President Donald Trump began his second term speaking about the importance of sweeping away communism — that “deadly threat to American freedom.” For such a task, it’s always worth looking close to home first. This demonstrates moral clarity, and the administration is not disappointing in this regard.

Earlier this month, former Congressman David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering and conducting covert lobbying during President Trump’s first term on behalf of the government of then-Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro (who is currently imprisoned in New York).

Rivera was a Republican politician. Yet the administration did the right thing by holding him accountable for his corrupt actions in support of a sworn enemy of the United States — which Chavismo has been from its inception.

While in the GOP, he managed to become a close associate of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He attempted, in vain, to leverage that relationship to benefit the Venezuelan tyranny.

The first warning sign regarding Rivera’s shady connections emerged in 2020 via a letter signed by, among others, Rubio himself. The missive, sent by several senators to the Department of Justice, noted that the payments for — and the content of — his lobbying work in the United States were dictated by the Venezuelan state-owned company PDVSA.

In 2017, the contract under which Rivera received approximately $20 million cited “international strategic consulting” services and aimed to improve the company’s standing in the United States. The problem for the accused was that prosecutors demonstrated he was simultaneously carrying out political activities for the benefit of Caracas.

Rivera was found guilty exactly six years after that letter was sent. However, his sentencing hearing was subsequently postponed until October 2nd of this year.

The presiding judge, Melissa Damian, stated in her ruling that the former politician’s actions were a matter of “greed and betrayal.” For his part, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason A. Reding Quiñones — the son of Cuban exiles and a Trump appointee — said, “He betrayed the South Florida community he once represented, a community made up in part of people who fled a communist regime.”

For decades, Havana controlled Maduro’s inner circle, effectively turning Venezuela into a sort of overseas possession from which it received oil at preferential prices.

Prosecutors explained that Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuhfer — who was also found guilty — worked secretly for Caracas through contracts worth up to $50 million with a company owned by Rivera. However, the contract served as a cover for a political operation with an aim that went beyond mere business — normalizing relations between Washington and Caracas and easing the pressure and sanctions on Maduro.

During that same period, Havana reportedly convinced Caracas to strike at Washington — and make a significant amount of money in the process — by facilitating drug and human trafficking (in the form of orchestrated migration surges) into the United States, according to statements by former Chavista general Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal.

Evidence presented at the trial revealed several ways in which Rivera lobbied on Maduro’s behalf. One method involved leveraging relationships with Senator Rubio and Congressman Pete Sessions — built during his own political career — to open doors for the Chavista dictatorship. Another involved organizing meetings for Delcy Rodríguez, then Venezuela’s foreign minister, with U.S. officials, members of Congress, and individuals linked to ExxonMobil in Washington, New York, Dallas, and Caracas.

Perhaps one of his most intriguing actions was providing information and arguments regarding a purported plot by regime insiders who intended to break away from Maduro. Rubio testified at the time that — unaware Rivera was working for the Chavista regime — he had used some of those arguments in a Senate speech.

Rivera did not register as a foreign government agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), but he used code names in his encrypted communications. Maduro was the “bus driver,” Sessions was “Sombrero,” Delcy Rodríguez was “The Lady in Red,” and the millions of dollars were “melons.”

Ultimately, the fox had slipped into the Republican camp; yet it was Republicans like Rubio — and a Republican administration — that sounded the alarm and put him behind bars. They did the right thing.

Just one final thought. Reading about this case, I cannot help but be reminded of the arguments surrounding other regimes, such as Cuba. The steps Rivera took seem to mirror ideas circulating in Washington circles close to Havana, ranging from the notion of viable technocrats and reformists within the Castro family to calls for easing pressure and sanctions on the regime.

That is not the right path. I hope the Trump administration understands this (and I believe it does). The better approach is to treat dictators and their henchmen as what they are: criminals.