Daily Killings in the nation Decline 37% Under President Sheinbaum, According to Official Figures

The typical count of everyday murders each month in Mexico has decreased by 37% since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, per recent official figures. But, security specialists have cautioned that homicide figures may not signal enhanced countrywide security.

Significant Decline in Per-Day Figures

Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in last November as opposed to almost 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum began the presidential office in September. This announcement was delivered by the head of the country’s federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the leader's daily press briefing on Tuesday.

“The figures in killings that we’ve had during these months is extremely notable,” Sheinbaum stated, adding that the previous month the lowest amount of murders were documented for any November in the past 10 years.

Recent Context and Government Strategy

Violent drug cartel infighting, alongside the government’s highly military efforts to combat the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s homicide numbers soar in recent years. The figure peaked at a record high of 36,773 killings in 2020, according to the country’s national statistics office.

That meant Mexico a murder figure more than four times greater than the US. From that point, homicides have been on the decrease, dropping to 33,550 last year. Claudia Sheinbaum has linked her public safety strategy for an apparently sharper reduction in homicides in the current year.

At a media briefing in August, the head of state stated: “We have a plan, there is tracking of the strategy, and we have detailed monitoring town by town in certain cases. The approach functions. And we have to keep working at it each day.”

The central pillars of Sheinbaum’s security plan involve:

• Strengthening Mexico’s domestic security force.
• Improving intelligence and investigative efforts.
• Increased coordination between government agencies.

Expert Caution and Statistical Concerns

Nevertheless, security researchers warned that focusing solely on homicide statistics to paint a picture of improved security was flawed. This is particularly true considering the rise in other crimes such as people going missing.

“That would be very good information if this were a drop, but I think we can’t just focus on the murder numbers and say: ‘Oh well, good,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be tentatively positive.”

Per the public policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, murders overall fell by over 20% in the first 10 months of the current year versus the identical timeframe the previous year. But, missing persons cases have risen by 15% and in certain regions have surged by as much as 200%.

“Statistics on homicides is no longer reliable for estimating the context of insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the ability or the desire to accurately recognize and classify corpses. Second, organised [criminals] … have the ability to mask violent acts through disappearances.”

Vargas noted that using month-to-month means of everyday killings was additionally concerning because it could mask periods when there were especially high levels of killings.

“Relying on the daily mean makes spikes of violence unseen,” he stated.

Arrests and Confiscations as Metrics of Success

Where the government can point to the effectiveness of its security strategy is on detentions and seizures. Close to 40,000 individuals were arrested between October 2024 and November 2025 for high-impact crimes, per government data. Over 20,000 guns were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs intercepted.

“Trump can't accuse President Sheinbaum of not acting, because the reality is she is accomplishing a lot with these many thousands of arrests, thousands of confiscations, and all the tactical degrading of criminal groups. It’s extremely politically profitable,” commented Vargas.

Ongoing Violence and Societal Anger

But despite these measures, Mexico is still beset by severe violence, with multiple states in the grip of cartel-related violence. In the previous month there was a prominent murder of a popular mayor in the region of Michoacan, among 10 mayors murdered in the last year.

A short time after, thousands of protesters demonstrated in Mexico City and across the country to show their anger at corruption and cartel violence.

“The government frames [data] in a manner to create a picture of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very successful, socially it’s very debatable,” Vargas remarked.