Miami, Florida - Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified Tuesday as a witness in the federal corruption trial of a friend and ex-lawmaker accused of secretly lobbying on behalf of Venezuela during President Donald Trump's first term.
Rubio testified for nearly three hours in Miami, confirming that former Republican congressman David Rivera was a "close friend" with whom he shared an apartment when they were both Florida lawmakers but denying any knowledge of an alleged contract between Rivera and Venezuelan government officials.
According to prosecutors, from early 2017 to late 2018 Rivera was hired by then-president Nicolás Maduro – the leftist autocrat captured in a US military raid in January – to persuade the White House to soften its policy toward Caracas, with the help of Republican contacts.
Rubio, who was a US senator when he met with his friend twice in July 2017 to discuss Venezuela's future, has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
According to statements by Rubio, Rivera had asked him to meet to discuss how "insiders in the Maduro regime were willing to step aside" and allow "free and fair elections."
To prove the veracity of the information to Washington, Caracas would provide a letter from Maduro in which he would acknowledge his intent to allow free elections, according to what Rivera told Rubio. But the letter never reached him.
Prosecutors allege that Rivera had convinced then-foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez, who is now Venezuela's interim president, to award him a $50 million contract for his lobbying work, paid for by state-owned oil giant PDVSA.
Rubio denies knowledge of Rivera's alleged lobbying
Rubio, under direct examination, said he would have acted differently had he known about the secret contract.
"I would not have taken any subsequent action on this matter," Rubio told prosecutors. "It would have been shocking to me."
Rivera (60) and an associate were charged in 2022 with conspiracy to launder money and failing to register as a foreign agent, among other crimes.
Rubio's testimony is a rarity; no other member of a sitting US administration has testified in a criminal trial since 1983.