🔗 Share this article Daily Killings in Mexico Decline Over a Third In President Sheinbaum, As per Government Data The average count of everyday murders each month in the country has dropped by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, per recent administrative figures. But, security specialists have cautioned that homicide data may not point to better national security. Significant Reduction in Daily Numbers Officials reported an average of almost 55 homicides a day in last November compared with nearly 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum began the presidency in the previous September. This data was shared by the head of the country’s federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on Tuesday. “The figures in killings that have been recorded over these past months is remarkably important,” Claudia Sheinbaum remarked, explaining that in November the lowest number of homicides were recorded for any November in the past decade. Recent Background and Official Plan Violent cartel infighting, combined with the government’s heavily military efforts to take on the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s homicide rate soar in recent years. The rate reached a maximum of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the nation's official data agency. That gave Mexico a homicide rate more than four times higher than the US. Since then, killings have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her public safety approach for an seemingly steeper decline in killings in the current year. At a press conference in the summer, the President said: “There is a strategy, there is monitoring of the strategy, and we have specific monitoring municipality by municipality in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it each day.” The key pillars of the President's safety plan encompass: Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force. Advancing intelligence and investigation work. Increased collaboration between government authorities. Expert Caution and Data Concerns Nevertheless, security analysts urged caution that using homicide data to paint a picture of peace was flawed. This is especially true in light of the rise in other crimes such as forced disappearances. “This would be excellent information if this was a drop, but I think we can’t just concentrate on the homicide data and say: ‘Well then, excellent,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican cartels. “I would be tentatively hopeful.” As reported by the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, murders in total declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of this year versus the identical timeframe the previous year. However, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in certain regions have surged by up to 200%. “Numbers on homicides is no longer valid for assessing the situation of public insecurity,” argued Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have police and prosecutors who do not have the capacity or the will to correctly identify and categorize corpses. Second, organised [criminals] … have the means to conceal violent acts through abductions.” Vargas added that using monthly averages of daily homicides was additionally an issue because it may obscure days when there were notably high levels of killings. “Employing the per-day mean makes surges of violent crime unseen,” he stated. Arrests and Seizures as Metrics of Success Where the administration can point to the effectiveness of its safety plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 people were apprehended between October 2024 and November 2025 for serious crimes, according to official data. Over 20,000 weapons were confiscated and 311 tons of drugs confiscated. “Donald Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because actually she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, thousands of confiscations, and all the operational weakening of criminal groups. It’s very politically beneficial,” stated Vargas. Ongoing Unrest and Societal Frustration But in spite of these efforts, Mexico is still grappling with high violence, with multiple regions in the midst of cartel-related bloodshed. Recently 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 year. Weeks after, thousands of young people took to the streets in the capital and throughout the country to express their outrage at graft and cartel violence. “The administration frames [data] in a way to create a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, socially it’s very questionable,” the analyst said.
The average count of everyday murders each month in the country has dropped by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, per recent administrative figures. But, security specialists have cautioned that homicide data may not point to better national security. Significant Reduction in Daily Numbers Officials reported an average of almost 55 homicides a day in last November compared with nearly 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum began the presidency in the previous September. This data was shared by the head of the country’s federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on Tuesday. “The figures in killings that have been recorded over these past months is remarkably important,” Claudia Sheinbaum remarked, explaining that in November the lowest number of homicides were recorded for any November in the past decade. Recent Background and Official Plan Violent cartel infighting, combined with the government’s heavily military efforts to take on the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s homicide rate soar in recent years. The rate reached a maximum of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the nation's official data agency. That gave Mexico a homicide rate more than four times higher than the US. Since then, killings have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her public safety approach for an seemingly steeper decline in killings in the current year. At a press conference in the summer, the President said: “There is a strategy, there is monitoring of the strategy, and we have specific monitoring municipality by municipality in certain cases. The plan is effective. And we have to continue working at it each day.” The key pillars of the President's safety plan encompass: Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force. Advancing intelligence and investigation work. Increased collaboration between government authorities. Expert Caution and Data Concerns Nevertheless, security analysts urged caution that using homicide data to paint a picture of peace was flawed. This is especially true in light of the rise in other crimes such as forced disappearances. “This would be excellent information if this was a drop, but I think we can’t just concentrate on the homicide data and say: ‘Well then, excellent,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican cartels. “I would be tentatively hopeful.” As reported by the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, murders in total declined by more than 20% in the initial 10 months of this year versus the identical timeframe the previous year. However, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in certain regions have surged by up to 200%. “Numbers on homicides is no longer valid for assessing the situation of public insecurity,” argued Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have police and prosecutors who do not have the capacity or the will to correctly identify and categorize corpses. Second, organised [criminals] … have the means to conceal violent acts through abductions.” Vargas added that using monthly averages of daily homicides was additionally an issue because it may obscure days when there were notably high levels of killings. “Employing the per-day mean makes surges of violent crime unseen,” he stated. Arrests and Seizures as Metrics of Success Where the administration can point to the effectiveness of its safety plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 people were apprehended between October 2024 and November 2025 for serious crimes, according to official data. Over 20,000 weapons were confiscated and 311 tons of drugs confiscated. “Donald Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because actually she is doing a lot with these thousands of arrests, thousands of confiscations, and all the operational weakening of criminal groups. It’s very politically beneficial,” stated Vargas. Ongoing Unrest and Societal Frustration But in spite of these efforts, Mexico is still grappling with high violence, with multiple regions in the midst of cartel-related bloodshed. Recently 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 year. Weeks after, thousands of young people took to the streets in the capital and throughout the country to express their outrage at graft and cartel violence. “The administration frames [data] in a way to create a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, socially it’s very questionable,” the analyst said.