Overview
- Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer were found guilty in Miami on Friday of acting as unregistered foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and of conspiring to launder money.
- Judge Melissa Damian ordered Rivera taken into custody after the verdict, and he also faces related charges in Washington, D.C.
- Prosecutors said the pair hid the effort with encrypted chats, code names, backdated documents, and sham contracts routed through Venezuelan media owner Raúl Gorrín.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Rep. Pete Sessions testified that Rivera did not disclose a contract tied to Venezuela’s state oil network when he sought their help in 2017.
- Coverage differs on the payout size, with several outlets citing a $50 million consulting deal while Reuters reports $20 million paid by a U.S. subsidiary.