Former Rep. David Rivera sentenced to 10 years over undisclosed Venezuela lobbying

Mixed · 2Former U.S. Rep. David Rivera was sentenced on Friday 2 October 2026 to 10 years in federal prison for his part in an undisclosed $50 million lobbying effort on behalf of the Venezuelan government. 1 2 Mixed · 2A jury convicted Rivera on all counts in May after a seven-week trial. He has been in custody since the verdict, and the sentencing was moved from July 20 to Oct. 2. 1 2 Left · 1The counts included failing to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Rivera faced a maximum of 60 years and a potential $20 million forfeiture judgment, and the jury also found that properties he owned in Doral and the Florida Keys would be forfeited. 1

Mixed · 2Prosecutors said Rivera and co-defendant Esther Nuhfer, a political consultant also convicted on all counts, secretly worked for the government of Nicolás Maduro in 2017–2018 under a contract with Rivera's company. They alleged that Delcy Rodríguez, then Venezuela's foreign minister, recruited Rivera to use his Republican contacts to persuade the first Trump administration to soften its stance and ease sanctions. 1 2 Left · 1Prosecutors said the pair sought to influence figures including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas without disclosing a consulting contract with a U.S. affiliate of the state oil company PDVSA. Trial evidence included messages from an encrypted chat group, and prosecutors also alleged backdated documents and sham agreements, including one used to justify a $3.75 million wire transfer. 1 Left · 1Rivera's lawyers argued that he acted in good faith and believed the work was exempt from disclosure under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They said the contract involved commercial efforts to bring ExxonMobil back to Venezuela, and that his meetings with Rubio and Sessions came after the agreement ended and aimed to remove Maduro. 1

Mixed · 2Rubio, a longtime friend of Rivera, and Sessions testified at the trial, along with a Washington lobbyist. CBS News reports that all three said they learned of the PDVSA-affiliate contract only later. 1 2 Mixed · 2Rivera served one term in Congress, from 2011 to 2013, representing much of the north Miami area, after earlier service in the Florida House of Representatives. 2 1