Secretary of State Rubio Set to Testify in Former Congressman’s Venezuela Trial

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take the stand Tuesday in the criminal trial of former Florida Congressman David Rivera. Rivera faces charges for allegedly working as an unregistered foreign agent for Venezuela's ousted government while secretly meeting with Rubio in 2017.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to appear as a witness Tuesday in the criminal proceedings against former Florida Representative David Rivera, who stands accused of serving as an unregistered foreign agent for Venezuela’s deposed government under Nicolas Maduro.

The testimony will temporarily pull Rubio away from his diplomatic duties in Washington, where he has been handling complex international matters including President Donald Trump’s military conflict with Iran, bringing him back to a Miami federal courthouse in the city where his political journey first started.

Federal prosecutors allege that Rivera, who served Florida’s southern districts in Congress between 2011 and 2013, conducted lobbying activities targeting U.S. officials in 2017 aimed at reducing sanctions against Maduro’s regime. Authorities claim he failed to register this work despite receiving $20 million in compensation from a Venezuelan state oil company subsidiary, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Both prosecution and defense teams acknowledge that Rivera held meetings during this period with Rubio, his former roommate who was serving as Florida’s senator at the time. The two Cuban-American Republicans have maintained consistent opposition to leftist administrations in both Cuba and Venezuela throughout their political careers.

Government attorneys contend Rivera conducted two separate meetings with Rubio during 2017, advocating for diplomatic negotiations to resolve mounting tensions between the United States and Maduro’s administration, while concealing his financial arrangement with Venezuelan government entities.

“You’re going to hear how he would not have sat down with his old friend if he knew that David Rivera was secretly working for Venezuela,” prosecutor Roger Cruz said in his opening statement on Monday.

Rivera has entered not guilty pleas to both foreign agent registration violations and money laundering charges. His attorney, Edward Shohat, argued during opening statements that his client’s true objective involved supporting Venezuelan opposition forces in their efforts to remove Maduro from power.

Shohat maintained that Rivera’s discussions with Rubio operated independently from his business arrangement with Citgo Petroleum, the American branch of Venezuela’s government-controlled oil enterprise. The defense attorney characterized Rivera’s Citgo work as commercial rather than political in nature, arguing this distinction eliminated any foreign agent registration requirements.

“David Rivera had no reason to tell Rubio about that contract,” Shohat said.

Regarding Rivera’s encounters with Rubio, Shohat explained, “Both of them were about working with the Venezuelan opposition.”

Despite the alleged influence campaign, the Trump administration actually intensified economic sanctions against Venezuela during its initial term in office.

U.S. military forces successfully apprehended Maduro during a January 3 operation in Caracas and transported him to New York to face narcotics trafficking accusations. He has entered a not guilty plea to those charges.