🔗 Share this article Daily Murders in Mexico Fall Over a Third During the Sheinbaum Administration, Per Government Statistics The mean count of daily murders each month in the country has fallen by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by fresh administrative statistics. However, public safety specialists have advised that murder figures might not indicate improved national safety. Marked Reduction in Daily Averages Officials reported an mean of almost 55 homicides a day in the month of November compared with roughly 87 when the President began the presidential office in September. This announcement was shared by the chief of the country’s federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on a recent Tuesday. “The result in homicides that we’ve had during these past months is remarkably important,” the President stated, noting that the previous month the lowest number of murders were registered for any November in the past decade. Historical Background and Official Strategy Intense cartel internal conflicts, combined with the administration's highly military campaigns to combat the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s homicide rate soar in recent years. The rate hit a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the country’s official data office. That gave Mexico a homicide rate over four times higher than the United States. From that point, killings have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 last year. The President has attributed her public safety approach for an seemingly steeper decline in killings this year. At a media briefing in the summer, the head of state stated: “We have a plan, we have tracking of the plan, and we have specific tracking locality by locality in some cases. The plan works. And we have to continue working at it every day.” The main elements of the President's security plan encompass: Reinforcing Mexico’s federal guard. Enhancing information gathering and investigation work. Greater collaboration between government departments. Expert Skepticism and Data Concerns However, security experts cautioned that focusing solely on murder statistics to draw a conclusion of improved security was misleading. This is especially true considering the rise in other criminal activities such as people going missing. “This would be positive news if this were a drop, but I think we can’t just concentrate on the murder data and conclude: ‘Well then, good,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be tentatively positive.” As reported by the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, homicides in total declined by more than 20% in the first 10 months of the current year relative to the same timeframe last year. Yet, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in certain states have increased by as much as 200%. “Statistics on homicides is not valid for gauging the context of public insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and investigators who lack the capacity or the inclination to properly recognize and categorize remains. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the ability to conceal violence through disappearances.” Vargas added that relying on monthly means of daily homicides was also concerning because it could hide days when there were especially elevated levels of killings. “Using the per-day average renders surges of violence less visible,” he stated. Arrests and Confiscations as Metrics of Progress An area where the government can cite the effectiveness of its security strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 individuals were arrested between October 2024 and November 2025 for high-impact crimes, according to official data. More than 20,000 firearms were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs intercepted. “The former US president can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because in reality she is doing a lot with these thousands of detentions, thousands of confiscations, and all the operational weakening of organised crime. It’s highly in political terms beneficial,” stated Vargas. Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration Yet despite these efforts, Mexico continues to be grappling with extreme bloodshed, with several regions in the midst of cartel-fueled conflict. Last month there was a high-profile killing of a well-liked mayor in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors killed in the last year. Weeks after, thousands of youth demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the nation to show their anger at graft and drug violence. “The federal government frames [data] in a manner to construct a narrative of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, socially it’s very problematic,” the analyst remarked.
The mean count of daily murders each month in the country has fallen by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, as stated by fresh administrative statistics. However, public safety specialists have advised that murder figures might not indicate improved national safety. Marked Reduction in Daily Averages Officials reported an mean of almost 55 homicides a day in the month of November compared with roughly 87 when the President began the presidential office in September. This announcement was shared by the chief of the country’s federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on a recent Tuesday. “The result in homicides that we’ve had during these past months is remarkably important,” the President stated, noting that the previous month the lowest number of murders were registered for any November in the past decade. Historical Background and Official Strategy Intense cartel internal conflicts, combined with the administration's highly military campaigns to combat the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s homicide rate soar in recent years. The rate hit a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the country’s official data office. That gave Mexico a homicide rate over four times higher than the United States. From that point, killings have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 last year. The President has attributed her public safety approach for an seemingly steeper decline in killings this year. At a media briefing in the summer, the head of state stated: “We have a plan, we have tracking of the plan, and we have specific tracking locality by locality in some cases. The plan works. And we have to continue working at it every day.” The main elements of the President's security plan encompass: Reinforcing Mexico’s federal guard. Enhancing information gathering and investigation work. Greater collaboration between government departments. Expert Skepticism and Data Concerns However, security experts cautioned that focusing solely on murder statistics to draw a conclusion of improved security was misleading. This is especially true considering the rise in other criminal activities such as people going missing. “This would be positive news if this were a drop, but I think we can’t just concentrate on the murder data and conclude: ‘Well then, good,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be tentatively positive.” As reported by the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, homicides in total declined by more than 20% in the first 10 months of the current year relative to the same timeframe last year. Yet, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in certain states have increased by as much as 200%. “Statistics on homicides is not valid for gauging the context of public insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and investigators who lack the capacity or the inclination to properly recognize and categorize remains. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the ability to conceal violence through disappearances.” Vargas added that relying on monthly means of daily homicides was also concerning because it could hide days when there were especially elevated levels of killings. “Using the per-day average renders surges of violence less visible,” he stated. Arrests and Confiscations as Metrics of Progress An area where the government can cite the effectiveness of its security strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 individuals were arrested between October 2024 and November 2025 for high-impact crimes, according to official data. More than 20,000 firearms were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs intercepted. “The former US president can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because in reality she is doing a lot with these thousands of detentions, thousands of confiscations, and all the operational weakening of organised crime. It’s highly in political terms beneficial,” stated Vargas. Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration Yet despite these efforts, Mexico continues to be grappling with extreme bloodshed, with several regions in the midst of cartel-fueled conflict. Last month there was a high-profile killing of a well-liked mayor in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors killed in the last year. Weeks after, thousands of youth demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the nation to show their anger at graft and drug violence. “The federal government frames [data] in a manner to construct a narrative of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, socially it’s very problematic,” the analyst remarked.