USA02 October, 20262 min read
David Rivera Sentenced To 10 Years For Secret Venezuela Lobbying In Miami
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Rivera sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for Venezuela lobbying scheme. Convicted of secretly lobbying Washington for Maduro government and failing to register as foreign agent.
8 outlets told this the same way.
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10 Years for Secret Lobbying
Former U.S. Rep. David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in Miami for illegally lobbying US officials on behalf of Venezuela’s government during the first Trump administration.
Rivera was convicted in May of lobbying US officials on Venezuela’s behalf in 2017 without registering as a foreign lobbyist as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and the sentence was handed down by US District Judge Melissa Damian.
Rivera was sentenced Friday in federal court in Downtown Miami after a jury convicted him in May on all counts, and Rivera had remained in federal custody without bond since the jury returned the guilty verdict on May 1.
Judge Melissa Damian denounced Rivera for betraying his life’s mission and rejected Rivera’s motion to lower the federal guidelines range, calling it “This is a classic money laundering case,”.
Rivera, 61, was found guilty after a seven-week trial in which Venezuela’s state-run oil company hired his consulting firm to lobby members of Congress to help improve US relations with Venezuela.
Courtroom Testimony and Denunciations
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones told the court that Rivera “He betrayed the South Florida community he once represented,” and he said “This was not some paperwork violation, or a simple mistake.”
Brett Skiles of the FBI's Miami Field Office said, “Operating illegally and covertly on behalf of a foreign government has consequences,” and Charles Miller of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Florida Field Office said, “A person's title or political connections do not place them beyond accountability.”
Judge Melissa Damian told the courtroom, “There’s no dispute this money came from the Maduro regime,” as Rivera appeared stone-faced.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified that he had no idea about Rivera’s activities, and Texas congressman Pete Sessions also testified that they had no idea about his activities.
Rivera pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argued he should be spared prison time, saying he had been working to help Venezuela's opposition remove Maduro from power, not benefit his government.
Appeal, Forfeiture, and More Cases
Prosecutors said Rivera and Nuhfer secretly worked on behalf of the government of Nicolás Maduro from 2017 to 2018 through a multimillion-dollar contract, and Reuters said prosecutors urged Damian to impose a “significant term of incarceration.” Rivera must also forfeit his Florida properties as part of his sentence, and federal prosecutors in Florida described the case as a “secret political influence campaign,” receiving a $50m (£37m) contract for three months of work. Attorneys for Rivera plan to appeal and in June applied for a presidential pardon, and Rivera faces additional federal charges in Washington, DC, in a related foreign lobbying case.
Rivera told the judge he has prostate cancer and said, “I don’t deserve to die in prison,” adding, “It’s a death sentence.” Prosecutors had sought 22 to 30 years in prison while Rivera’s attorneys sought eight years, and the judge pushed back, saying, “For you to stand here and say, ‘The facts don’t support the convictions,’ is not a good place to start.”