🔗 Share this article Everyday Killings in Mexico Drop 37% Under the Sheinbaum Administration, According to Government Data The typical number of everyday homicides per month in Mexico has dropped by thirty-seven percent since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, according to new official figures. However, public safety specialists have advised that homicide data may not point to improved national security. Notable Drop in Daily Figures Officials reported an mean of close to 55 homicides a day in November compared with roughly 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the leadership in the previous September. This announcement was delivered by the head of the country’s federal safety system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular press briefing on Tuesday. “The result in murders that we’ve had in these months is very significant,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated, explaining that in November the lowest number of murders were documented for any November in the past 10 years. Recent Background and Government Strategy Violent organized crime infighting, combined with the government’s heavily military campaigns to take on the cartels, have led to Mexico’s murder numbers soar in recent years. The rate hit a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office. That meant Mexico a homicide figure more than four times higher than the United States. Since then, homicides have been on the decrease, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Claudia Sheinbaum has linked her public safety plan for an ostensibly more pronounced reduction in homicides this year. At a press conference in the summer, the Mexican leader stated: “We have a plan, we have oversight of the strategy, and we have detailed tracking municipality by municipality in certain cases. The plan functions. And we have to keep working at it daily.” The main pillars of the President's security plan involve: Bolstering Mexico’s federal guard. Enhancing intelligence and investigative capabilities. Increased coordination between various authorities. Analyst Skepticism and Data Limitations Nevertheless, security analysts cautioned that using homicide numbers to draw a conclusion of pacification was flawed. This is particularly true in light of the increase in other criminal activities such as abductions. “It would be very good information if this was a reduction, but I think we can’t just look at the murder numbers and conclude: ‘Alright, excellent,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be tentatively optimistic.” Per the public policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, killings overall fell by more than 20% in the first 10 months of this year compared with the same timeframe the previous year. Yet, missing persons cases have gone up by 15% and in some regions have increased by as much as 200%. “Statistics on homicides is not valid for gauging the reality of violence,” said Armando Vargas, a safety analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and prosecutors who do not have the capacity or the inclination to properly identify and categorize corpses. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the means to mask violence through disappearances.” Vargas added that using month-to-month means of everyday homicides was also concerning because it might hide days when there were especially spiking numbers of murders. “Using the per-day average makes surges of violent crime less visible,” he said. Arrests and Confiscations as Metrics of Success Where the administration can cite the effectiveness of its security plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 people were detained between October 2024 and November 2025 for serious offenses, according to government data. Over 20,000 firearms were confiscated and 311 tonnes of narcotics confiscated. “Donald Trump cannot claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of arrests, many thousands of seizures, and all the operational degrading of organised crime. It’s very in political terms profitable,” commented Vargas. Ongoing Violence and Public Anger However notwithstanding these actions, Mexico is still grappling with high violence, with several states in the throes of cartel-fueled conflict. In the previous month there was a notable murder of a popular mayor in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 local leaders killed in the past 12 months. Weeks after, many thousands of young people demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the nation to voice their outrage at graft and cartel violence. “The federal government shares [data] in a manner to construct a picture of safety. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, from a social perspective it’s highly problematic,” Vargas said.
The typical number of everyday homicides per month in Mexico has dropped by thirty-seven percent since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, according to new official figures. However, public safety specialists have advised that homicide data may not point to improved national security. Notable Drop in Daily Figures Officials reported an mean of close to 55 homicides a day in November compared with roughly 87 when Sheinbaum assumed the leadership in the previous September. This announcement was delivered by the head of the country’s federal safety system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular press briefing on Tuesday. “The result in murders that we’ve had in these months is very significant,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated, explaining that in November the lowest number of murders were documented for any November in the past 10 years. Recent Background and Government Strategy Violent organized crime infighting, combined with the government’s heavily military campaigns to take on the cartels, have led to Mexico’s murder numbers soar in recent years. The rate hit a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office. That meant Mexico a homicide figure more than four times higher than the United States. Since then, homicides have been on the decrease, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Claudia Sheinbaum has linked her public safety plan for an ostensibly more pronounced reduction in homicides this year. At a press conference in the summer, the Mexican leader stated: “We have a plan, we have oversight of the strategy, and we have detailed tracking municipality by municipality in certain cases. The plan functions. And we have to keep working at it daily.” The main pillars of the President's security plan involve: Bolstering Mexico’s federal guard. Enhancing intelligence and investigative capabilities. Increased coordination between various authorities. Analyst Skepticism and Data Limitations Nevertheless, security analysts cautioned that using homicide numbers to draw a conclusion of pacification was flawed. This is particularly true in light of the increase in other criminal activities such as abductions. “It would be very good information if this was a reduction, but I think we can’t just look at the murder numbers and conclude: ‘Alright, excellent,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be tentatively optimistic.” Per the public policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, killings overall fell by more than 20% in the first 10 months of this year compared with the same timeframe the previous year. Yet, missing persons cases have gone up by 15% and in some regions have increased by as much as 200%. “Statistics on homicides is not valid for gauging the reality of violence,” said Armando Vargas, a safety analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and prosecutors who do not have the capacity or the inclination to properly identify and categorize corpses. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the means to mask violence through disappearances.” Vargas added that using month-to-month means of everyday homicides was also concerning because it might hide days when there were especially spiking numbers of murders. “Using the per-day average makes surges of violent crime less visible,” he said. Arrests and Confiscations as Metrics of Success Where the administration can cite the effectiveness of its security plan is on arrests and confiscations. Nearly 40,000 people were detained between October 2024 and November 2025 for serious offenses, according to government data. Over 20,000 firearms were confiscated and 311 tonnes of narcotics confiscated. “Donald Trump cannot claim President Sheinbaum of not acting, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these thousands of arrests, many thousands of seizures, and all the operational degrading of organised crime. It’s very in political terms profitable,” commented Vargas. Ongoing Violence and Public Anger However notwithstanding these actions, Mexico is still grappling with high violence, with several states in the throes of cartel-fueled conflict. In the previous month there was a notable murder of a popular mayor in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 local leaders killed in the past 12 months. Weeks after, many thousands of young people demonstrated in Mexico City and throughout the nation to voice their outrage at graft and cartel violence. “The federal government shares [data] in a manner to construct a picture of safety. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, from a social perspective it’s highly problematic,” Vargas said.