MIAMI — Opening statements in the trial of former Florida Congressman David Rivera are set to begin Monday.
He’s accused of secretly lobbying for Venezuela’s government during the first Trump administration.
The case is related to a multi-million dollar deal back in 2017 involving Venezuela’s state oil company, however, in 2022, the deal became the center of Rivera’s indictment and arrest.
The 34-page indictment unspools allegations of Rivera as an unregistered foreign agent and money launderer.
According to the indictment, Rivera’s $50 million contract with Venezuela’s state oil company was for a secret back-channel to negotiate easing sanctions and normalizing relations between the Maduro regime and the Trump administration.
Code words and encrypted texts also come up in the indictment.
“It had nothing to do with PDVSA, had nothing to do with the government of Venezuela,” Rivera told Local 10 News in 2022. “Citgo petroleum in 2017 approached me because members of the Venezuelan opposition talked to me about dissidents inside Citgo that were not happy with the way the company was being run by the government of Venezuela and came to me asking for suggestions, for consulting, for counseling on how they can distance themselves, on how they can separate themselves.”
According to the Associated Press, the former congressman from Miami and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are former roommates. Rubio is expected to testify as a star witness during the trial.
Rivera denies any wrongdoing in the case.
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