Former Republican Rep. David Rivera was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison for concealing a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign tied to Venezuela during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
Rivera, 61, has been jailed since a jury convicted him in May of conspiracy to commit money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian handed down the sentence in Miami.
The case centered on a $50 million consulting agreement involving Rivera and a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.
Prosecutors said the arrangement was used as cover for lobbying efforts on behalf of the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Damian sharply criticized Rivera during sentencing.
“There’s no dispute this money came from the Maduro regime,” she said.
The judge also said Rivera’s conduct conflicted with the anti-communist image he had cultivated throughout his political career.
The case provided a detailed look at an alleged foreign influence campaign aimed at shaping U.S. policy toward Venezuela.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas and a prominent Washington lobbyist all testified during the trial.
They said Rivera never disclosed the size or nature of his consulting arrangement.
Rivera was originally charged in 2022 during the Biden administration.
His attorneys have applied for a presidential pardon and say they plan to appeal the conviction.
Rivera is also still facing a separate foreign-lobbying case in Washington, D.C.
The judge has not yet ruled on the government’s request that Rivera forfeit $20 million in alleged criminal proceeds.
Prosecutors said Rivera was recruited by then-Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez, who is now Venezuela’s acting president.
The government alleged that Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer worked to persuade the first Trump administration to normalize relations with Venezuela.
Nuhfer was also convicted and received a five-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors said Rivera and Nuhfer tried to influence powerful Republicans while concealing who they were working for.
Those contacts included Rubio and Sessions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz described the public and the federal government as the victims of the scheme,
“He used his position of trust — and betrayed it consistently and repeatedly,” Cruz said.
Rivera rejected the prosecution’s portrayal of him.
During an emotional address to the court, he described his rise from an immigrant Miami neighborhood to Congress and said he had spent his career “fighting the good cause.”
Rivera pleaded for leniency.
He argued that a lengthy sentence could amount to a “death sentence” because of his age and lingering health problems following prostate cancer.
Trial evidence also revealed the use of coded language in encrypted communications.
Rivera reportedly created a chat group called “MIA,” short for Miami.
Prosecutors said Venezuelan media businessman Raúl Gorrín served as Rivera’s primary connection to the Maduro government.
Members of the group allegedly used nicknames for several political figures.
Maduro was referred to as the “bus driver.”
Sessions was called “Sombrero.”
Rodríguez was referred to as “The Lady in Red.”
Rubio was reportedly called “Miss Clairol,” a reference to the Spanish meaning of the word “rubio,” or blond.
Payments were allegedly referred to as “La Luz,” meaning “The Light.”
Rivera’s attorneys argued that he believed his consulting work did not require registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
They said the contract was focused on persuading ExxonMobil to return to Venezuela.
Commercial activity of that type can be exempt from FARA requirements.
Defense attorney Ed Shohat argued that Rivera should not receive a life-altering sentence over a registration issue.
“David Rivera does not deserve to die in prison because he failed to file a FARA registration,” Shohat said.
Damian rejected that argument.
“This is a serious offense,” she said. “It’s not about not filing a piece of paper.”
Prosecutors also accused Rivera of trying to disguise how the money was used.
They said he backdated documents and created sham agreements.
One example cited by prosecutors involved a $3.75 million transfer to a South Florida company that maintained Gorrín’s luxury yacht, per PBS News.
The government said Rivera also helped arrange meetings in New York, Caracas, Washington and Dallas.
Sessions was drawn into the effort and later attempted to arrange a meeting between Rodríguez and an ExxonMobil executive, according to the source.
The outreach ultimately failed to change U.S. policy.
Within months of taking office, Trump sanctioned Maduro and labeled him a dictator as his administration adopted a “maximum pressure” strategy.
Rivera had previously served in the Florida Legislature before representing Florida in Congress from 2011 to 2013.
He also once shared a home in Tallahassee with Rubio.
Rivera had faced controversies before the Venezuela case, including earlier campaign-finance investigations and allegations involving a Democratic spoiler candidate.
Despite those controversies, several prominent Miami figures appeared in court to support him.
Sessions also submitted a letter seeking leniency.
Following the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones criticized Rivera in unusually sharp terms.
“He sold his anti-communism to communists to fill his greed,” Reding Quiñones said.
Rivera now faces a decade in federal prison while his attorneys pursue an appeal and a presidential pardon.
