According to Daily Mail - News, Rubio testified that during a July 2017 meeting, Rivera claimed to be in direct contact with Venezuelan power players who had supposedly convinced dictator Nicolas Maduro to relinquish power and step down. Rubio also testified that Rivera never disclosed during that meeting that he was on the payroll of a company owned by the Venezuelan state and acting as a foreign agent. According to Daily Mail - News, Rubio described that he could not recall Rivera saying anything favorable to Maduro when questioned in court.
David Rivera was indicted on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Venezuela, along with conspiracy, money laundering, and tax evasion counts. Rivera has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies any wrongdoing, maintaining his business dealings were legal. Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, representing a foreign power is not illegal, but such ties must be publicly and officially declared.
Rivera had a $50 million contract with the US subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, though the exact terms and duration of that contract have not been disclosed. The government alleges Rivera's mission was to persuade the first Trump administration to ease sanctions on Venezuela. Rivera built his career as an aggressive anti-Castro firebrand in South Florida, using fierce rhetoric against leftist regimes.
Rubio and Rivera were so close during their early political careers that they famously bought a home together in Tallahassee. The specific evidence the government has to support its allegations against Rivera remains unclear, and the current status of the trial and its expected conclusion have not been confirmed.