Rubio Testifies in Rivera's Venezuela Trial

0:00On March 24, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to a Miami Federal courthouse on Tuesday to testify in the criminal trial of former. Congressman David Rivera. Rivera faces charges of acting as an unregistered agent for the Venezuelan government under Nicholas Maduro plus money laundering. Prosecutors alleged he lobbied U.S. politicians back in 2017 without proper disclosures. Rivera served in the House from Southern Florida between 2011 and 2013. They say he pocketed $20 million from a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company while pushing for less pressure on Maduro. This violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to officials. Both Rivera and Rubio are Cuban-American Republicans who have long criticized leaders in Cuba and Venezuela. The two were once roommates and prosecutors note Rivera met with Rubio around that time to pitch a negotiated approach to tensions.

1:00Rivera's defense insists his work was purely business to aid the opposition against Maduro, not political lobbying. Even with those efforts, the Trump administration increased financial sanctions on Venezuela during its first term. In a major turn, U.S. Special Forces captured Maduro in a January 3rd raid on Caracas and flew him to New York to face drug trafficking charges, too, which he has pleaded not guilty. Rubio's brief testimony pulls him from Washington diplomacy amid other global tensions, as the trial unfolds in his hometown where his career started, eyes stay on how it plays out. That's your update from Global News Today, powered by AI.