Ex-Miami congressman countersues over work with Venezuela

MIAMI — A former Miami congressman who was once roommates with Sen. Marco Rubio has countersued a U.S. affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company in a politically charged dispute over a $50 million consulting contract he signed with Nicolás Maduro’s government. The contract with Rivera came to light as allies of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó work with the Justice Department to uncover any corrupt dealings at another Venezuelan-owned U.S. subsidiary, Houston-based Citgo, which for years operated as a cash cow for that country’s ruling party. A lawsuit filed last year against Rivera by Citgo’s lawyers argues the former legislator performed almost no work as part of the $50 million contract to improve the state oil company’s reputation in the U.S. At the time, Maduro was trying to curry favor with the Trump administration, avoiding outright criticism of the U.S. leader while funneling $500,000 to his inaugural committee through Citgo. While the amount was deemed suspiciously high by Citgo’s new management, Rivera argues that “considering the billions of dollars at stake with Citgo’s public and business stature in jeopardy, Citgo obviously deemed the fee reasonable.” But PDV USA, the affiliate that managed the contract, never paid the final $30 million owed him under the agreement.