The government of Nicolas Maduro paid for the services of Washington lobbyists to dissuade the US authorities from imposing sanctions against Venezuela.
Documents released on Thursday show that a U.S.-registered subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned oil giant, PDVSA, hired the Washington-based law firm of Marcia Wyss in March 2017. At the same time, she signed a $50 million settlement with former Congressman David Rivera.
Wyss, who is known for repeatedly making donations to the Democratic Party and Joe Biden, denies information about lobbying for the interests of Caracas.
Sources told the AP that through Viss and Rivera, the Venezuelan leadership hoped to dissuade the then-new Trump administration from imposing sanctions against the Bolivarian Republic. The lobbyists were paid for through a little-known company, PDV USA, which is registered in Delaware and is a subsidiary of the oil and gas company Petroleos de Venezuela, Sociedad Anonima.