Daily Killings in Mexico Decline Over a Third In the Sheinbaum Administration, As per Official Statistics
The typical figure of everyday murders each month in Mexico has decreased by 37% since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, as stated by fresh administrative figures. Nevertheless, security analysts have cautioned that murder data could fail to indicate better countrywide safety.
Significant Drop in Per-Day Figures
Officials reported an average of close to 55 murders a day in November versus roughly 87 when the President began the presidential office in September of last year. This data was provided by the chief of the country’s federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular press briefing on Tuesday.
“The figures in homicides that we have seen during these months is very significant,” Claudia Sheinbaum said, noting that the previous month the smallest number of homicides were recorded for any November in the past 10 years.
Recent Background and Official Plan
Fierce organized crime internal conflicts, coupled with the government’s highly military operations to combat the cartels, have led to Mexico’s homicide numbers rise sharply in recent times. The figure hit a peak of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office.
That meant Mexico a murder figure more than four times greater than that of the United States. From that point, homicides have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 the previous year. The President has credited her public safety plan for an ostensibly more pronounced reduction in killings in the current year.
At a news briefing in August, the President stated: “We have a plan, we have oversight of the strategy, and there is specific monitoring locality by locality in some cases. The plan is effective. And we have to keep working at it every day.”
The main pillars of the President's security plan include:
- Reinforcing Mexico’s national guard.
- Enhancing intelligence and investigation efforts.
- Greater cooperation between government departments.
Analyst Caution and Statistical Concerns
But, security researchers urged caution that focusing solely on murder numbers to draw a conclusion of pacification was flawed. This is particularly true considering the increase in other crimes such as forced disappearances.
“It would be excellent information if this was a drop, but I think we must not just look at the murder data and say: ‘Well then, good,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be cautiously hopeful.”
As reported by the policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, killings overall dropped by more than 20% in the first 10 months of the current year versus the identical timeframe the previous year. However, disappearances have risen by 15% and in some regions have risen by up to 200%.
“Data on murders is not valid for estimating the situation of violence,” stated Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who lack the resources or the will to properly identify and categorize remains. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the ability to mask violent acts through abductions.”
Vargas added that using monthly averages of everyday homicides was additionally concerning because it could hide days when there were notably high numbers of murders.
“Using the per-day mean renders spikes of violence invisible,” he said.
Arrests and Seizures as Measures of Success
An area where the administration can point to the effectiveness of its safety strategy is on detentions and seizures. Close to 40,000 individuals were detained between last October and November 2025 for high-impact offenses, per government data. Over 20,000 guns were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs seized.
“Donald Trump can't accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because actually she is doing a lot with these many thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the tactical degrading of organised crime. It’s very in political terms profitable,” said Vargas.
Ongoing Unrest and Societal Anger
However in spite of these actions, Mexico continues to be plagued by high violence, with a number of states in the throes of cartel-fueled violence. Recently there was a high-profile killing of a popular mayor in the region of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors murdered in the last year.
A short time after, thousands of youth demonstrated in the capital and throughout the country to show their outrage at graft and drug violence.
“The administration presents [data] in a manner to build a story of security. Politically it’s highly effective, from a social perspective it’s highly debatable,” the analyst concluded.