WASHINGTON – Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife faced a bombshell on Friday when the Justice Department announced more than a dozen federal charges against them. The charges allege that the couple accepted significant bribes from an oil company linked to Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. The 54-page indictment unveiled in a federal district court in Houston accuses Cuellar of 14 counts, including conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering. Furthermore, Cuellar is accused of acting as a foreign agent to benefit the Azerbaijani government.
Cuellar and his wife, Imelda Rios Cuellar, appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Houston, where they pleaded not guilty and were released on an unsecured bond. The trial is tentatively set to commence on July 8. Speaking outside the court, Cuellar maintained his innocence and expressed confidence in his reelection prospects in the upcoming fall elections.
Federal prosecutors alleged that the Cuellars received at least $598,000 in bribes from the Azerbaijani oil and gas company and the Mexican bank. These bribes were purportedly laundered through sham consulting contracts to shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, with little to no legitimate work being performed under the agreements. In return for these bribes, Cuellar purportedly agreed to leverage his position in office to advance the interests of Azerbaijan and the undisclosed foreign bank.
Cuellar’s ties to Azerbaijan reportedly date back to early 2013 when he and his wife traveled to Istanbul and Baku on a trip sponsored by a Houston-based organization with close ties to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani government allegedly discussed recruiting Cuellar to advocate for their interests in the United States Congress soon after this trip.
In addition to the Azerbaijani connection, Cuellar and his wife are accused of setting up shell companies and contracts with a Mexican bank to launder more funds. Prosecutors claim that the bank sought favorable relationships with U.S. financial institutions for currency exchanges. Cuellar supposedly inserted language into House bills to support these transactions in exchange for financial gain.
The indictment further revealed that the Cuellars used illicit proceeds to cover federal and state taxes, credit card bills, car payments, and extravagant expenses like a custom gown and down payments on a new car. The alleged scheme involving Azerbaijan and the Mexican bank comes after a previous FBI search of Cuellar’s properties in 2022, although Cuellar’s lawyer denied his client was the focus of the investigation at that time.
Since the indictment, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has announced that Cuellar will step down from his role as the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee until the legal proceedings conclude. Cuellar, a moderate Democrat representing Texas’ 28th Congressional District, has been a prominent figure in Congress but now faces serious legal challenges that may impact his political future.