“Exclusive: The Victim’s Terrifying Cry for Help Against Abuse”

Lucero Ojeda Perez fears for her life, alleging her husband, Vicente de Jesus Franco Reyes, has been using his connections within the State Attorney's Office (FGE) of Quintana Roo to dismiss her accusations of domestic abuse. She filed a complaint against him on April 29th, with the Special Prosecutor's Office for Combatting Crimes Committed Against Women and for Gender-Based Reasons.

According to the General Law on Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence, violence against women includes any gender-based action or omission that causes harm or suffering, be it psychological, physical, economic, sexual, or even death, in both public and private spheres.

Perez lodged a formal complaint, accusing Reyes of domestic violence. Despite authorizing all necessary assessments for the investigation, she was only scheduled for a psychological interview seven months later. "Let's see if he doesn’t kill me first," Perez has said.

Reyes, who is the Department Head of Registration, Monitoring, and Processing of Alcoholic Beverage Licenses, North Zone, of the Secretariat of Finance and Planning (Sefiplan), allegedly used his influence to squash the complaint. He reportedly claimed that the FGE works for him due to his position.

Perez alleges that Reyes demonstrated his influence when he accused her of domestic violence against their underage son after she found a cigarette in his backpack. Within two days, an arrest warrant was issued for Perez, signed off by Public Prosecutor Cesar Morales, a close friend of Reyes.

Reyes has allegedly been taunting Perez through WhatsApp messages, boasting about arriving at her home with FGE patrol cars and sirens to intimidate her.

Perez is pleading for Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa to intervene in her case. Despite filing her complaint in April, there has been no progress in her case, despite laws stating that all complaints should be investigated from a gender-perspective.