Recently unsealed court documents reveal that Rep. Henry Cuellar's former campaign manager and a political operative have agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes and are cooperating with the Justice Department's prosecution of the Texas Democrat. Mina Colin Strother, Cuellar's former campaign manager, and Florencio 'Lencho' Rendon, a political consultant and businessman from San Antonio, have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The charges stem from suspicions that Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from a Mexican bank and an oil and gas company owned by the government of Azerbaijan. While the congressman and his wife have pleaded not guilty, court documents suggest a bribery scheme orchestrated by Rendon and Cuellar in 2015.
Rendon allegedly signed a phony consulting agreement with the Mexican bank for $15,000 per month, with most of the money funneled to the Cuellars. To avoid direct payments to Imelda, Strother was recruited as a middleman. Strother then transferred approximately $215,000 to Cuellar's wife between March 2016 and February 2018.
Although the Cuellars are not explicitly named in the plea deals, their case numbers are linked to Strother's and Rendon's agreements. The details outlined in the plea agreements align closely with the indictment against Cuellar.
As the legal proceedings unfold, attorneys for Rendon, Strother, and Cuellar have been contacted for comments on the matter.
