Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, 66 years old and former general director of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), was arrested this Tuesday in the Narvarte neighborhood of the Benito Juárez borough in Mexico City, following an arrest warrant for domestic violence issued by a control judge in the state of Morelos, according to information from the agency EFE.
The arrest, carried out at 5:32 PM (local time) by agents of the Investigation Police in coordination with the Morelos Prosecutor's Office, occurred 11 days after a video went viral showing the former official hitting and restraining his wife, who is of Cuban descent.
Handcuffed and under the guard of three women
Handcuffed and visibly upset, Rodríguez Padilla arrived at the 50th Agency of the capital's Prosecutor's Office escorted by three female agents.
He was later transferred to the Atlacholoaya prison in Morelos, where he will face his initial hearing before a control judge, as detailed by the Mexican local press.
The authorities are investigating him for “domestic violence committed against his partner.”
The capital prosecutor's office specified in a statement that "in March 2026, the victim was with the accused at a residence located in the state of Morelos, where he allegedly physically and verbally assaulted her after an argument."
The defense of Víctor Rodríguez Padilla stated this Wednesday that the case against the former director of Pemex has received excessive media coverage.
The lawyer, who preferred not to disclose his name, stated that the charge of domestic violence against him does not justify preventive detention and insisted that his client is willing to face the judicial process.
The Morelos Prosecutor's Office will present evidence during the preliminary hearing to support the charges.
The complaint of a Cuban academic
The case was made public on June 26, when María Felicia Jiménez Lavie, the wife of the former official and a Cuban national, posted a video on her YouTube channel showing footage from a security camera that documents an assault that took place on March 15, 2026, in Emiliano Zapata, Morelos, while Rodríguez Padilla was still in charge of Pemex.
The recording shows the former official hitting and restraining his partner in the presence of their five-year-old son.
Jiménez Lavie, 38 years old, is a nuclear engineer and holds a PhD in energy engineering. She taught at the Faculty of Engineering at UNAM and the Military School of Engineers.
She met Rodríguez Padilla at that university, where he was her professor, and they got married on October 18, 2024.
In an interview with Aristegui Noticias, the academic recounted years of abuse: “First there were verbal insults, then a slap, shoving, but none like this one, which was very brutal. I even spent several days in much pain walking.”
She also reported that the former official threatened to take away her custody of her children and deport her to Cuba, using his position of power and her immigration status as tools of coercion.
"Breaking the silence meant losing my job, my money, having no place to live, and having my children taken away from me simply for being close to the upper echelons of the presidency," he reported.
When confronted with the video, Rodríguez Padilla downplayed the incident in front of his wife, telling her that she was "crazy" and that it was just a "scuffle."
Reprisals and victim vulnerability
After publishing the video, Jiménez Lavie faced retaliation: his phone lines were blocked, and his first account on the social network X was suspended.
"I just realized 10 minutes ago that they completely blocked my phone. I can't receive or make any calls. This means that if they cut off my internet, I will be completely isolated and defenseless," the woman warned.
Despite her high education, Jiménez Lavie is financially dependent on her husband, which exacerbated her vulnerability and delayed her report.
In her original post, she directed a direct message to the Mexican president: "Everything that could happen to me or my children is the fault of Víctor Rodríguez Padilla. Help, president."
Jiménez Lavie has been clear about her expectations: "That he be punished as anyone else would be punished."
Sheinbaum promised "zero impunity."
Rodríguez Padilla, who is a former classmate of Claudia Sheinbaum, was appointed director of Pemex by the Mexican president in August 2024.
He led the company for 18 months, until May 14, 2026, when he was replaced in the context of a financial restructuring with a debt of approximately 75 billion dollars.
The video was made public just a month after his departure from Pemex, when the government was about to appoint him as the director of the National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energies, a position that was never formalized following the release of the recording.
In her morning conference on June 29, Sheinbaum was unequivocal: "We will not protect anyone in the face of an act like this. There can be no violence against women."
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