Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that no one would receive protection from the government after a video emerged appearing to show the former chief executive of state oil company Pemex violently assaulting his wife.
The footage, uploaded on Friday to YouTube by a woman identifying herself as María Felicia Jiménez, carries a March 15, 2026 time-stamp and appears to have been recorded by a domestic surveillance camera in a living room. In the clip, a man identified as Víctor Rodríguez is seen grabbing a woman by the neck, pulling her hair, shoving her and holding her down on a couch. For part of the recording Rodríguez is topless. A young boy is visible at the start of the video before running out of the frame. Reuters was not able to verify the precise location or timing of the recording, though it confirmed the individuals depicted were Rodríguez and Jiménez.
Rodríguez was still in his role as head of Pemex on the date shown on the recording. He announced his departure from the company on May 14 in a joint video recorded with President Sheinbaum, in which she thanked him for his service and said his resignation followed a timeline he had set as a condition for accepting the position. After leaving Pemex in May, Rodríguez was named to lead the energy transition institute INEEL; the energy ministry later said that appointment had not been formalized.
Following the publication of the video, a statement posted on an X account that appeared to be Rodríguez’s said he had stepped back from any public role while an investigation into the incident proceeds and that he was willing to cooperate with relevant authorities.
At her regular morning press conference, President Sheinbaum responded directly to the footage and related developments. "Let the law be applied, we will not protect anyone," she said, adding: "There can be no violence against women." Sheinbaum also stated that Rodríguez would not assume another role within her government.
Accompanying the YouTube upload, the woman identifying herself as Jiménez published a statement describing the repercussions she said followed her decision to speak out. The statement read: "Breaking my silence meant losing my job, my money, having nowhere to live, and having my children taken from me, simply because of his closeness to the highest spheres of power - the presidency, governors, members of congress, secretaries of state." It continued: "This is a government led by women, so I am asking for help and for the necessary measures to be taken to protect me and my children who are minors."
The Attorney General's office for the state of Morelos said on X on Friday that it had opened an investigation into suspected criminal acts stemming from a video "in which a violent act against a woman is observed." The office did not provide further detail in the statement cited online.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly emphasized policies around substantive equality, the incorporation of a gender perspective, and the right to live free from violence, having declared an "era of women" upon taking office. Rodríguez and Sheinbaum have been described as close allies with both personal and professional ties going back to their student years.
As this matter advances, the public record consists of the video released online, the statements posted to social media by parties identified with Rodríguez and by the woman who published the footage, the president's public remarks, and the Morelos Attorney General's notice of an open investigation. Rodríguez could not be reached for direct comment about the content of the video or the ongoing inquiry.
Context and next steps
The case now rests with judicial and investigative authorities who have acknowledged receipt of the materials and signalled that inquiries are underway. President Sheinbaum's pledge not to protect anyone places the matter within the public sphere of accountability, while the Morelos office's investigation provides an official legal channel for examining the footage and associated allegations.