said in a statement. “These allegations have been difficult on my family. But, with your prayers, we will overcome. As the son of migrant workers, I was taught to wake up early and work hard. That’s exactly what I’ve always done for the people of South Texas. I’ve devoted my life’s work to creating jobs here, improving education, and securing our border. Let me be clear, I’m running for re-election and will win this November.”

According to The New York Times, prosecutors revealed in detail some of the interactions between Cuéllar and Azerbaijani officials that showed their level of cooperation.

The court documents also included evidence of how the representative allegedly pressured Obama Administration officials to get the United States to take a tougher stance against Armenia, a nation that has long fought over disputed territories with Azerbaijan.

According to the NYT, in 2015, after his wife had already received $120,000 from the Azerbaijani oil company, Cuellar sent an email to a diplomat from that country that contained the draft of a speech that the same representative would give in the Lower House.

In this speech, Cuellar planned to praise Azerbaijan for its fight against terrorism.

Just a year later, the congressman told the same diplomat that he had presented a bill favorable to Azerbaijan.

The anonymous diplomat responded: “You are the best, El Jefe!”