Texas Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar called out for taking money from family linked to Mexican drug cartel

Cuellar has been called out for contributions from the family of a conduit for Los Zetas, the notoriously vicious Mexican criminal syndicate described by US officials as “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.”

Cuellar and his brother, Webb County sheriff Martin Cuellar, were investigated by local media in 2012 after federal agents arrested a Mexican citizen, and legal US resident, named Antonio Peña Arguelles in San Antonio. My San Antonio reported at the time, “An affidavit filed by a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent outlining the allegations against Pena Arguelles” alleged “that Pena Arguelles funneled millions of dollars from the Zetas” to high-ranking Mexican politicians, describing “Pena Arguelles as a conduit between Mexican politicians. . . and Zeta (drug cartel) members.”

Arguelles also donated to US officials including Martin Cuellar and was later sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for money laundering on behalf of the Zetas in 2014. Arguelles gave $1,500 to Martin Cuellar’s election campaign in 2007. In 2006 his then-wife, Armandina, gave $1,000 to the reelection effort of Henry Cuellar.

A spokesman for the campaigns of the Cueller brothers claimed they had returned or given to charity campaign donations from Arguelles. It was confirmed that they did so last year after discovering that Arguelles’ brother was killed in Nuevo Laredo, and his murderers left a note accusing the brothers of working with the Zetas.

Due to the Biden administration’s ongoing border crisis, drug cartels have a heavy presence in the Rio Grande Valley where a large segment of the region’s economy is linked to Border Patrol jobs.

The National Border Patrol Council, the labor union representing some 18,000 Border Patrol agents, endorsed Cuellar’s Republican challenger, Cassy Garcia this year, despite having repeatedly endorsed Cuellar in the past.

In January, Cuellar's Laredo home and campaign headquarters were raided by the FBI as part of a “court-authorized law enforcement activity” related to an investigation into his links to the nation of Azerbaijan.

According to the Texas Tribune, “a grand jury sought records related to Cuellar, his wife and one of his campaign staffers over connections to Azerbaijan. Cuellar is a member of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus and often speaks out advocating for the oil-rich country.”

A former US attorney told KENS 5 that “Cuellar is probably not just a witness in the case.”

According to National Review, South Texas has shifted to the right and like many Texas border communities, the 95 percent Latino electorate in Webb County, the largest county in South Texas, where Cuellar’s home of Laredo is situated, has also shifted toward Republicans by double-digit margins from 2016 to 2020.

Cuellar in attempting to remain in touch with his district’s conservative voter base distanced himself from the Democratic Party’s hard lean to the left and is currently ranked as the most conservative Democrat in the US House.

The congressman is also a regular target of far-left progressives and barely survived a primary challenge from his left earlier this cycle.