Miami Jury Convicts Ex-Rep. Rivera, Nuhfer on Foreign Agent Charges

A federal jury in Miami convicted former U.S. Representative David Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer on Friday of failing to register as foreign agents with the Justice Department, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and related charges. The convictions stem from their involvement in activities connected to a $50 million consulting contract Rivera's firm signed in March 2017 with PDV USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, during the first Trump administration.

The seven-week trial featured testimony from 14 witnesses, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Texas Congressman Pete Sessions, both of whom described learning of the contract only years later. Prosecutors argued that Rivera and Nuhfer conducted undisclosed political lobbying on behalf of Venezuela's government under then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez, now the country's acting president, to influence U.S. policy and ease sanctions amid allegations of human rights violations. They presented evidence including text messages from an encrypted group chat where participants used code words such as "bus driver" for Nicolás Maduro, "Sombrero" for Sessions, "The...