Secretary of State Rubio Takes Stand in Ex-Congressman’s Venezuela Case

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified in a Miami federal court about his interactions with former congressman David Rivera, who faces charges for allegedly lobbying for Venezuela's government without registering as a foreign agent. Rivera and an associate are accused of accepting a $50 million contract from Nicolás Maduro's administration.

MIAMI — In a rare courtroom appearance by a Cabinet member, Secretary of State Marco Rubio took the witness stand Tuesday to discuss his past relationship with former Miami congressman David Rivera, who stands accused of conducting secret lobbying work for Venezuela’s government nearly ten years ago.

Federal prosecutors brought charges against Rivera and a business partner in 2022, alleging money laundering violations and failure to register as foreign agents following their acceptance of a $50 million lobbying agreement with Nicolás Maduro’s administration. Rivera maintains his innocence in the matter.

Court documents allege that Rivera and his co-defendant attempted to facilitate meetings between then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — who currently serves as Venezuela’s acting president — and high-level American officials in multiple cities including Dallas, New York, Washington and Caracas. The alleged targets for these meetings included White House staff, congressional members, and Exxon Mobil’s chief executive.

During his testimony in the crowded Miami federal courthouse, which featured enhanced security measures, Rubio described developing a strong friendship with Rivera during their six-year overlap in Florida’s state legislature in the early 2000s. Their bond continued when both moved to Washington simultaneously — Rubio winning a Senate seat while Rivera claimed a House position — and they maintained their connection through shared social circles and family events.

Rubio recounted receiving an urgent phone call from Rivera in July 2017 requesting an immediate meeting about Venezuelan affairs. The following Sunday morning, Rivera flew to Washington and met with Rubio at his residence, where he outlined his collaboration with Raul Gorrin, a Venezuelan media mogul who served as Rivera’s primary connection to Maduro’s government, on a strategy to convince Maduro to resign from power.

“I was skeptical,” Rubio stated during his testimony, noting that Maduro’s administration was filled with “double dealers” who regularly proposed schemes to undermine their leader.

“But if there was a 1% chance it was real, and I had a role to play alerting the White House, I was open to doing that,” he continued.

Shortly after their meeting, Rubio used talking points supplied by Rivera to craft and deliver a Senate floor speech indicating that the United States would not seek revenge against Venezuelan officials who assisted in removing Maduro from office.

“He provided me with insight into some of the key phrases that regime insiders would’ve wanted to hear to know this was serious,” Rubio explained to the court. “No vengeance, no retribution.”

Rubio’s court appearance marks an extraordinary moment in legal history. The last time a serving Cabinet member testified in a criminal proceeding was in 1983, when Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan appeared at a Mafia-related trial. The indictment against Rivera contains no suggestions that Rubio engaged in any inappropriate conduct during his time as a senator.

Government attorneys argue that the lobbying arrangement aimed to convince the first Trump administration to establish normalized diplomatic ties with Maduro’s government — an effort that seemed unlikely to succeed during Trump’s initial term but may now be possible under different circumstances following recent political changes in Venezuela.

To conceal their activities, prosecutors allege, the defendants and their associates created a messaging group named MIA — representing Miami — where they communicated using Spanish code names such as “Little Cuban” for Rubio, “The Lady in Red” for Rodríguez, and “melons” to reference millions of dollars.

“This case is about two things: greed and betrayal,” prosecutor Roger Cruz declared in Monday’s opening statement. “The evidence will show that for $50 million these two defendants made a pact to secretly lobby for Nicolás Maduro” along with Rodríguez.

Rivera, age 60, argues through his legal team that his consulting company, Interamerican Consulting, was contracted by an American branch of Venezuela’s government-owned petroleum company rather than the foreign entity directly, eliminating the requirement to register as a foreign agent.

According to his defense, Rivera’s three-month agreement focused solely on encouraging Exxon’s return to Venezuelan operations — commercial activities that typically fall outside Foreign Agents Registration Act requirements.

Rivera’s lawyers maintain that his separate efforts working with Venezuelan opposition groups to facilitate Maduro’s departure were completely unrelated to his consulting business.

“The government’s theory is utterly preposterous,” defense attorney Ed Shohat argued during Monday’s opening remarks, characterizing Rivera as a “freedom fighter” and “ardent opponent of communism wherever it rears its ugly head.”