MIAMI — A prominent Washington lobbyist with close connections to President Donald Trump told a federal court he immediately ended his relationship with former Congressman David Rivera after discovering in 2020 that Venezuela’s government had given the Miami Republican a $50 million contract, destroying his assumption that both men were working to bring down Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Brian Ballard has served as a key witness alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Rivera’s Miami trial, where the former congressman faces accusations of conducting unregistered lobbying work for Maduro’s administration.
The proceedings have revealed behind-the-scenes efforts during Trump’s first presidency involving secret lobbying by Trump associates and Venezuelan officials, plus a billionaire who allegedly channeled stolen oil revenues to Venezuela’s democratic opposition while simultaneously seeking partnerships for Maduro’s sanctions relief campaign.
While the initial charm campaign was unsuccessful, several participants — including acting President Delcy Rodríguez and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — are now involved in Trump’s promise to “run” Venezuela.
Federal prosecutors claim Rivera transformed into a paid advocate for Maduro after departing Congress, using his long-standing friendship with fellow Cuban-American Rubio and other Republican contacts to pressure the White House into softening its Venezuela stance.
Rivera, 60, maintains his innocence, arguing he worked as a business consultant for a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s government oil company, which would exempt him from Foreign Agents Registration Act requirements.
Following Ballard’s testimony about text messages, emails and lobbying documents that showed his growing suspicion of Rivera, defense attorneys requested a mistrial Tuesday, claiming prosecutors improperly implied Rivera attempted to involve Ballard in the alleged conspiracy. Judge Melissa Damian rejected the request.
Ballard developed friendships with Rubio and Rivera decades ago while building his lobbying business as the two served in Florida’s legislature. Ballard Partners later represented the Trump organization in Florida before becoming a Washington powerhouse. By 2025, the firm was earning $88 million in fees, surpassing all other lobbying companies according to official disclosures.
Early in Trump’s presidency, Ballard said Rivera approached him about representing Venezuela’s opposition. Since both men were known critics of the Venezuelan government, “anything we could do to help end the Maduro regime would’ve been very much of interest to me,” Ballard testified.
Additionally, Ballard was consulting with Rex Tillerson, Trump’s initial secretary of state choice, and used Rivera as a connection to then-Senator Rubio, who had reservations about the former ExxonMobil CEO’s Venezuela positions. Rubio testified last week that he also felt deceived by his friend.
A key figure for both Ballard and Rivera’s Venezuela involvement was Raúl Gorrín, a Caracas media mogul whose persistent efforts to influence Trump administration officials highlight the dangers of foreign influence operations in American politics.
Gorrín faced indictment in 2018 for allegedly bribing Venezuela’s treasurer with luxury yachts and show horses to secure illegal currency exchange arrangements. However, when Rivera introduced him to Ballard in 2017, the billionaire portrayed himself as a Trump supporter advocating democratic reform.
The three men traveled on Gorrín’s private aircraft to the Dominican Republic for meetings with Venezuelan opposition figures. Ballard also described visiting Gorrín’s Miami residence to meet Lilian Tintori, wife of Maduro’s most prominent imprisoned critic at the time, Leopoldo López.
Several months afterward, Gorrín’s media outlet, Globovision, signed an $800,000 agreement with Ballard’s company for assistance with U.S. expansion. Ballard expressed initial hesitation due to reports that Globovision had moderated its Maduro criticism under Gorrín’s ownership, but said he was convinced following research and Tintori’s support.
“She thought he was a good person, not a Maduro puppet,” he testified.
Ballard said he soon questioned the arrangement. He also revealed he was unaware that a firm partner had helped write a letter Gorrín wanted personally delivered to Trump in 2017, promising — from one businessman to another — to “devote every waking minute to a successful resolution of the crisis in Venezuela.” The Secret Service prevented the letter’s delivery.
When news emerged about Gorrín’s federal money laundering investigation, Ballard said he immediately ended the partnership.
“I finally said it’s not worth it,” he stated.
Ballard never recruited Venezuelan opposition members as clients. He offered to waive fees, but his requirement for public disclosure on the Justice Department’s website was considered too dangerous. He said Tintori worried it would provoke Maduro and threaten her husband’s safety.
After learning Gorrín remained involved and claimed to be providing financial support to Tintori, Ballard sent a February 13, 2017 text to Rivera’s co-defendant, former Rubio fundraiser Esther Nuhfer: “Please make sure the people you are dealing with understand the serious nature of the FARA laws.”
Two days following that message, Trump demanded López’s freedom, sharing an Oval Office photograph with Tintori, Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence.
López, currently in Spanish exile, said his wife never accepted money from Gorrín and accused Rivera of attempting to falsely connect him to the conspiracy charges Rivera now faces. He said masked, heavily armed military intelligence officers stormed his cell the same day his wife visited the White House.
“It was one of the worst raids I experienced in the four years I was imprisoned,” he recalled.
Unknown to Ballard, Rivera was simultaneously arranging meetings for Rodríguez in New York, Caracas, Washington and Dallas, prosecutors stated.
Rep. Pete Sessions was also participating. The Texas Republican attempted to facilitate a meeting between Rodríguez and Exxon’s CEO and secretly visited Caracas for a Maduro meeting arranged by Gorrín and Rivera. “My best to your family,” Sessions wrote beneath a letter to Maduro.
The congressman appears on the defense witness list. Rivera’s attorneys also sought testimony from Wiles, who registered as a Ballard lobbyist for Globovision, but the White House blocked it.
Prosecutors contend Rivera’s three-month, $50-million consulting agreement was actually a disguise as Venezuelan officials attempted to convince the Trump administration to restore normal relations. Ballard testified he first discovered it when Rivera was named in a 2020 lawsuit alleging he performed no actual work.
When he contacted his former friend to express his surprise, Rivera claimed the Trump administration knew he was collaborating with Maduro’s opponents, Ballard said. Rivera also referenced their Dominican Republic meeting three years prior, where he said the “plot was hatched” by Venezuela’s opposition.
“So you’re part of it too!!!,” Rivera texted, including crying-laughing emojis.
Ballard was furious and said he blocked Rivera’s phone number.
“I have nothing to do with this David,” he responded in a final message. “I don’t find it humorous at all.”
