On August 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the unsealing of an indictment charging two Mexican businessmen —Ramon Alexandro Rovirosa Martinez and Mario Alberto Avila Lizarraga— for their roles in an alleged bribery scheme involving state-owned energy companies in Mexico.
According to the DOJ, Rovirosa and Avila are Mexican citizens and U.S. lawful permanent residents who reside in Texas. In the indictment filed in the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the businessmen were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and three substantive violations of the FCPA for allegedly bribing Mexican officials with state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (“PEMEX”) and its wholly-owned subsidiary PEMEX Exploración y Producción (“PEP”), in an effort to retain and obtain lucrative contracts from those companies. Rovirosa, who was arrested in Woodland, Texas and arraigned on August 11, 2025, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The DOJ stated that Avila is a fugitive and remains at large.
According to the DOJ, Rovirosa and Avila conspired with others to offer and pay at least $150,000 in bribes to PEMEX and PEP officials in exchange for certain business advantages intended to help unnamed companies associated with Rovirosa secure contracts worth approximately $2.5 million. The bribes, which were allegedly made to at least three PEMEX and PEP officials, were allegedly made between at least 2019 and continued into at least 2021, and were allegedly in the form of cash payments and various luxury items.
DOJ Press Release | Indictment