Marco Rubio Testifies in Corruption Trial Against Former U.S. Rep. David Rivera

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Miami Corruption Trial Gets a Marquee Witness: Marco Rubio To much ado, the secretary of state took the stand against David Rivera, a former congressman accused of secretly lobbying on behalf of the Venezuelan government. Listen · 6:31 min Share full article By David C. Adams and Patricia Mazzei David C. Adams reported from Miami. March 24, 2026, 2:19 p.m. ET A war is raging in the Middle East. Washington is in talks with Havana. The United States remains heavily involved in Venezuela. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to set all that aside on Tuesday morning. He had been called as a witness in a federal corruption trial in Miami, where he spent several hours testifying against an old friend. The highly unusual turn for a sitting cabinet member created a stir in downtown Miami as Mr. Rubio prepared to take the stand against David Rivera, a former Republican congressman. Mr. Rubio’s testimony drew heightened security at the courthouse and a gaggle of news reporters eager to catch a glimpse of the secretary of state. Despite the fact that his longtime friend and former Tallahassee housemate was testifying against him, Mr. Rivera seemed upbeat before going into court on Tuesday. “Let’s party,” he told members of the news media. Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Rivera of secretly lobbying on behalf of the Venezuelan government in 2017 and 2018. At the time, Mr. Rubio was a Republican senator from Florida. He has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. According to prosecutors, Venezuela’s state-run oil company secretly hired Mr. Rivera’s consulting firm for $50 million to lobby members of Congress and the White House for a thaw in U.S.-Venezuela relations. Mr. Rivera and an associate, Esther Nuhfer, were charged in 2022 with conspiracy, failure to register as foreign agents and other crimes. Prosecutors say that Mr. Rivera split the contract earnings, which amounted to about $20 million, with Ms. N...