A federal jury convicted former Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) on all counts in connection to a $50 million contract to secretly lobby U.S. officials on behalf of the Venezuelan government in 2017 and 2018. Jurors found Rivera and an associate, Esther Nuhfer, guilty of “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,” the Associated Press reports. Rivera served in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and previously served in the Florida Legislature from 2002 to 2010. Breaking News: A jury found David Rivera, a former Florida congressman, guilty of conspiracy and other crimes for secretly lobbying on behalf of the Venezuelan government. https://t.co/ECHFjhIfet — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 1, 2026 More from the Associated Press: 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. 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 toward Latin America, one highlighting the city’s reputation as a magnet for corruption and anti-Communist crusaders among its sizable exile population. It included testimony from Rubio, Texas Congressman Pete Sessions and a top Washington lobbyist — all of whom testified that they were shocked to learn belatedly of Rivera’s consulting contract with a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. In an 11-count indictment unsealed in 2022, prosecutors alleged that Rivera was tapped by then Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — now Venezuela’s acting president — to work Republican connections from Rivera’s time in Congress to get the first Trump administration to abandon its hard-line stance and ease crippling sanctions on Venezuela. As part of the charm offensive, prosecutors alleged, Rivera and Nuhfer, a political consultant, manipulated influential friends, including Rubio and Sessions, like “pawns on a chess board.” The goal: to try and normalize relations with the new Trump administration at a time when the Maduro government was buffeted by serious accusations of human rights violations. Prosecutors alleged Rivera and Nuhfer didn’t disclose their lobbying work for fear it would end Rivera’s political career as a fierce anti-Communist. According to NBC News, Rubio testified that Rivera told him that he was working on a plan to convince Maduro to step down. Former U.S. Congressman David Rivera was found guilty on Friday of illegally lobbying U.S. officials to ease pressure on ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government. https://t.co/HrT2EKCFst — Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) May 1, 2026 NBC News shared further: A few days later, Rubio delivered a Senate floor speech signaling the U.S. would not retaliate against Venezuelan government insiders who worked to push Maduro from power. “He provided me with insight into some of the key phrases that regime insiders would’ve wanted to hear to know this was serious,” Rubio testified about Rivera. “No vengeance, no retribution.” Throughout the case, Rivera denied wrongdoing, with his defense attorneys arguing his work focused on legitimate commercial, anti-communist, or “democracy-promotion” efforts. Watch additional coverage below: