Ex-Miami US Rep. David Rivera arrested in Venezuela probe

A former congressman from Miami was arrested Monday in Washington on charges of money-laundering and representing a foreign government without registration.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said that David Rivera was arrested at Atlanta's airport. He is accused of being part of a conspiracy to lobby on behalf of Venezuela to improve US-Venezuela relations, resolve an oil company legal dispute and end U.S. economic sanctions against the South American nation.

Rivera is accused of meeting with senators, congressmen and White House officials, but no one is named in the indictment.

According to the indictment, Rivera wrote in text messages to a senator that the US should facilitate, not just support, a negotiated solution.

Pressure has been building on Rivera for more than two years after it was revealed that he received a massive contract from a U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

The former congressman was sued in 2020 by a Delaware-based affiliate of Venezuela-owned Citgo, accusing him of performing no work as part of his contract for three months of "strategic consulting" meant to build bridges with the U.S.

According to the indictment, Rivera sent a text message in October of last year acknowledging that he should register to lobby for the government of Venezuela, but that it would be a scandal of monumental proportions.

Rivera was required to register as a foreign lobbyist even though his contract was with a U.S. company.

Rivera has maintained his innocence and has filed a countersuit against the company, accusing them of unjust enrichment and breaching of contract. A lawyer for Rivera said he had not seen the indictment and Rivera did not reply to an email.

According to the U.S. marshals service, Rivera was released from jail on Monday afternoon.

Around the time Rivera was hired, the government of Venezuela was trying to court Donald Trump's administration, donating $500,000 to his inaugural committee through Citgo and initially avoiding criticism of the new U.S. president who had a penchant for befriending strongmen.

The charm offensive failed as Trump recognized Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader and imposed sanctions on the country in a bid to oust him.

Records that emerged as part of the ongoing lawsuit show Rivera worked with a man who has been indicted in the U.S. on money-laundering charges.

Rivera and Gorrin discussed buying concert tickets for unnamed officials and trying to arrange a meeting between Venezuela's foreign minister and executives from the U.S. oil company Exxon, according to correspondence introduced in the lawsuit.

As part of that effort, they also brought in Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, who secretly traveled to Venezuela to meet with the president.

Some of the fifteen million dollars that Rivera received as part of the contract were transferred to two of his associates and a Miami company, Interglobal Yacht Management, which is alleged to have been used to pay for maintenance on a superyacht.

The consulting agreement took effect the day before the fake contracts were created.

According to the US-backed opposition, Rivera's contract was a sham.

According to the lawsuit, Rivera's Interamerican made just $9,500 in the year before being picked out of the blue. Rivera didn't meet anyone from Citgo orPDV USA in person. He didn't submit the progress reports he was supposed to.

There is no evidence that Interamerican performed any of the contracted services, according to the court filing. There is not a single email, a single PowerPoint presentation, a single outline, a single Memorandum, or anything else suggesting that Interamerican ever performed any of the services.

Rivera was a high-ranking Florida legislator before he was elected to congress. He shared a home with a current US senator.

Rivera has been involved in several election-related controversies, including orchestrating the stealth funding of an unknown Democratic candidate to take on his main rival in a South Florida congressional race. There was a possibility of misuse of campaign funds to pay for state House activities.

That's right.

Spencer was in Florida. The Associated Press reporter is from Florida.