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A former Miami congressman – and Sen. Marco Rubio's former roommate – was arrested by federal authorities Monday on charges of money laundering and representing a foreign government without registering.
The allegations come in connection to a $50 million consulting contract David Rivera signed with Venezuela’s socialist government. Rivera, a Republican who has been marred by scandals stretching back to his days in Congress from 2011 to 2013, was arrested in Atlanta, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami.
The eight-count indictment alleges Rivera at the start of the Trump administration was part of a conspiracy to lobby on behalf of Venezuela to lower tensions with the U.S., resolve a legal dispute with a U.S. oil company and end U.S. sanctions against the South American nation — all without registering as a foreign agent.
The indictment alleges that from 2017 to 2018, Rivera and Miami-based political consultant Esther Nuhfer tried to lobby members of Congress and the White House on behalf of Venezualan President Nicolás Maduro, the New York Times reported. It cites meetings in Washington, New York and Dallas that Rivera either attended or tried to set up for allies of Maduro with U.S. lawmakers and a top aide to former President Donald Trump.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION GIVES MADURO REGIME LIFELINE AS VENEZUELANS CRY FOUL
Then-Florida Republican Congressional candidate David Rivera speaks on Nov. 2, 2010, in Coral Gables, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)
The Venezuelan government allegedly paid Rivera at least $23.75 million from the $50 million contract for his lobbying efforts. Around the time Rivera was hired, Maduro’s administration was seeking to court the Trump White House, donating $500,000 to his inaugural committee through Citgo.
But the outreach effort ultimately failed, as Trump in 2019 recognized opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader and imposed stiff oil sanctions on the OPEC nation in a bid to unseat Maduro.
To hide the sensitive nature of his work, prosecutors allege Rivera referred to Maduro in chat messages as the "bus driver," a congressman as "Sombrero" and millions of dollars as "melons."
While none of the U.S. officials are named, evidence in a parallel lawsuit brought against Rivera shows that while working for Venezuela, the former congressman was in contact with Rubio, a longtime friend who helped drive the Trump administration's hardline policy against Maduro.
Republican Congressional candidate David Rivera is greeted by supporters as he campaigns at an early voting site on October 20, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Before being elected to Congress, Rivera was a high-ranking Florida legislator, serving from 2003 to 2010 in the House. During that time, he shared a Tallahassee home with Rubio, who eventually became Florida's House speaker.
Rivera is accused of attempting to set up a possible flight and meeting on the jet of a pro-Maduro businessman for a female campaign adviser turned White House "counselor" on June 27, 2017 — the same day Trump aide Kellyanne Conway was in Miami for a fundraising dinner with Miami Republicans, according to the Associated Press.
Florida State House of Representatives Speaker Marco Rubio, left, and David Rivera work the phones for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in Windham, New Hampshire, Sunday, January 6, 2008. (Christopher Kezer/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
He also allegedly roped in Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas to try and set up a meeting for Venezuela's foreign minister with executives from Exxon, which was headquartered in Sessions' district at the time. In July 2017, the indictment alleges Rivera wrote text messages to the unnamed U.S. senator ahead of a key meeting at the White House, saying he hoped the lawmaker would discuss with Trump a possible deal to end Venezuela's never-ending political conflict.
"Remember, US should facilitate, not just support, a negotiated solution," he wrote. "No vengeance, reconciliation."
More than two years ago, it emerged that Rivera received the massive contract from a U.S. affiliate of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company as Maduro was trying to curry favor with the Trump White House.
Rivera’s Interamerican Consulting was sued in 2020 by PDV USA — a Delaware-based affiliate of Venezuelan-owned Citgo — for not living up to the contract he signed in 2017 for three months of "strategic consulting."
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks to his supporters during an election-night party on November 8, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Rubio faced a challenge from Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla. (Saul Martinez/Getty Images)
Although Rivera’s contract was originally signed with a U.S. entity, any work he performed on behalf of Maduro’s government or Venezuelan business interests required him to register as a foreign lobbyist.
It was something prosecutors allege Rivera acknowledged himself in October 2017 when he sent a text message relaying a lawyer's advice not to get anywhere near parent company PDVSA in Caracas and that failure to stay away "would be a scandal of monumental proportions." Three weeks later, prosecutors say he received a $5 million payment from PDVSA's account at Gazprom Bank in Russia.
Rivera, 57, has maintained his innocence and has countersued PDV USA, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment for its failure to pay the $30 million he says he is still owed.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Rivera bailed out of jail Monday afternoon after making an initial appearance in Atlanta federal court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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