The seven-week trial offered a rare glimpse into Miami's role as a crossroads for foreign influence campaigns aimed at shaping U.S. policy t
A crony of L'il Marco Rubio has been convicted of being a secret lobbyist for the Maduro régime in Venezuela.
A former Miami congressman and longtime friend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was convicted Friday in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on behalf of Venezuela during the first Trump administration. Jurors found Republican David Rivera and an associate, Esther Nuhfer, guilty on all counts, including failing to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of their work for former President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Much as he did throughout the trial, Rivera stood stone-faced as the jury delivered its verdict. Rivera had been out on bond, but Judge Melissa Damian ordered him taken into custody, finding that he posed a flight risk because he has access to sizable funds, faces a potentially long prison sentence, and faces additional federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a related foreign lobbying case.
Given his connections, David Rivera is likely to ask Trump for a pardon. At the very least, Rivera could end up serving time in a luxury prison like Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
This was not Rivera's first brush with the law.
Before being elected to Congress in 2010, Rivera was a high-ranking Florida legislator. During that time, he shared a Tallahassee home with Rubio, who eventually became the Florida House speaker. Rivera has previously faced controversy, including allegations that he secretly funded a Democratic spoiler candidate in a 2012 congressional race. Last year, federal prosecutors dropped the case after an appeals court threw out a sizable fine imposed by a lower court. Rivera was also investigated — but never charged — for alleged campaign finance violations and a $1 million contract with a gambling company while serving in the Florida legislature.
