David Rivera, former congressman and alleged operator of chavismo in the U.S., has successfully postponed his federal trial until September 26, 2025, citing ‘interest of justice’. Accused of acting as an agent for Raúl Gorrín and laundering over $5.5 million using shell companies, Rivera remains free as the judicial system grants him additional time. This decision has sparked outrage among those denouncing the impunity of individuals collaborating with transnational criminal structures from positions of political power in the U.S.
The former Republican congressman David Rivera faces a series of severe criminal charges, having been formally accused on December 17, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictment includes 11 federal charges, focusing on his alleged role as an unregistered agent for the sanctioned Venezuelan businessman Raúl Gorrín, along with a sophisticated international money laundering scheme.
Charges Filed Against David Rivera
Rivera was charged with the following offenses:
One charge of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA): Rivera allegedly provided lobbying and consulting services in the U.S. on behalf of Gorrín between June 2019 and April 2020 without registering as a foreign agent. This offense carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Five charges of money laundering: He is accused of channeling more than $5.5 million from Gorrín through fake companies in Delaware and intermediary firms in Hong Kong, to conceal the source of the funds and pay others involved in the operation. Each charge could lead to up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.
Five charges for transactions involving property derived from criminal activities: Rivera allegedly used the illicit funds to carry out various financial operations, which entails a crime with penalties of up to 10 years in prison per charge.
Additionally, prosecutors have sought the forfeiture of over $5.5 million and various real estate properties, deemed profits from his criminal activities.
Links to the Venezuelan Regime and Raúl Gorrín
Raúl Gorrín, owner of the Globovisión channel and close to Nicolás Maduro’s regime, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department on January 8, 2019 and is included on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list for corruption and money laundering. Rivera allegedly attempted to influence high-ranking U.S. government officials, including one from the Executive Branch, to seek Gorrín’s removal from the sanctions list.
A Prolonged and Complex Legal Process
The judicial case has gone through numerous rescheduling and technical hearings between December 2024 and June 2025. Key milestones in the process include:
June 30, 2025: David Rivera pleads not guilty to all charges during a hearing before Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.
Throughout the process, Rivera has been released on personal recognizance, not requiring bail.
The next status hearing is scheduled for September 26, 2025, with the time until that date excluded from the speedy trial calculations in “interest of justice.”
Accused Background
This isn’t the first time Rivera has been the subject of federal investigations. In 2022, he was charged in another case in New York related to a $50 million contract signed with PDV USA, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, for unregistered lobbying services during 2017-2018. In 2023, additional charges for tax evasion and failure to report income were added relating to these issues.
According to federal prosecutors, Rivera highlights the expansion of Venezuelan regime influence networks within U.S. territory, through lobbyists and connected political figures.
The indictment states that the violation of the FARA law reflects the persistent interest of the Department of Justice and OFAC in dismantling the political and financial penetration mechanisms of chavismo in the U.S. using local intermediaries.
This case, according to court documents, establishes a significant legal precedent related to FARA compliance, especially in contexts where foreign agents seek to operate under the guise of legality using fictitious corporate structures and opaque jurisdictions like Hong Kong and Delaware.
David Rivera, Raúl Gorrín, FARA, money laundering, PDVSA, OFAC sanctions, Venezuelan regime, unregistered foreign agent, U.S. federal trial, transnational corruption.