Rivera made his debut for Honduras in the late 1980s and played in and has earned a total of 46 caps, scoring no goals. He has represented his country in 12 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the 1991 and 1993 UNCAF Nations Cups, as well as at the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was a non-playing squad member at the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup.