Mexico's Sheinbaum vows no protection for ex-Pemex chief after wife posts alleged abuse video

MEXICO CITY, June 29 - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed on Monday that she would not protect anyone after a video appeared to show the former head of state energy company Pemex, Victor Rodriguez, violently abusing his wife.

Posted to YouTube on Friday by a woman identifying herself as Maria Felicia Jimenez, Rodriguez's wife, the video appears to have been recorded by a home surveillance system in a living room and is dated March 15, 2026. Reuters has not independently verified the video.

Rodriguez still held the top job at Pemex at the time. He announced his departure on May 14 in a joint video recorded with Sheinbaum, in which she thanked him for his service and said his resignation was in accordance with a timeline that he had set as a condition for taking the job.

Rodriguez could not be reached for comment. A statement posted on Friday on an X account that appeared to belong to Rodriguez said that he had stepped back from any public role while an investigation into the incident proceeds and that he was open to cooperating with all relevant authorities.

"Let the law be applied, we will not protect anyone," Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference.

"There can be no violence against women," Sheinbaum said, adding that Rodriguez would not take another role in her government.

In the five-minute video, viewed by Reuters, Rodriguez is seen grabbing a woman by the neck, pulling her by the hair, shoving her, and holding her down on a couch.

Rodriguez, who is topless for part of the footage, is clearly identifiable in the video. A young boy is also seen at the start before running out of the shot.

"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," reads a statement accompanying the video on YouTube.

"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," it said.

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."

Sheinbaum has repeatedly emphasized the need for substantive equality, a gender perspective, and the right to a life free from violence, declaring an "era of women" when she took office.

Rodriguez has been a close ally of Sheinbaum, with the two sharing both a personal and professional relationship dating back to their student days.

After leaving Pemex in May, Rodriguez was appointed to lead the energy transition institute INEEL. However, the energy ministry said in a statement that his appointment was never formalized. REUTERS