Everyday Murders in the nation Fall 37% In President Sheinbaum, According to Official Figures

The mean count of per-day homicides monthly in Mexico has dropped by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum took office, as stated by fresh government figures. Nevertheless, public safety specialists have warned that murder figures may not signal enhanced countrywide security.

Notable Decline in Daily Numbers

There was an mean of nearly 55 homicides a day in November versus nearly 87 when the President assumed the presidential office in the previous September. This data was provided by the chief of the nation's federal safety system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on a recent Tuesday.

“The result in killings that we have seen over these months is remarkably important,” Sheinbaum said, explaining that in November the smallest amount of homicides were recorded for any November in the past 10 years.

Historical Context and Government Plan

Intense drug cartel infighting, coupled with the administration's highly military efforts to take on the cartels, have led to Mexico’s murder rate soar in recent times. The rate peaked at a record high of 36,773 homicides in 2020, as reported by the country’s national statistics office.

That gave Mexico a murder figure more than 4x higher than the US. However, killings have been on the downward trend, declining to 33,550 the previous year. Sheinbaum has linked her national security plan for an ostensibly sharper drop in killings in the current year.

At a media briefing in August, the President stated: “We have a strategy, there is oversight of the strategy, and we have detailed tracking municipality by municipality in some cases. The approach is effective. And we have to persist at it each day.”

The key pillars of Sheinbaum’s safety strategy encompass:

• Reinforcing Mexico’s domestic security force.
• Advancing information gathering and investigative efforts.
• Enhanced cooperation between government authorities.

Expert Warnings and Data Concerns

But, security researchers urged caution that focusing solely on homicide statistics to paint a picture of peace was flawed. This is notably true given the rise in other criminal activities such as forced disappearances.

“This would be excellent news if this were a reduction, but I think we shouldn't just concentrate on the murder numbers and think: ‘Well then, good,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexico's criminal organizations. “I would be cautiously hopeful.”

According to the public policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, murders overall declined by over 20% in the first 10 months of the current year relative to the same timeframe last year. However, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in some regions have increased by up to 200%.

“Numbers on murders is no longer valid for estimating the reality of public insecurity,” argued Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who lack the capacity or the desire to accurately identify and classify bodies. Second, organized [criminals] … have the ability to mask violent acts through disappearances.”

Vargas noted that relying on monthly means of everyday killings was additionally an issue because it might mask periods when there were especially elevated levels of killings.

“Using the per-day mean makes high peaks of violent crime invisible,” he concluded.

Detentions and Seizures as Measures of Success

Where the government can highlight the success of its security strategy is on detentions and seizures. Close to 40,000 people were apprehended between October 2024 and November 2025 for major offenses, according to government figures. More than 20,000 guns were taken and 311 tons of narcotics intercepted.

“Trump cannot claim President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because actually she is accomplishing a lot with these many thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the operational degrading of organised crime. It’s extremely in political terms beneficial,” commented Vargas.

Ongoing Unrest and Societal Anger

Yet notwithstanding these efforts, Mexico remains plagued by extreme bloodshed, with multiple states in the throes of cartel-fueled conflict. Last month there was a prominent killing of a popular mayor in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors killed in the last 12 months.

Weeks after, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the capital and throughout the country to express their outrage at graft and drug violence.

“The government presents [data] in a way to construct a picture of safety. Politically it’s extremely successful, from a social perspective it’s highly problematic,” Vargas remarked.