🔗 Share this article Daily Murders in Mexico Fall Thirty-Seven Percent In the Sheinbaum Administration, Per Government Data The typical count of per-day killings per month in Mexico has decreased by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, per new government data. Nevertheless, public safety analysts have advised that homicide data could fail to indicate better national safety. Notable Reduction in Per-Day Averages Officials reported an mean of close to 55 murders a day in last November as opposed to almost 87 when the President assumed the leadership in September. This data was shared by the director of the nation's federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on Tuesday. “The result in killings that have been recorded during these months is remarkably significant,” Sheinbaum remarked, explaining that in November the smallest figure of homicides were documented for any November in the past decade. Recent Background and Government Strategy Violent drug cartel rivalries, combined with the government’s highly military campaigns to combat the drug gangs, have made Mexico’s murder rate escalate in recent times. The rate peaked at a maximum of 36,773 killings in 2020, according to the nation's official data office. That gave Mexico a homicide rate over 4x greater than the United States. Since then, homicides have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Claudia Sheinbaum has attributed her national security strategy for an seemingly more pronounced reduction in killings in the current year. At a press conference in the summer, the President declared: “We have a strategy, we have monitoring of the plan, and we have detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in some cases. The approach is effective. And we have to keep working at it every day.” The central components of Sheinbaum’s security strategy include: Strengthening Mexico’s federal guard. Improving intelligence and investigative capabilities. Enhanced collaboration between government departments. Analyst Caution and Data Concerns However, public safety experts cautioned that using murder statistics to draw a conclusion of improved security was misleading. This is particularly true in light of the rise in different criminal activities such as people going missing. “That would be excellent news if this were a drop, but I think we shouldn't just look at the murder numbers and think: ‘Alright, good,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be tentatively optimistic.” As reported by the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, homicides overall fell by more than 20% in the first 10 months of the current year relative to the identical period the previous year. But, missing persons cases have risen by 15% and in certain states have increased by as much as 200%. “Data on homicides is no longer useful for estimating the situation of violence,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the capacity or the inclination to properly recognize and categorize remains. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the means to mask violent acts through abductions.” Vargas added that using monthly means of everyday homicides was also concerning because it might obscure periods when there were especially spiking levels of killings. “Employing the daily mean makes spikes of violent crime less visible,” he said. Detentions and Seizures as Measures of Progress An area where the administration can cite the effectiveness of its security strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Almost 40,000 individuals were apprehended between October 2024 and November 2025 for serious crimes, per official figures. Over 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tons of narcotics intercepted. “The former US president can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because the reality is she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, many thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical weakening of criminal groups. It’s very in political terms profitable,” commented Vargas. Persistent Violence and Societal Frustration However notwithstanding these actions, Mexico is still plagued by severe violence, with several regions in the midst of cartel-related violence. Last month there was a high-profile assassination of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 local leaders assassinated in the last 12 months. Weeks later, many thousands of young people demonstrated in the capital and throughout the country to show their frustration at corruption and narco-violence. “The federal government frames [data] in a manner to create a picture of improvement. Politically it’s extremely effective, from a social perspective it’s very problematic,” Vargas concluded.
The typical count of per-day killings per month in Mexico has decreased by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, per new government data. Nevertheless, public safety analysts have advised that homicide data could fail to indicate better national safety. Notable Reduction in Per-Day Averages Officials reported an mean of close to 55 murders a day in last November as opposed to almost 87 when the President assumed the leadership in September. This data was shared by the director of the nation's federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on Tuesday. “The result in killings that have been recorded during these months is remarkably significant,” Sheinbaum remarked, explaining that in November the smallest figure of homicides were documented for any November in the past decade. Recent Background and Government Strategy Violent drug cartel rivalries, combined with the government’s highly military campaigns to combat the drug gangs, have made Mexico’s murder rate escalate in recent times. The rate peaked at a maximum of 36,773 killings in 2020, according to the nation's official data office. That gave Mexico a homicide rate over 4x greater than the United States. Since then, homicides have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Claudia Sheinbaum has attributed her national security strategy for an seemingly more pronounced reduction in killings in the current year. At a press conference in the summer, the President declared: “We have a strategy, we have monitoring of the plan, and we have detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in some cases. The approach is effective. And we have to keep working at it every day.” The central components of Sheinbaum’s security strategy include: Strengthening Mexico’s federal guard. Improving intelligence and investigative capabilities. Enhanced collaboration between government departments. Analyst Caution and Data Concerns However, public safety experts cautioned that using murder statistics to draw a conclusion of improved security was misleading. This is particularly true in light of the rise in different criminal activities such as people going missing. “That would be excellent news if this were a drop, but I think we shouldn't just look at the murder numbers and think: ‘Alright, good,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be tentatively optimistic.” As reported by the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, homicides overall fell by more than 20% in the first 10 months of the current year relative to the identical period the previous year. But, missing persons cases have risen by 15% and in certain states have increased by as much as 200%. “Data on homicides is no longer useful for estimating the situation of violence,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the capacity or the inclination to properly recognize and categorize remains. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the means to mask violent acts through abductions.” Vargas added that using monthly means of everyday homicides was also concerning because it might obscure periods when there were especially spiking levels of killings. “Employing the daily mean makes spikes of violent crime less visible,” he said. Detentions and Seizures as Measures of Progress An area where the administration can cite the effectiveness of its security strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Almost 40,000 individuals were apprehended between October 2024 and November 2025 for serious crimes, per official figures. Over 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tons of narcotics intercepted. “The former US president can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because the reality is she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, many thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical weakening of criminal groups. It’s very in political terms profitable,” commented Vargas. Persistent Violence and Societal Frustration However notwithstanding these actions, Mexico is still plagued by severe violence, with several regions in the midst of cartel-related violence. Last month there was a high-profile assassination of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 local leaders assassinated in the last 12 months. Weeks later, many thousands of young people demonstrated in the capital and throughout the country to show their frustration at corruption and narco-violence. “The federal government frames [data] in a manner to create a picture of improvement. Politically it’s extremely effective, from a social perspective it’s very problematic,” Vargas concluded.