Former U.S. Representative David Rivera was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison for his role in an illicit, multi-million-dollar lobbying campaign on behalf of the Venezuelan government. Rivera, a former Florida Republican congressman and a longtime associate of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, received his punishment in federal court in Downtown Miami following a seven-week trial that ended with a jury convicting him on all counts in May. Having remained behind bars without bond since the verdict, Rivera faced up to 60 years in prison. Federal prosecutors fiercely denounced his actions, framing the covert operation as a betrayal of the South Florida community. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones rejected arguments that the infractions were minor administrative oversights, stating that Rivera sold his reputation to fuel his greed. Jurors found Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer guilty of multiple offenses, including failing to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and conspiring to commit money laundering. Trial evidence established that Rivera and Nuhfer secretly contracted with a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, from 2017 to 2018 to advance the interests of Nicolás Maduro’s administration. Prosecutors detailed how Rivera utilized congressional connections from his tenure in office to sway the first Trump administration into easing sanctions against Venezuela, all while concealing his financial ties to avoid damaging his anti-communist political standing. The operation utilized encrypted messaging applications with coded language, referring to Maduro as the ‘bus driver’ and millions of dollars as ‘melons’ or ‘La Luz’. Following the conviction, the court ordered the forfeiture of properties owned by Rivera in Doral and the Florida Keys. Defense attorneys maintained that Rivera acted in good faith, arguing that his firm’s commercial efforts were directed at encouraging ExxonMobil to return to Venezuela and assisting the opposition in removing Maduro. Testimony during the proceedings confirmed that prominent political figures, including Rubio and Texas Congressman Pete Sessions, were unaware of Rivera’s lucrative consulting contract while meetings were being arranged.
Source: cbsnews.com
