David Rivera

David Rivera is a former U.S. Congressman (R-FL, 2011–2013) and former Florida state legislator. On May 1, 2026, a federal jury in Miami convicted Rivera on seven counts, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), violating FARA, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. The conviction stems from a 2017 secret $50 million contract with a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to lobby U.S. officials—including then-Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Pete Sessions—to normalize relations with the Maduro regime. Evidence showed Rivera used approximately $600,000 of the contract proceeds to fund his own political campaign. He faces a maximum of 60 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 20, 2026. Rivera also faces a separate pending federal indictment in Washington, D.C., for failing to register as a foreign agent while allegedly lobbying the Trump administration between 2019 and 2020 on behalf of sanctioned Venezuelan tycoon Raúl Gorrín, who reportedly paid Rivera $5.5 million. Earlier in his career, Rivera faced several election-related and financial controversies. These include allegations of orchestrating stealth funding for a Democratic spoiler candidate in 2012 and investigations into potential campaign finance violations and a $1 million contract with a gambling company during his time in the Florida legislature. He was never charged in the gambling contract matter, and a case regarding the 2012 election was dropped after an appeals court threw out a fine.