Marco Rubio Testifies in Lobbying Case Linked to Venezuela and Maduro Regime

MIAMI — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified Tuesday in the trial of David Rivera, a former Florida congressman accused of secretly lobbying on behalf of the Venezuelan government, a case unfolding against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Ukraine, and Venezuela itself. The trial centers on allegations that Rivera and an associate attempted to influence U.S. Policy toward Venezuela following the capture of its former leader in January.

Prosecutors allege that between 2017 and 2018, Rivera and Esther Nuhfer, a former business partner of Rivera’s, lobbied U.S. Officials, including Rubio, with the goal of restoring diplomatic relations between the United States and Venezuela on behalf of Nicolás Maduro’s government. At the time, relations between the two countries were deeply strained, with the Trump administration having imposed a series of sanctions against Maduro’s socialist regime.

Rivera, 60, and Nuhfer, 51, are accused of acting as foreign agents without registering with the Department of Justice, a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and of laundering funds to conceal and promote their alleged criminal conduct. They were indicted in 2022.

Rubio, who is not named in the indictment and has not been accused of any wrongdoing, testified that he first met Rivera in the early 1990s and described their relationship as “close friends.” He acknowledged that they jointly purchased a home in Tallahassee in 2005, stating it was intended as a residence when both served in the Florida legislature. Records from Leon County confirm Rivera and Rubio purchased a house in 2005 for $135,000 and sold it ten years later for $117,000.

But, Rubio testified he was unaware of Rivera’s activities after his congressional term ended in 2011-2013, including any lobbying efforts, or knowledge of a company created for that purpose. He stated he was “generally aware that he was doing something,” but “wasn’t aware in 2017 that it was lobbying.”

The Justice Department contends that in July 2017, Rivera urgently requested a meeting with Rubio to discuss a plan for Maduro to step down and allow a peaceful transition to democracy in exchange for the lifting of U.S. Sanctions. Rivera allegedly presented this plan to Rubio during a meeting at the senator’s Washington, D.C. Home, proposing that Rubio deliver a letter from Maduro to then-President Trump announcing his resignation.

Rivera subsequently arranged a meeting at a Washington hotel attended by Raúl Gorrín, then-owner of the Venezuelan television network Globovisión, Nuhfer, and Venezuelan opposition leader Henry Ramos Allup, who joined via video conference from New York.

Rubio characterized the meeting as “a waste of my time,” stating that Gorrín and Ramos Allup primarily discussed the dire economic conditions in Venezuela, a situation he was already well-informed about in his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere. Rubio testified that Rivera encouraged him to deliver a speech on the Senate floor and another in Spanish on Gorrín’s television network.

Rubio testified Tuesday that he informed the White House about the plan involving Maduro’s potential departure and discussed the matter with President Trump.

Rubio as well recalled being informed in 2017 by U.S. Intelligence agencies that he was the target of a potential assassination plot allegedly orchestrated by Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s current Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace.

Defense attorneys for both Rivera and Nuhfer have sought to portray their clients as staunch anti-communists who frequently spoke out against the Venezuelan and Cuban regimes. During his testimony, Rubio described Rivera as “a vocal anti-communist… a strong anti-Maduro voice.” When asked if he would describe Nuhfer as greedy, Rubio responded, “I wouldn’t characterize her that way.”

The trial has also included unusual moments, with Judge Melissa Damian twice commenting that Rubio looked “great” in a photograph admitted as evidence. When asked about his employment, Rubio stated, “I have two jobs, Secretary of State and national security advisor to the president.”

Toward the complete of his nearly four-hour testimony, Rubio signed a copy of his 2012 book, “An American Son,” for defense attorney Edward Shohat, who prompted Rubio to read the acknowledgments, which included both defendants.

Federal prosecutors allege that the defendants and two other individuals with whom they were working to advance their lobbying efforts “frequently attempted to obscure the subject of their conversations using code words to refer to certain individuals and other items.” According to the indictment, they referred to Maduro as “El Guaguero” (the bus driver), a U.S. Congressman as “the hat,” money as “La Luz,” and millions of dollars as “melons.”

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison; the maximum penalty for failing to register as a foreign agent is five years; and the maximum penalty for the money laundering charge is 20 years. The maximum penalty for each of the five counts of conducting transactions using the proceeds of unlawful activity is 10 years.

In addition to Rubio, other high-profile political figures and former government officials are on the witness list, including Texas Representative Pete Sessions, former Trump White House advisor Kellyanne Conway, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Otto Reich.

The trial is expected to last up to four weeks.

With reporting by Jennifer Hansler.