{
  "id": 11543580,
  "title": "US jails Rubio ally for secretly lobbying for Venezuela",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/us-jails-rubio-ally-for-secretly-lobbying-for-venezuela",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T22:35:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/03/us-jails-rubio-ally-for-secretly-lobbying-for-venezuela"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Republican Congressman David Rivera has been sentenced to ten years in prison for secretly lobbying the US government on behalf of Venezuela. Rivera was convicted in May by a federal jury in Miami on charges of conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as a foreign agent, and other offenses linked to a $50 million contract with Venezuela's state oil company. Prosecutors claimed that Rivera, hired by the government of then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during Donald Trump's first term, used his Republican connections to influence Washington to ease its stance towards Caracas. The contract was allegedly awarded to Rivera by Venezuela's then-foreign minister, now interim president Delcy Rodriguez, through the energy giant PDVSA. U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian handed down the sentence after a hearing that lasted over four hours. Rivera plans to appeal the verdict and has applied for a presidential pardon. The case drew attention due to Rivera's friendship with Republican Senator Marco Rubio, with both sharing an apartment in Florida while serving as Florida lawmakers. Rubio testified at the trial in March that he was unaware of Rivera's alleged contract with Venezuelan officials when they met multiple times to discuss Venezuela's political future. Rubio stated he would have acted differently had he known about the contract. Rivera argued his consulting work aimed at bringing ExxonMobil back to Venezuela and removing Maduro, rather than aiding Maduro's government. Rivera is also facing a separate federal case in Washington involving allegations that he received over $5.5 million to lobby on behalf of a Venezuelan businessman sanctioned by the U.S.",
  "summary": "David Rivera was convicted in May by a federal jury in Miami of conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as a foreign agent and other charges.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "David Rivera sentenced to 10 years in Venezuela lobbying case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/david-rivera-sentenced-to-10-years-in-venezuela-lobbying-case",
        "published": "2026-10-02T18:40:53.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "US jails Rubio ally for secretly lobbying for Venezuela",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/us-jails-rubio-ally-for-secretly-lobbying-for-venezuela-11549161",
        "published": "2026-10-02T22:35:46.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Former US congressman sentenced to 10 years in prison for secretly lobbying for Venezuela",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/former-us-congressman-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-secretly",
        "published": "2026-10-03T01:38:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}