Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas vows to continue his bid for an 11th term despite bribery indictment

WASHINGTON -- For 2 decades, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has stood retired arsenic a mean Democrat on the Texas-Mexico border, bucking his enactment astatine times implicit guns and immigration portion seldom facing a pugnacious reelection.

But a national indictment accusing Cuellar of national conspiracy and bribery charges is putting the Laredo autochthonal who was archetypal elected successful 2004 successful a antithetic spotlight. Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda, 67, were taken into custody Friday successful transportation with a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the couple's ties to the erstwhile Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.

The congressman professed his innocence aft the indictment was revealed and vowed to proceed his bid for an 11th word successful November, saying, “Everything I person done successful Congress has been to service the radical of South Texas.”

The Cuellars are accused of accepting astir $600,000 successful bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled vigor institution and a slope successful Mexico. In exchange, Cuellar allegedly agreed to beforehand those entities' interests successful the U.S.

The mates surrendered to authorities, made an archetypal quality earlier a national justice successful Houston and were each released connected $100,000 bond, the DOJ said.

Cuellar's household is simply a governmental fixture on the border: His member is the sheriff successful Laredo, and his sister, a erstwhile municipal judge, is besides connected the ballot this year, moving arsenic a Democratic campaigner for authorities representative.

Several of Cuellar's allies successful the district, which stretches from the Rio Grande to the San Antonio suburbs, expressed astonishment implicit the indictments but said they would inactive enactment his reelection. Cuellar's mean authorities person helped him support enactment successful places wherever Democrats person mislaid ground, similar Starr County, a agrarian and cultivation portion of South Texas.

“It is highly astonishing for maine due to the fact that I’ve known Henry for many, galore years," Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said. "He’s ever been a precise consecutive guy, you know, precise sincere. I mean, he’s done truthful overmuch for america successful Starr County. I hatred to spot this going on.”

President Joe Biden won Starr County by a slim, single-digit margin. Two years later, Cuellar won it by 40%.

Sylvia Bruni, seat of adjacent Webb County’s Democratic Party, said she would spot the ineligible strategy to enactment reasonably and her absorption would stay connected elections. “We person a run to advance, our Democracy astatine stake," she said successful a statement.

Cuellar released a connection Friday saying helium and his woman “are guiltless of these allegations.”

“Before I took action, I proactively sought ineligible proposal from the House Ethics Committee, who gave maine much than 1 written opinion, on with an further sentiment from a nationalist instrumentality firm,” the connection said.

“Furthermore, we requested a gathering with the Washington D.C. prosecutors to explicate the facts and they refused to sermon the lawsuit with america oregon perceive our side.”

In summation to bribery and conspiracy, the mates look charges including ligament fraud conspiracy, acting arsenic agents of overseas principals and wealth laundering. If convicted, they could beryllium punished with up to decades successful situation and forfeiture of immoderate spot linked to proceeds from the alleged scheme.

The payments to the mates initially went done a Texas-based ammunition institution owned by Imelda Cuellar and 2 of the couple’s children, according to the indictment. That institution received payments from the Azerbaijan vigor institution of $25,000 per period nether a “sham contract,” purportedly successful speech for unspecified strategical consulting and advising services.

“In reality, the declaration was a sham utilized to disguise and morganatic the corrupt statement betwixt Henry Cuellar and the authorities of Azerbaijan,” the indictment says.

Imelda Cuellar is alleged to person sent a falsified invoice to the vigor company's Washington, D.C., bureau nether the agreement, saying her enactment was complete.

“In fact, Imelda Cuellar had performed small oregon nary morganatic enactment nether the contract,” the indictment says.

The indictment alleges that an Azerbaijani diplomat referred to Henry Cuellar successful substance messages arsenic some “el Jefe” and “boss,” and besides that a subordinate of Cuellar’s unit sent aggregate emails to officials astatine the State Department pressuring them to renew a U.S. passport for an Azerbaijani diplomat’s daughter.

Cuellar was astatine 1 clip the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus.

The FBI searched the congressman’s location successful the borderline metropolis of Laredo successful 2022, and Cuellar’s lawyer astatine that clip said helium was not the people of the investigation.

Cuellar, 1 of the past anti-abortion Democrats successful Congress, narrowly defeated progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros by less than 300 votes successful a superior contention successful 2022. Cuellar has been among his party's loudest critics of Biden, peculiarly implicit the administration's effect to a grounds fig of migrant crossings connected the border. His mean authorities person aligned him astatine times with Republicans connected issues including termination and guns. ___

Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas. Sean Murphy contributed from Oklahoma City.