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Two political consultants agreed to plead guilty to charges that they conspired with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar to launder more than $200,000 in bribes from a Mexican bank, according to recently unsealed court documents that show the consultants are cooperating with the Justice Department in its case against the Laredo Democrat.

Cuellar, a powerful South Texas Democrat, was indicted with his wife Imelda on charges of accepting almost $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank. The indictment, unsealed last week, accuses Cuellar of taking money from the commercial bank in exchange for influencing the Treasury Department to work around an anti-money laundering policy that threatened the bank's interests. Cuellar allegedly recruited his former campaign manager, Colin Strother, and another consultant, Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, to facilitate the payments, according to court records.

Rendon and Strother both struck plea deals with the Justice Department in March, in which they agreed to cooperate in the agency's investigation of the Cuellars. They each face up to 20 years in prison and six-figure fines for charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The plea deals, which were first reported by the San Antonio Express-News, allege that Cuellar first asked Strother to meet with Rendon in February 2016 to “participate in a project to test and certify a fuel additive made by a Mexican company … so that it could be sold in the United States.” Rendon told Strother he would pay him $11,000 a month for the project, $10,000 of which Strother would pass on to Imelda Cuellar, according to the plea agreements.

Rendon paid Strother a total of $242,000 from March 2016 to December 2017, nearly $215,000 of which Strother then paid to Imelda Cuellar, the documents allege. Strother concluded the project was “a sham,” according to his plea deal, because neither Rendon nor Imelda Cuellar “did any legitimate work.” Strother “understood that the true purpose of the payments” was to “funnel money” to Henry Cuellar without the Laredo Democrat having to reveal it in his annual financial disclosures.

Cuellar has asserted his innocence, releasing a statement Friday in which he said his actions were “consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people.”

This story is being updated.

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Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday opened a program that will reimburse landowners along the U.S.-Mexico border for damage to their land and property caused by migrants, smugglers and drug traffickers.

Landowners have 90 days after an incident to file a claim, which requires a written police report documenting the damage. The state will compensate up to $75,000 for damage to things like a barn or a fence, Paxton's office said in a written statement that blamed President Joe Biden's administration for the problem.

“This program will provide needed relief to Texans whose property is damaged by foreign aliens waved into the country by the federal government,” Paxton said in the statement. “I am glad to help the farmers and ranchers on our borderlands who bear the costs of Biden's destructive policies.”

Property damage caused by migrants crossing through private property — such as cutting through fences as they make their way north — has been a constant problem for border-area landowners for decades. Private property is sometimes damaged when human smugglers try to evade authorities and crash their vehicles into fences or structures.

Landowners can apply online and should expect correspondence via email, according to the attorney general's office.

The Legislature last year approved a law, Senate Bill 1133, to create the program, which appropriated $18 million in state money for the fund for this year and next year.

Land damage before Sept. 1, when SB 1133 went into effect, is not eligible for the program. Landowners have 90 days to file claims for any damage to their land between Sept. 1 and May 6.

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