A civil lawsuit in a New York court has had significant repercussions in the Southern District Court of Florida, where a former member of the House of Representatives faces charges of money laundering and illegal lobbying on behalf of Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
By Maibort Petit
The initial hearing for former Republican congressman David Rivera is scheduled for December 20 before a judge in the Southern District Court of Florida, where a criminal indictment is pending against him. The ex-representative of Florida, who served from 2011 to 2013, was arrested at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport on December 5, 2022, on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to lobby for Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his regime, as well as for money laundering. He was released shortly thereafter on bail.
Rivera has been under investigation by federal authorities multiple times, but this is the first occasion on which formal charges have been filed against him. Prosecutors managed to acquire evidence for this case during the presentation of testimony ordered by the judge in a civil lawsuit in the Southern New York court filed against his firm, Interamerican Consulting Inc. by PDV USA Inc., a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract for initial payments amounting to $15 million that were drawn from CITGO’s funds.
PDV USA accused the former congressman and his firm of receiving $15 million from a total contract valued at $50 million, without it being executed. Neither Rivera nor his company appear to have fulfilled the agreement, which was to lobby US public officials and federal agencies to prevent sanctions against PDVSA and members of the Venezuelan regime imposed by the US. Rivera counter-sued, demanding the cancellation of the remaining $35 million to complete the transaction amount.
Even though lobbying for a foreign government is not a crime in the US, firms engaged in this profession must register under the FARA Act. The prosecution accuses Rivera of violating this regulation for not registering as a consultant for the Venezuelan regime and the state-run PDVSA when he signed the representation and consulting contract for Maduro.
The FARA Act (Foreign Agents Registration Act) required Rivera to register as a foreign agent and publicly disclose his relationship with the foreign leader.
The contract language signed between Interamerican and PDV USA stipulated that the former was to lobby the federal government, Congress, and US agencies on behalf of Venezuela, aiming to obtain political support to normalize relations between the United States and Maduro’s regime. Rivera’s mission, along with Interamerican, as well as Esther Nuhfer and her firm Communications Solutions Inc. —also beneficiaries of the agreement— was to work to prevent then-President Donald Trump from imposing sanctions against PDVSA and members of the Venezuelan dictatorship. This objective was not achieved.
David Rivera argues that he did not violate FARA, as he contracted with a firm registered in the United States.
In response to a warning from his partner Esther Nuhfer about the necessity of registering under FARA, Rivera stated that it was already too late and that doing so would result in significant scandal, as revealed in emails presented in the lawsuit.
The indictment indicates that Rivera, to conceal the nature of his negotiations, referred to Nicolás Maduro as “guaguero” (bus driver in Cuban slang) in his chats and communications regarding the matter.
Prosecutors claim that Rivera sought meetings with US officials and legislators and that at least once, he traveled to Caracas to meet with the Venezuelan dictator.
The lawsuit notes that Rivera’s contract with PDV USA aimed solely to conceal the direct agreement with the Venezuelan regime, among whom the current vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, is prominently mentioned.
In the complaint, the prosecutors warn that the conspiracy’s objective was for the defendants to illegally enrich themselves by participating in political activities in the United States on behalf of the Venezuelan Government and representing its interests to US government officials, in an effort to influence US foreign policy toward Venezuela.
Raúl Gorrín was said to be the link between Rivera and Maduro’s regime, and it is mentioned in the document that Senator 1, whose name is not disclosed, also met with Rivera twice, where he purportedly told him that Gorrín informed him that Nicolás Maduro was willing to hold free elections in Venezuela.
It is worth noting that allegations regarding Rivera’s ties to Chavismo have been around for a long time. For instance, in 2012, he organized an event in the United States Congress in honor of Venezuelans. This activity was allegedly financed with Venezuelan public funds in favor of pro-government agents, according to an investigation by Univision. It was a commemorative celebration of Venezuela’s first cry for independence from the Spanish crown, held on April 19, 2012.
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Rivera notably presented a “recognition” to what is known as the “banker of Chavismo,” David Osío, owner of Davos Financial Group. During the event, Rivera awarded honorees the Medal of Merit from the US Congress, a Congressional Recognition Certificate, and the United States flag.
Another curious fact about Rivera goes back to 2010 when during an interview he accused his Democratic election opponent, Joe García, of being an agent of the Cuban dictatorship led by Fidel Castro at that time. Rivera, then candidate, denounced that García became an “agent of the interests of the Castro regime, as he (García) was lobbying for unilateral concessions towards the Cuban regime.”
He presented himself to his electorate in Florida as a fighter against communism given his origins but worked quietly in favor of communism’s hold in Venezuela.
Controversy involving Venezuelan opposition
In his efforts to distance himself from the accusations linking him to Chavismo, Rivera has claimed that the money received from CITGO as part of the contract payment, namely the $15 million, was funneled to the Venezuelan opposition to finance protests against Maduro that took place in 2017.
Rivera alleges that he supposedly delivered part of the $15 million to Leopoldo López and his wife, Lilian Tintori. They denied the accusation and threatened to sue Rivera, but to date, no complaint has been filed in US courts regarding this specific case.
Rivera also mentioned on another occasion that the so-called CITGO 6 —José Pereira, José Zambrano, Gustavo Cárdenas, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano, and Tomeu Vadell— should clarify the money.
In the lawsuit against Rivera, two individuals identified as members of the National Assembly of Venezuela (2015) are noted. The charge does not mention the names of the opposition politicians who allegedly attended meetings with David Rivera and Raúl Gorrín, owner of Globovisión and Seguros La Vitalicia, who is sought by US justice for various crimes and is currently a fugitive.
Raúl Gorrín is a key figure in Rivera’s case, with his emails and text messages appearing in communications between the former US congressman and Esther Nuhfer, as revealed by prosecutors and the evidence presented in court in the lawsuit against Interamerican Consulting Inc.
The messages reveal that Interamerican Consulting paid part of the money received from CITGO to Gorrín, and the payments from PDVSA’s US subsidiary were covered by fictitious contracts for supposed services rendered.
PDV USA’s attorneys stated that part of the funds paid by CITGO to David Rivera’s firm, $3.75 million, were directed to Interglobal Yacht Management LLC, a company that managed Raúl Gorrín’s yachts. This operation was allegedly intended to be concealed with a subcontract for strategic international consulting services, however, the yacht management firm refused to sign the contract retroactive to March 2017. Subsequently, the payment was attempted to be presented under the claim that Gorrín supposedly acted as Interamerican’s legal consultant.
Gorrín, considered a fugitive by justice, is involved in several legal cases currently ongoing in US courts.
We now await what the Florida Court will determine regarding Rivera.