Former US congressman secretly lobbied for Venezuela, prosecutor says at trial

By Luc Cohen

MIAMI, March 23 (Reuters) - A former U.S. congressman illegally lobbied U.S. officials to ease pressure on ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, a U.S. prosecutor said on Monday at the opening of a trial that will feature testimony from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

But a lawyer for the former congressman, David Rivera , told jurors in his opening statement in Miami federal court that his client was working to help Venezuela's opposition remove Maduro from power, not benefit his government.

The trial in federal court in Miami stems from a $50 million contract Rivera signed in 2017 with the U.S. subsidiary of a Venezuelan state-owned company.

Prosecutor Roger Cruz said in his opening statement that the trial would showcase evidence of the role Venezuela's current interim President Delcy Rodriguez played in the alleged lobbying effort during the early days of President Donald Trump's first term in the White House.

Trump has praised Rodriguez since she took over from Maduro following his January 3 capture by U.S. special forces.

Cruz told jurors that Rivera, a Republican who represented southern Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, was lobbying U.S. officials on behalf of Venezuela's government without registering as a foreign lobbyist as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Rivera was ultimately paid $20 million, Cruz said.

"They sold their loyalty," Cruz told jurors, referring to Rivera and his co-defendant, the political consultant Esther Nuhfer. "They offered access, the defendants did, to United States politicians that they've spent decades establishing relationships with."

One of the U.S. politicians Rivera met with as part of his efforts to stave off U.S. economic sanctions on Venezuela was Rubio, a former U.S. senator and one-time political ally of Rivera's, Cruz said. Rubio is expected to take the witness stand on Tuesday.

RIVERA MET WITH LAWMAKERS

Rivera and Nuhfer have each pleaded not guilty to charges including failing to register as a foreign agent and money laundering.

Rivera's lawyer, Edward Shohat, acknowledged that Rivera had a consulting contract with a U.S. affiliate of Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela PDVSA.UL to try to resolve a business dispute with Exxon Mobil XOM.N.

But he said in his opening statement that Rivera did not have to register under FARA because he was paid by a U.S. company, and because the contract had to do with business, not politics.

Shohat also said Rivera, in meetings with Rubio and Texas congressman Pete Sessions, pushed to help the Venezuelan opposition oust Maduro.

"At no time in his entire life has David Rivera ever done or said one thing that was intended to help Nicolas Maduro normalize his relationship with the United States," Shohat said.

Neither Sessions' office nor the State Department responded to requests for comment. Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anita Margot Moss, a lawyer for Nuhfer, said Nuhfer had a good-faith belief that she did not have to register as a foreign agent.

TRUMP RAMPED UP SANCTIONS

At the time of the alleged lobbying campaign, Venezuela was undergoing an economic crisis, Maduro's government was cracking down on street protests, and his opponents accused him of sidelining the opposition-controlled legislature. U.S. lawmakers were urging Trump to step up pressure on Maduro.

To compensate Rivera, Rodriguez directed U.S. oil refiner Citgo, a PDVSA subsidiary, to sign a consulting contract with a company that the former congressman owned, prosecutors said.

Venezuela's information ministry, which handles media inquiries for the government, did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump ramped up sanctions on Venezuela despite the alleged lobbying effort.