Donald Trump and Associates

In federal court in Miami, powerful Washington lobbyist Brian Ballard testified that he cut ties with former Republican congressman David Rivera in 2020 after learning Venezuela’s government had awarded Rivera a $50 million contract, saying it shattered his belief they were both working to oust Nicolás Maduro. Rivera is on trial for allegedly secretly lobbying for Maduro’s government and trying to use his long‑standing friendship with now–Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other GOP connections to soften the Trump administration’s hard line on Venezuela without registering under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Ballard, a close Trump ally whose firm later became one of Washington’s highest‑grossing lobbying shops, recounted texts, emails and lobbying records that prosecutors say show Rivera’s duplicity, while the defense unsuccessfully sought a mistrial after prosecutors suggested Rivera tried to pull Ballard into the scheme. The case also highlights the role of Venezuelan media tycoon Raúl Gorrín—later indicted in the U.S. for bribery—who flew Rivera and Ballard on his jet to meet opposition figures and hosted meetings in Miami, underscoring how sanctioned oligarchs sought influence in Trump’s Washington. The trial offers a rare inside look at competing covert efforts by Maduro allies and Venezuelan opposition figures to shape U.S. sanctions policy, at the very moment some of those actors now help drive President Trump’s current pledge to "run" Venezuela.