đ Share this article Daily Murders in Mexico Fall Over a Third During Claudia Sheinbaum, According to Official Figures The average figure of daily killings each month in the country has dropped by 37% since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, according to new official statistics. But, security experts have advised that homicide data may not point to improved national security. Significant Reduction in Per-Day Numbers Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November compared with almost 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum began the presidency in September. This announcement was provided by the head of the nation's federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on Tuesday. âThe result in homicides that have been recorded over these past months is remarkably significant,â Sheinbaum remarked, adding that the previous month the smallest amount of murders were documented for any November in the past 10 years. Historical Background and Official Plan Violent drug cartel infighting, combined with the administration's heavily military operations to combat the drug gangs, have caused Mexicoâs homicide numbers escalate in the past few years. The rate reached a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the countryâs official data agency. That meant Mexico a murder figure more than four times greater than the US. However, murders have been on the decline, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Sheinbaum has linked her public safety plan for an ostensibly steeper decline in killings in the current year. At a press conference in the summer, the President said: âWe have a strategy, there is oversight of the plan, and there is specific tracking town by town in certain cases. The strategy functions. And we have to persist at it each day.â The main elements of Sheinbaumâs safety strategy encompass: Reinforcing Mexicoâs national guard. Improving information gathering and investigative work. Greater cooperation between government agencies. Analyst Caution and Statistical Limitations Nevertheless, public safety researchers warned that relying on homicide statistics to draw a conclusion of pacification was flawed. This is notably true in light of the uptick in different criminal activities such as abductions. âThis would be positive information if this were a drop, but I think we canât just focus on the murder data and say: âOh well, excellent,ââ said Cecilia FarfĂĄn-MĂ©ndez, an specialist on Mexican criminal organizations. âI would be cautiously hopeful.â As reported by the public policy research organization Mexico EvalĂșa, murders overall declined by more than 20% in the first 10 months of this year versus the same period the previous year. However, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some states have risen by as much as 200%. âData on homicides is no longer valid for assessing the reality of violence,â stated Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico EvalĂșa. âFirstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the resources or the desire to accurately recognize and classify bodies. Second, organized [criminals] ⊠have the capability to conceal violent acts through disappearances.â Vargas added that relying on monthly averages of daily killings was similarly concerning because it could mask days when there were particularly spiking numbers of killings. âEmploying the per-day mean renders surges of violent crime invisible,â he said. Arrests and Confiscations as Measures of Success Where the administration can highlight the success of its safety strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Close to 40,000 suspects were detained between last October and November 2025 for high-impact offenses, per government figures. Over 20,000 firearms were seized and 311 tons of narcotics intercepted. âDonald Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because in reality she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, many thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. Itâs very politically advantageous,â said Vargas. Persistent Unrest and Societal Anger Yet notwithstanding these efforts, Mexico continues to be plagued by extreme bloodshed, with a number of regions in the throes of cartel-fueled conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent killing of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors murdered in the past year. Weeks later, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Mexico City and across the country to express their outrage at graft and narco-violence. âThe government presents [data] in a way to construct a story of safety. From a political standpoint itâs highly successful, from a social perspective itâs highly problematic,â Vargas concluded.
The average figure of daily killings each month in the country has dropped by 37% since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, according to new official statistics. But, security experts have advised that homicide data may not point to improved national security. Significant Reduction in Per-Day Numbers Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November compared with almost 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum began the presidency in September. This announcement was provided by the head of the nation's federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's regular news conference on Tuesday. âThe result in homicides that have been recorded over these past months is remarkably significant,â Sheinbaum remarked, adding that the previous month the smallest amount of murders were documented for any November in the past 10 years. Historical Background and Official Plan Violent drug cartel infighting, combined with the administration's heavily military operations to combat the drug gangs, have caused Mexicoâs homicide numbers escalate in the past few years. The rate reached a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the countryâs official data agency. That meant Mexico a murder figure more than four times greater than the US. However, murders have been on the decline, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Sheinbaum has linked her public safety plan for an ostensibly steeper decline in killings in the current year. At a press conference in the summer, the President said: âWe have a strategy, there is oversight of the plan, and there is specific tracking town by town in certain cases. The strategy functions. And we have to persist at it each day.â The main elements of Sheinbaumâs safety strategy encompass: Reinforcing Mexicoâs national guard. Improving information gathering and investigative work. Greater cooperation between government agencies. Analyst Caution and Statistical Limitations Nevertheless, public safety researchers warned that relying on homicide statistics to draw a conclusion of pacification was flawed. This is notably true in light of the uptick in different criminal activities such as abductions. âThis would be positive information if this were a drop, but I think we canât just focus on the murder data and say: âOh well, excellent,ââ said Cecilia FarfĂĄn-MĂ©ndez, an specialist on Mexican criminal organizations. âI would be cautiously hopeful.â As reported by the public policy research organization Mexico EvalĂșa, murders overall declined by more than 20% in the first 10 months of this year versus the same period the previous year. However, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in some states have risen by as much as 200%. âData on homicides is no longer valid for assessing the reality of violence,â stated Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico EvalĂșa. âFirstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the resources or the desire to accurately recognize and classify bodies. Second, organized [criminals] ⊠have the capability to conceal violent acts through disappearances.â Vargas added that relying on monthly averages of daily killings was similarly concerning because it could mask days when there were particularly spiking numbers of killings. âEmploying the per-day mean renders surges of violent crime invisible,â he said. Arrests and Confiscations as Measures of Success Where the administration can highlight the success of its safety strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Close to 40,000 suspects were detained between last October and November 2025 for high-impact offenses, per government figures. Over 20,000 firearms were seized and 311 tons of narcotics intercepted. âDonald Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because in reality she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of detentions, many thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. Itâs very politically advantageous,â said Vargas. Persistent Unrest and Societal Anger Yet notwithstanding these efforts, Mexico continues to be plagued by extreme bloodshed, with a number of regions in the throes of cartel-fueled conflict. In the previous month there was a prominent killing of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 mayors murdered in the past year. Weeks later, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Mexico City and across the country to express their outrage at graft and narco-violence. âThe government presents [data] in a way to construct a story of safety. From a political standpoint itâs highly successful, from a social perspective itâs highly problematic,â Vargas concluded.