Ex-congressman David Rivera gets 10-year prison sentence for secret Venezuela lobbying
Former Republican Representative David Rivera received a 10-year federal prison sentence on Friday for executing an undisclosed $50 million lobbying effort on behalf of Venezuela's government.
Federal sentencing in Miami
On Friday, former Republican congressman David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for running an unregistered lobbying campaign on behalf of Venezuela during Donald Trump's first presidential administration. Rivera, 61, had been incarcerated since May 2026, when a federal jury convicted him on all counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent. US District Judge Melissa Damian rejected defense claims regarding the funding origin during the sentencing hearing.
Nobody would accept that's ok and I don't think this is different. There's no dispute this money came from the Maduro regime.
As part of the sentence, Rivera must forfeit his Florida properties, while Judge Damian took under advisement a government request to forfeit an additional $20 million in criminal proceeds.
- David Rivera
- 10 years
- Esther Nuhfer
- 5 years
The multimillion-dollar consulting contract
The seven-week trial detailed how Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer secured a $50 million contract for three months of consulting work. The contract was formally signed with a United States affiliate of Venezuela's state oil enterprise, PDVSA, also known as Citgo. Prosecutors revealed that the lobbying initiative originated from Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Venezuela's foreign minister at the time and currently serves as the nation's acting president.
- Rivera secures a $50 million consulting contract with a PDVSA subsidiary
- Federal prosecutors unseal indictment charging Rivera with foreign lobbying violations
- Federal jury convicts Rivera following a seven-week trial
- Rivera's legal team submits an application for a presidential pardon
- Co-defendant Esther Nuhfer is sentenced to five years in prison
- Judge Melissa Damian sentences Rivera to ten years in federal prison
Nuhfer received a five-year prison sentence in August 2026 for her role in the operation. Prosecutors showed that the defendants concealed their registration to protect Rivera's public profile as an anti-communist conservative within Miami's exile community.
Outreach to senior Republican figures
Throughout 2017 and 2018, Rivera attempted to use his personal relationships to persuade the first Trump administration to ease economic sanctions on Caracas. Among those targeted were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who previously roomed with Rivera and served alongside him in Florida politics, Texas Representative Pete Sessions, and former White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Rubio, Sessions, and Washington lobbyist Brian Ballard testified during the trial that Rivera concealed his financial arrangement with the Venezuelan entity. Each witness recounted feeling betrayed after discovering the consulting contract. Defense attorney Ed Shohat maintained that Rivera's failure to file paperwork did not warrant such a harsh penalty.
David Rivera does not deserve to die in prison because he failed to file a FARA registration. If he had filed that paper, that form, everything he did, including the $50 million contract, which totally distorted this case, is perfectly legal.
Appeals and pending federal proceedings
Rivera, who served one term in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 after eight years in the Florida legislature, faces additional legal challenges. His attorneys previously cited a 2025 memorandum by former Attorney General Pam Bondi instructing prosecutors to limit Foreign Agents Registration Act cases to traditional espionage. Rivera's legal team submitted an application for a presidential pardon in June 2026 and confirmed plans to appeal the Miami conviction. He also faces a separate federal indictment in Washington, D.C., tied to related foreign lobbying allegations.
