Former GOP Rep. David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Friday, Oct. 2, after a jury found him guilty of secretly lobbying U.S. officials on behalf of the Venezuelan government and laundering
millions of dollars connected to the work.
Rivera, 61, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian in federal court in Miami. A jury convicted him in May following a six-week trial.
The Republican represented South Florida in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2013. Prosecutors said Rivera worked on behalf of Venezuela's government in 2017 without registering as a foreign agent, as required under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Rivera pleaded not guilty. His lawyers argued he was working to help Venezuela's opposition remove then-President Nicolás Maduro from power, rather than advancing the interests of Maduro's government.
What was David Rivera accused of doing?
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rivera and co-defendant Esther Nuhfer obtained a $50 million contract with a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.
Prosecutors said the pair used the contract to advance the Venezuelan regime's interests in the U.S. without registering as foreign agents.
Rivera and Nuhfer lobbied U.S. officials, including then-Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and arranged meetings between U.S. policymakers and senior Venezuelan officials, including Maduro and then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez.
Evidence presented at trial also showed Rivera and Nuhfer used coded language in text messages to describe their activities, according to the Justice Department.
How much money did Rivera receive?
Prosecutors said Rivera was paid $20 million by the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company.
The Justice Department said Rivera deposited about $1.5 million in proceeds from the contract into his Florida state congressional campaign account between March 2017 and August 2018. He also used proceeds for other purposes, according to prosecutors.
Nuhfer, 52, was convicted of conspiracy to violate FARA, violating FARA, conspiracy to commit money laundering and engaging in a transaction involving criminally derived property. She was previously sentenced to five years, or 60 months, in federal prison.
What did Marco Rubio say?
Rubio testified during the trial about a 2017 meeting with Rivera, when Rubio was a U.S. senator.
Rubio said Rivera did not disclose that he had a contract with Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of PDVSA, when Rivera met with him about Venezuela.
When a prosecutor asked Rubio how he would have reacted if he had known Rivera was working with Maduro's government, Rubio said it "would have been shocking to me," according to Reuters.
Rivera was charged in 2022 during the Biden administration. His lawyers also argued that the Trump administration has placed less emphasis on FARA cases since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Contributing: Reuters
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Former congressman gets 10 years for secret Venezuela lobbying
