{
  "id": 11572644,
  "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",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-03T01:38:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/international/article-910437"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Former US Congressman David Rivera has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for illegally lobbying US officials to ease pressure on the government of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Rivera, a Republican who represented southern Florida in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, was convicted in May of lobbying US officials on Venezuela's behalf in 2017 without registering as a foreign lobbyist as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). US District Judge Melissa Damian handed down the sentence at a hearing in federal court in Miami, with prosecutors urging a significant term of incarceration. Rivera, 61, pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers argued he was working to help Venezuela's opposition remove Maduro from power, not benefit his government.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "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",
        "published": "2026-10-02T22:35:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}