Trump ally testifies in trial over secret Venezuela lobbying effort

MIAMI (AP) — A top Washington lobbyist who is closely allied with President Donald Trump testified in federal court that he immediately cut ties with former Congressman David Rivera when he learned in 2020 that Venezuela's government had awarded the Miami Republican a $50 million contract, shattering his belief that they were both working to hasten Nicolás Maduro ’s downfall.

Brian Ballard has been, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a star witness at Rivera's trial in Miami on charges he secretly lobbied for Maduro’s government without registering as a foreign agent.

The trial has offered a glimpse into the prehistory of Maduro's ouster, involving covert lobbying by individuals close to Trump and Venezuela's leaders and a billionaire who allegedly funneled embezzled oil money to the country's democratic opposition while also seeking partners for Maduro’s efforts to ease U.S. sanctions.

The first-term charm offensive failed, but some of its players — including acting President Delcy Rodríguez and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — are now driving Trump’s pledge to “run” Venezuela.

Prosecutors allege that Rivera became a hired gun for Maduro after leaving Congress, leveraging his decades-old friendship with his fellow Cuban-American Rubio and other Republican connections to push the White House to abandon its hard line on Venezuela.

Rivera, 60, denies wrongdoing, saying he worked as a business strategist for a U.S. affiliate of Venezuela’s state-run oil company, and therefore was exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA.

After Ballard walked prosecutors through text messages, emails and lobbying records showing how he came to distrust Rivera, the defense sought a mistrial on Tuesday, accusing prosecutors of improperly suggesting that Rivera tried to rope Ballard into the alleged conspiracy. Judge Melissa Damian denied the motion.

Ballard had become friends with Rubio and Rivera decades earlier when he was building his lobbying practice and the two were serving in the Florida legislature. Ballard Partners later represented the Trump organization in Florida, and then became a dominant player in Washington. By 2025, it was raking in $88 million in fees, more than any other firm, according to lobbying disclosures.

Trump's first term was only beginning when Ballard says Rivera pitched him on representing Venezuela’s opposition. Both men were known as stalwart opponents of the the Venezuelan government, so "anything we could do to help end the Maduro regime would’ve been very much of interest to me,” Ballard testified.

Moreover, Ballard was advising Rex Tillerson, Trump’s first pick for secretary of state, and relied on Rivera as a conduit to then-Sen. Rubio, who harbored concerns about the former ExxonMobil CEO’s views on Venezuela. Rubio testified last week that he too felt betrayed by his friend.

Venezuelan media magnate joins lobbying effort

Central to both Ballard and Rivera’s interest in Venezuela was Raúl Gorrín, a media tycoon in Caracas whose repeated attempts to court power players in Trump’s Washington speak to the hazards of foreign influence campaigns in U.S. politics.

In 2018, Gorrín would be indicted for allegedly bribing Venezuela's treasurer with yachts and show horses to get illicit currency exchange deals. But when Rivera introduced him to Ballard in 2017, the billionaire presented himself as a Trump admirer promoting democratic change.

The three men then flew on Gorrín’s jet to the Dominican Republic to meet with Venezuelan opposition leaders. Ballard also said he met at Gorrín’s mansion in Miami with Lilian Tintori, the wife of Maduro’s most prominent jailed opponent at the time, Leopoldo López.

A few months later, Gorrín’s network, Globovision, signed an $800,000 contract with Ballard’s firm, seeking assistance expanding into the U.S. Ballard said he was reluctant, given stories that under Gorrín Globovision had softened its coverage of Maduro, but said he was persuaded after due diligence and Tintori’s endorsement.

“She thought he was a good person, not a Maduro puppet,” he said.

Ballard warns Venezuela work could violate foreign lobbying laws

Ballard said he quickly regretted the decision. He also testified that he hadn't known that a partner in his firm helped draft a letter Gorrín wanted hand-delivered to Trump in 2017 promising — businessman-to-businessman — to “devote every waking minute to a successful resolution of the crisis in Venezuela.” The letter never made it past the Secret Service.

After news broke that Gorrín was under federal investigation for money laundering, Ballard said he abruptly terminated the relationship.

“I finally said it’s not worth it," he said.

Ballard never did sign up any Venezuelan opposition figures as clients. He offered to waive his fees, but his condition that advocacy work be publicly disclosed as required on the Justice Department’s website was deemed too risky. He said Tintori feared it would anger Maduro and endanger her husband.

Meanwhile, after learning that Gorrín was still involved and purporting to be helping Tintori financially, Ballard sent a text on Feb. 13, 2017, 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 later, Trump called for López’s release, posting a photo of himself with Tintori, Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence in the Oval Office.

López, now exiled in Spain, said his wife never received any money from Gorrín, and accused Rivera of trying to falsely link him to the alleged conspiracy for which he’s now on trial. He said the day his wife visited the White House, masked and heavily armed military intelligence officials raided his cell.

“It was one of the worst raids I experienced in the four years I was imprisoned,” he said.

‘I don’t find it humorous at all’

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Ballard, Rivera was trying to set up meetings for Rodríguez in New York, Caracas, Washington and Dallas, prosecutors said.

Also involved was Rep. Pete Sessions. The Texas Republican tried to broker a meeting for Rodríguez with Exxon’s CEO and secretly traveled to Caracas for a meeting with Maduro organized by Gorrín and Rivera. “My best to your family,” Sessions later penned below a letter to Maduro.

The congressman is on the defense witness list. Rivera’s lawyers also sought testimony from Wiles, who registered as one of Ballard's lobbyists for Globovision, but the White House quashed it.

Prosecutors allege that Rivera's three-month, $50-million consulting contract was really a cover as Venezuelan officials tried to persuade the Trump administration to normalize relations. Ballard testified that he first learned of it when Rivera was accused in a 2020 lawsuit of failing to perform any work.

When he called his old friend to express his shock, Rivera told him the Trump administration was fully aware he was working with Maduro’s opponents, Ballard said. Rivera also reminded Ballard of their meeting three years earlier in the Dominican Republic, where he said the “plot was hatched” by Venezuela’s opposition.

“So you’re part of it too!!!,” Rivera texted, adding cry-laughing emojis.

Ballard was outraged and said he blocked Rivera’s contact on his phone.

“I have nothing to do with this David,” he wrote in one final missive. “I don’t find it humorous at all.”