Everyday Murders in Mexico Decline 37% During the Sheinbaum Administration, According to Official Figures
The average figure of everyday homicides each month in the country has fallen by thirty-seven percent since President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, per fresh official statistics. Nevertheless, public safety specialists have advised that murder data could fail to signal enhanced countrywide stability.
Significant Decline in Per-Day Averages
There was an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November versus roughly 87 when the President began the leadership in September of last year. This announcement was shared by the chief of the nation's federal public security agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on a recent Tuesday.
“The figures in killings that we’ve had in these months is very significant,” the President stated, noting that last month the least amount of murders were registered for any November in the last decade.
Recent Context and Government Strategy
Fierce cartel infighting, alongside the administration's highly militarised campaigns to combat the drug gangs, have caused Mexico’s murder numbers escalate in recent years. The figure peaked at a peak of 36,773 killings in 2020, as reported by the country’s official data agency.
That meant Mexico a homicide rate over 4x higher than the United States. Since then, murders have been on the decrease, declining to 33,550 in the last calendar year. Claudia Sheinbaum has credited her national security strategy for an apparently more pronounced drop in homicides in the current year.
At a press conference in August, the President said: “We have a strategy, there is monitoring of the strategy, and there is specific monitoring municipality by municipality in some cases. The strategy is effective. And we have to continue working at it each day.”
The key pillars of Sheinbaum’s security plan include:
- Reinforcing Mexico’s federal guard.
- Improving information gathering and investigative work.
- Greater coordination between various departments.
Analyst Warnings and Data Concerns
Nevertheless, public safety experts urged caution that focusing solely on homicide data to paint a picture of improved security was flawed. This is notably true considering the increase in other crimes such as forced disappearances.
“It would be excellent news if this was a drop, but I think we shouldn't just focus on the homicide numbers and think: ‘Well then, good,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's organised crime. “I would be tentatively positive.”
According to the policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, murders in total declined by over 20% in the initial 10 months of this year relative to the identical timeframe the previous year. But, missing persons cases have gone up by 15% and in some states have risen by as much as 200%.
“Statistics on homicides is not reliable for assessing the situation of insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the ability or the will to accurately recognize and classify corpses. Second, organised [criminals] … have the ability to hide violent acts through disappearances.”
Vargas added that using monthly means of everyday killings was also problematic because it may hide periods when there were particularly spiking numbers of killings.
“Using the per-day mean renders spikes of violence unseen,” he said.
Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Progress
An area where the administration can cite the success of its safety strategy is on detentions and seizures. Nearly 40,000 suspects were apprehended between last October and November 2025 for high-impact offenses, per government data. Over 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated.
“Trump can't claim President Sheinbaum of inaction, because actually she is doing a lot with these thousands of detentions, many thousands of seizures, and all the operational weakening of organised crime. It’s extremely politically advantageous,” said Vargas.
Ongoing Unrest and Public Anger
However in spite of these actions, Mexico remains grappling with high violence, with a number of states in the grip of cartel-driven conflict. Last month there was a prominent assassination of a well-liked local official in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors killed in the past 12 months.
A short time after, many thousands of young people protested in the capital and across the nation to show their anger at corruption and drug violence.
“The administration shares [data] in a manner to construct a story of safety. Politically it’s extremely potent, socially it’s very questionable,” Vargas said.
