Geovanna Bañuelos asks the FGR to investigate the accident

Geovanna Bañuelos has requested the Federal Public Ministry (FGR) to investigate an incident involving her team's vehicle. The former senator, Geovanna Bañuelos de la Torre, asked for a serious, exhaustive, objective, and impartial investigation following an event on August 7 on federal highway 23 in Zacatecas, where a car carrying members of her team was removed from the road and declared a total loss. She emphasized the need to explore all lines of inquiry and carry out necessary expert evaluations to determine with certainty the causes and responsibilities of the incident, avoiding speculation, premature dismissals, or attempts to politicize a situation she said put six lives at risk. Bañuelos accused Governor David Monreal Ávila of publicly doubting the account of events and suggesting the possibility of a supposed "self-inflicted attack," while also questioning the circumstances surrounding the incident. She pointed out that Monreal Ávila’s statements contrast with the unity discourse upheld by Morena and its allies ahead of the 2027 elections, criticizing that while national leadership calls for preserving coalition cohesion, "in Zacatecas, the head of the state executive publicly discredits a PT candidate without waiting for the results of the investigations." She stressed that it does not belong to the governor to determine whether it was an accident, a deliberate act, or a "self-inflicted attack," emphasizing that such conclusions should emerge exclusively from evidence, expert evaluations, and the work of authorities. The FGR concluded its investigation into the cyberattack on Pemex in November 2019 without providing details, according to a response from Pemex through the National Transparency Platform. Pemex filed a complaint on November 10, 2019, regarding an event related to the security of their computer systems, which is under the case file: FED/SEIDO/UEIA-ARV-CDMX/000001338/2019. On April 4, 2024, the judicial authority issued the Agreement of Non-Exercise of Criminal Action in the case file FED/SEIDO/UEIA-ARV-CDMX/000001338/2019, which was notified on April 9 of the same year. According to the transparency committee of Pemex, based on the last paragraph of Article 218 of the National Code of Criminal Procedures, three years have not yet passed since the determination became final, so the case file remains confidential. Therefore, providing the requested information would violate public interest, as the benefit would be limited solely to the requester. Although the investigation ended, Pemex refused to provide details of the attack, citing the confidentiality period established by Article 218 of the National Code of Criminal Procedures, which sets a three-year reservation period starting from when the determination becomes final, meaning details could be shared as early as April 2027. Through Transparency, the newspaper requested information about the cybercriminal responsible and the country of origin of the attack, as well as the type of data or functions that were seized during the incident. In case payment was made to release data or functions, the amount, timing, and recipient were requested. If no payment was made, the newspaper urged transparency on how the seized data or functions were released after nearly seven years. At the time of the attack, Pemex stated that its operational and production systems were not compromised and were protected. It noted that internal networks, like those of other large companies and government and financial institutions nationally and internationally, frequently face threats and cyberattacks that have not succeeded thus far. On the day of the attack, November 10, Pemex received cyberattack attempts that were neutralized, affecting less than 5 percent of personal computing equipment. Through institutional communication channels, the newspaper also requested details about the case, whether Pemex appealed the non-exercise of criminal action by the FGR or initiated another legal action, and how the company protects itself against these attacks, though there was no response. Pemex, currently led by Juan Carlos Carpio Fragoso, was previously vulnerable before the cyberattack, according to a 2019 audit by the Federal Audit Institution. Independent specialist Adrián Duhalt explained that Pemex's systems were compromised in the most recent oil spill case, initially denied and later acknowledged. He noted that both the hacking and the spill reflect common challenges related to corporate governance, indicating much work remains for this administration. In the specific case of the cyberattack, the temporary information reserve may be legally justified, but once the period ends, it will be important to know what happened and, above all, what measures were implemented.