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The efforts of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, to move past his indictment and subsequent pardon by President Donald Trump are clashing with his brother’s legal troubles.
Martin Cuellar, sheriff of Webb County, Texas, faces a court hearing on Thursday over accusations of having misappropriated county funds. The case, coupled with the closeness of the Cuellar family, is complicating Henry Cuellar’s political outlook as he wages a campaign to continue his congressional career in one of the country’s most competitive districts.
It’s been over half a year since Trump pardoned Cuellar from an indictment on charges of bribery, conspiracy and money laundering.
“This pardon gives us a clean slate. The noise is gone. The work remains,” Cuellar said in a post to X, announcing that very same day that he would pursue reelection.
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Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was accused of taking more than half a million dollars in bribes from an Azerbaijan-owned energy company and a Mexican bank. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Cuellar was accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from an oil and gas company controlled by the government of Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank.
Although those charges are gone, Cuellar’s case is still very much in the public eye as his brother fends off accusations of siphoning funds.
Martin Cuellar faces 10 years behind bars as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine for allegedly using county employees and resources to run his own disinfecting business, Disinfect Pro Master.
Martin allegedly took home about $175,000 in illegal proceeds between 2020 and 2022, according to the Department of Justice.
“They allegedly opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and entered into service agreements with local businesses and restaurants despite having no employees or supplies of their own,” the U.S. attorney’s office wrote.
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UNITED STATES – JUNE 27: Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, talks with reporters in the Capitol after a meeting of House Democrats on Thursday, June 27, 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
“The indictment alleges WCSO employees handled the company’s day-to-day operations from the sheriff’s office where they picked up schedules and equipment to conduct disinfecting services both on and off the clock with the county.”
Connections between Cuellar and his siblings are further strengthened by their closeness. In the past, Cuellar has used his campaign fundraising apparatus to bolster his family’s chances in their own official pursuits, records show.
According to FEC filings, Cuellar’s campaign and his leadership PAC have paid $11,000 to his sister Rosie Cuellar for doing work for the campaign in 2022 and then donated $1,200 to her bid to become a judge. He has similarly donated $8,400 to his brother, Martin Cuellar, and his campaign to become sheriff in 2008 and 2020.
To at least one onlooker, the family’s woes look interconnected.
“The latest legal trouble surrounding Henry Cuellar’s family proves one thing: the scandals didn’t end with Henry. They simply moved down the family tree,” Christian Martinez, the national Hispanic press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.
“The Cuellar family’s culture of corruption has turned South Texas into a case study of what happens when one self-serving family holds power for too long,” he added.
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House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee member Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, questions U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a hearing on Jun. 25, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Cuellar’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Digital.
Having cleared the Texas primary in March, Cuellar now heads to the general election on Nov. 3. Cuellar last won reelection in a 52.8% to 47.2% victory over Republican challenger Jay Furman in 2024.
