Former Pemex Director Arrested in Mexico City on Domestic Violence Allegations

Former Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) director Víctor Rodríguez Padilla was arrested in Mexico City on Tuesday, according to the National Registry of Detentions. The arrest followed a public denunciation of gender-based violence by his wife, María Felicia Jiménez, on June 26.

Rodríguez Padilla, who led Pemex for 18 months during President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, was apprehended by the Mexico City Attorney General's Office in the Benito Juárez borough. The specific reason for the arrest was not detailed, but he was placed at the disposal of the Common Public Ministry.

The capture came 11 days after a security camera video surfaced, showing Rodríguez Padilla assaulting and restraining his wife. Jiménez, who is Cuban, had shared the video and requested protection from President Sheinbaum for herself and her children, stating, "Anything that happens to me or my children is Víctor Rodríguez Padilla's fault."

Following Jiménez's publication, the Morelos State Attorney General's Office launched an investigation into Rodríguez Padilla. President Sheinbaum had previously assured that there would be "zero impunity" in the case, stating, "We are not going to protect anyone in the face of an act like this... There can be no violence against women."

The incident occurred shortly after Rodríguez Padilla left his position at Pemex, which was undergoing a financial restructuring amid high debt levels.

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Todo lo que me pueda pasar a mí o a mis hijos es culpa de Víctor Rodríguez Padilla