Former Miami-Dade Congressman Charged For a Second Time For Not Registering As a Venezuelan Agent

David Rivera, a former Miami-Dade congressman, has been charged for the second time for not registering as a foreign agent in the United States. He already has already been indicted for such a charge, as well as conspiracy, and money laundering, in another case related to PDV USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA.

Rivera is also tied with Venezuela in this case, but this time the charges stem from failing to register as a foreign agent between 2019 and 2020 and lobbying a then-Trump administration to remove Raúl Gorrin, a wealthy Venezuelan businessman from the federal government sanctions list. He was also charged with laundering lobbying payments through his consulting firm.

Gorrin is a TV mogul with ties to Nicolás Maduro, the country's authoritarian leader. He was charged in 2018 in Miami with foreign bribery and money laundering, and sanctioned in January 2019 by the Treasury Department, which prevented him from doing business or accessing bank accounts in the U.S. Gorrín also faces federal charges in Miami over allegations of conspiring to launder $1.2 billion reportedly taken from the government of the South American country.

Rivera's defense attorney, Ed Shohat, said on Wednesday that his client "intends to vigorously defend himself against these charges in the District of Columbia just as he has done so in the Southern District of Florida." Rivera, who served between 2011 and 2013, also issued a statement criticizing the Department of Justice. He called the charges "another politicized indictment against a Republican, right before the Trump administration brings back sanity and fairness to this weaponization of the justice system."

The indictment details that River received over $5.5 million for his activities and was paid "through a series of Hong Kong intermediary companies." He also stands accused of moving almost $1 million into his political campaign account.

Rivera also saw a development in the first case against him after he filed a lawsuit against Hugo Perera, a cooperating witness in the case. The suit, filed before a Miami federal court, accuses Perera's marketing companies of violating confidentiality agreements by disclosing information, including a 2018 legal memo, to federal prosecutors.

Perera, a former cocaine trafficker turned businessman, played a key role in securing a $50 million consulting contract for Rivera's firm, Interamerican Consulting, with PDV USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA. Perera was paid $5 million for making introductions, but Rivera's lawsuit is seeking to recover these funds.

Rivera's consulting contract, signed in 2017, tasked his firm with improving the public image of PDV USA's primary interest, CITGO, a Houston-based oil refinery. However, prosecutors allege the agreement was a front for lobbying efforts on behalf of the Venezuelan government to influence U.S. policy. Rivera and associate Esther Nuhfer were indicted in December 2023 for conspiracy, money laundering, and failing to register as foreign agents.

Court filings reveal Rivera funneled $13 million of his PDV USA income to subcontractors, including Perera and Raúl Gorrín.