In a shocking revelation that rocked the Texas 15th Congressional District race, Latin Grammy-winning singer turned Democrat candidate Bobby Pulido was caught on tape bragging about helping his longtime bandmate—a convicted child sex offender—get out of jail. While Pulido’s campaign attempts to dismiss the surfacing of his own words as a “desperate smear,” the audio confirms the candidate boasted about his efforts to bail out accordionist Frankie Caballero, a man later imprisoned for the sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl.
The New York Post reported this week that a resurfaced 2019 YouTube interview shows Pulido telling comedian Jose Luis Zagar that he personally went to get Caballero “out of jail” early in his career — remarks his campaign now says were meant only to convey that he was giving Caballero a performing opportunity, not that he posted bail. Court records reviewed by the Post show Caballero posted bail following multiple arrests between 1990 and 2000, was sentenced to four years in prison in May 2014 for indecent sexual contact with a minor, and continued touring with Pulido after his release. Pulido, challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, has faced mounting scrutiny over his association with Caballero, with the New York Times, The New Yorker, and the Wall Street Journal all citing the Post‘s earlier reporting.
In December, Breitbart Texas reported that Pulido announced his candidacy for Congress in South Texas. At that time, the candidate’s judgment was already being called into question when his campaign collided with his prior online footprint.
News reports at that time raised concerns among those families about the candidate’s values and judgment, as it appears his footprint on social media is laced with posts linking to porn sites and other explicit material, according to Fox News Politics.
Fox News posted:
In 2013, Pulido told viewers to visit pornographic website YouPorn if bored and reposted links to porn sites featuring the music of fellow musicians, asking them if they’re receiving royalties for being featured.
Later that same year, he posted a link to XVideos with the caption “homemade porn while sleep-deprived?”
In 2015, he posted a link to YouPorn but later deleted it, claiming his account had been hacked.
In 2014, the singer made a post on Twitter saying, in Spanish, “It’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” Fox stated. That post was later removed.
A spokesperson for the campaign acknowledged the accordion player had a drug problem. The New York Post continued.
The article states:
A July 18, 1994, court filing for the sex assault case reveals that Caballero was let out of jail without having to fork over any bail — on the condition that he would be ordered to pay the court $75,000 “in the event I fail to appear and violate the conditions of this bond.”
A former Hidalgo County prosecutor said the personal recognizance bond in a felony rape case was “outrageous” and “only could have happened with the blessing of the DA’s office.”
Caballero was only held for 10 days over the alleged sex assault — from July 8 to July 18, 1994 — before being released. When he was released, the bond record listed his employment as a musician playing with Arturo Montes.
The article recounts the following criminal history for the bandsman:
Over a three-decade period, Caballero was also charged in Hidalgo County with driving while intoxicated, cocaine possession, the 1994 sex assault, indecent sexual contact with a minor and assault on a family member by strangulation.
The assault by strangulation resulted in a five-year prison sentence, but he was credited with 747 days of previous jail time, allowing him to be paroled out in January 2026.
Cocaine possession charges were dismissed in 2009 as part of a plea agreement involving a federal charge for transportation of an unlawful alien from Mexico into the US. A judge sentenced him to 27 months.
Driving under the influence earned Caballero a 30-day sentence and a $350 fine.
Pulido’s campaign denied any knowledge of the musician’s being listed on the Sex Offender Registration list, the Post stated.
Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz is seeking re-election to the South Texas border-region congressional district.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.