Venezuela and U.S. Latin America Policy

Former Miami congressman David Rivera goes on trial in federal court Monday on an 11‑count indictment alleging he secretly lobbied for Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan government during the first Trump administration while failing to register as a foreign agent and laundering millions in payments. Prosecutors say Rivera used his past connections, including then‑Sen. Marco Rubio — now Secretary of State and expected to testify Tuesday — and Rep. Pete Sessions to try to soften the White House’s hard line on Caracas after allegedly securing a $50 million lobbying contract routed through Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA. The government says Rivera worked closely with Venezuelan media mogul Raúl Gorrín, created an encrypted ‘MIA’ chat with code names for Maduro, Sessions and multimillion‑dollar payments, and funneled about $3.75 million to a South Florida company that maintained Gorrín’s luxury yacht. Rivera’s defense argues he was hired by a U.S.‑based Citgo subsidiary focused on positioning the company in the U.S. energy market, not directly by PDVSA or the Maduro regime, and thus did not have to register under FARA, portraying his contacts as part of broader efforts to encourage a more U.S.‑friendly leadership in Venezuela. The case offers a rare public look at alleged back‑channel foreign influence operations centered in Miami and is notable for compelling testimony from a sitting Cabinet member, something not seen since a Labor Secretary appeared in a mafia trial in 1983.