Former US congressman David Rivera sentenced to 10 years over Venezuela work

A federal judge in Florida sentenced former US congressman David Rivera on 2 October, five months after a jury found him guilty of acting as an unregistered agent of Venezuela and of related financial offences. His seven convictions include conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, money-laundering conspiracy and four counts involving transactions in criminally derived property. [1] [2]

The case centred on a $50 million (£37 million) consulting contract between Rivera’s company, Interamerican Consulting, and an affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company. The company received $20 million, the Miami Herald reported from financial records presented by prosecutors. The contract’s value was not the amount paid to the company, nor is the company’s income a measure of Rivera’s personal proceeds. [5]

Prosecutors said Rivera used his political connections to advance Venezuelan government interests, including by lobbying Marco Rubio, then a senator and now US secretary of state. Rubio testified in March that he did not know Rivera was working for Venezuela’s government. Associated Press reported that Rubio used talking points supplied by Rivera in a Senate speech and also alerted President Trump to a possible development concerning Venezuela. [1] [8]