Rubio to testify in trial of former roommate accused of secretly lobbying for Venezuela

Rubio to testify in trial of former roommate accused of secretly lobbying for Venezuela Not since Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan testified at a mafia trial in 1983 has a sitting member of the president’s Cabinet taken the stand in a criminal trial. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will testify in the trial of former Miami congressman David Rivera, who has been charged with secretly lobbying for Venezuela’s government. Mandel Ngan / Pool / AFP via Getty Images file Share Add NBC News to Google March 23, 2026, 11:02 AM EDT By The Associated Press Listen to this article with a free account 00:00 00:00 MIAMI — The federal trial of a former Miami congressman accused of secretly lobbying for Venezuela’s government during the first Trump administration begins Monday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to testify over his interactions with his old friend. Prosecutors allege David Rivera was a hired gun for former President Nicolás Maduro , leveraging Republican connections from his time in Congress to push the White House to abandon its hard line on Venezuela’s socialist government. Rivera, who at one time had been Rubio’s roommate in Florida, allegedly persuaded then Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — now Venezuela’s acting president — to award him a $50 million lobbying contract to be paid by state oil company PDVSA. As part of the alleged foreign influence campaign, prosecutors say Rivera was aided by Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions and a convicted Cali cartel associate as he sought meetings with the White House and Exxon Mobil on Maduro’s behalf. The trial offers a rare glimpse into the often unseemly role Miami — long a haven for exiles, corruption and anti-communist crusaders — plays in shaping U.S. policy in Latin America. As such, it is perhaps fitting that Rubio, Miami’s most prominent politician , is set to take the stand Tuesday about his meetings with Rivera while the former congressman was allegedly helping Maduro mount a charm offensive in Washington. A...