Former Florida congressman David Rivera received a 10-year prison sentence in Miami for running an unregistered $50 million lobbying campaign on behalf of Venezuela.
Former Florida congressman David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Friday in Miami for running an unregistered $50 million lobbying operation for Venezuela’s government during the first Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian handed down the sentence after a federal jury convicted Rivera, 61, in May on all counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent. Rivera had been held without bond since the May 1 verdict following a seven-week trial. Jurors also ordered the forfeiture of Rivera’s properties in Doral and the Florida Keys. His co-defendant, political consultant Esther Nuhfer, was convicted on all counts as well.
Covert lobbying and coded messages
Federal prosecutors said then-Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez recruited Rivera to use his Republican connections to convince the Trump administration to soften its stance toward Venezuela and ease sanctions. Rivera’s consulting firm entered into a three-month, $50 million contract with a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.
Prosecutors showed that Rivera and Nuhfer attempted to sway top lawmakers, including Texas Rep. Pete Sessions and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, without disclosing the oil contract. Rivera and Rubio had previously shared a house in Tallahassee while serving together in the Florida Legislature. Rubio is now secretary of state.
To conceal the lobbying work, Rivera set up an encrypted chat group called “MIA” with Venezuelan media mogul Raúl Gorrín, prosecutors said. Participants used code names: Nicolás Maduro was the “bus driver,” Sessions was “Sombrero,” Rodríguez was “The Lady in Red,” Rubio was “Miss Clairol,” and incoming payments were “La Luz.” Prosecutors also presented evidence of sham agreements and backdated paperwork, including one transaction used to send $3.75 million to maintain Gorrín’s luxury yacht.
Defense claims and shifting ties
Rivera’s lawyers argued he acted in good faith, contending the contract was commercial work to help ExxonMobil return to Venezuela and was therefore exempt from foreign agent registration. Defense attorney Ed Shohat told the court that Rivera’s meetings with lawmakers occurred after the contract expired and were designed to remove Maduro from power rather than help him.
Rubio, Sessions and a Washington lobbyist all testified during the trial that they didn’t know about Rivera’s consulting contract with the Venezuelan oil affiliate at the time.
Rivera’s attorneys said they plan to appeal and applied for a presidential pardon in June. Rivera also faces separate federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a related foreign lobbying case.
The sentencing comes after a shift in relations between Washington and Caracas. U.S. forces captured Maduro in January and brought him to the United States to face federal charges. Rodríguez, Rivera’s former contact, is serving as Venezuela’s interim leader and cooperating with the Trump administration on an energy partnership that would give the Pentagon a 35% stake in a Venezuelan oil producer.
